Even before To All The Boys I Loved Before, I’m a sucker for a fake dating story – add in two young, queer brown women and I was hooked from the outset! Hani’s popular and happy, but her two best (white Irish) friends don’t really understand any part of her – not her obligations to the local Bengali community, her Muslim faith, and, most recently, her bisexuality, telling her she can’t be bi if they’ve never seen her with a girl. Ishu, the only other Bengali student at the school, is closeted, doesn’t have many friends, and worries people find her unapproachable. Even though they barely know each other, they hatch a fake relationship plot to convince people around them that they’re really bi and possibly likable, respectively – but find out that being with somebody who makes an effort to understand you is pretty wonderful! I adored this book: its Irish charm, its Bengali cultural specificity without falling into a single character type, its tackling of toxic friendship and racial gaslighting, and a satisfying ending on several different fronts make this an easy rec for lovers of fluffy YA!
Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar, (List Price: $11.99, Page Street YA, 9781645677543, May 2023)
Reviewed by Akil Guruparan, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia