ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
OLDER FICTION
Jaigirdar, Adiba

Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating

352 pp. | Page Street | May, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-1-64567-257-9 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-64567-258-6 $9.99
(2) YA Each of the two narrators of this Ireland-set rom-com has something to gain from faking a relationship. Sociable Hani thinks it will prove to her longtime (if ­undeserving) friends that she isn't making up her bisexuality. Prickly, studious Ishu hopes it will help her become popular so she can be elected Head Girl to please her parents. The two strike a deal, complete with a Google Doc with rules for the ruse: they will pretend to date each other until both have achieved their goals. Hani, Ishu, and their families exhibit diversity in many senses among people of Bengali ethnicity. Both ­narrators are constantly working to counter others' perceptions of them, and when Hani's white friend Aisling falsely accuses Ishu of copying off her paper (the reverse is actually true), that conflict frustratingly culminates in Aisling being believed. Jaigirdar (The Henna Wars, rev. 9/20) again provides a lighthearted read--the main plot is an entertaining iteration of what readers expect from the fake-dating trope--while story elements interwoven with aspects of the characters' identities add nuance.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

RELATED 

OLDER FICTION

What Beauty There Is
by Anderson, Cory
OLDER FICTION

Between Perfect and Real
by Stoeve, Ray
OLDER FICTION

Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good
by Werlin, Nancy
OLDER FICTION

Home Is Not a Country
by Elhillo, Safia
OLDER FICTION

All Our Hidden Gifts
by O'Donoghue, Caroline
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?