Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating Review

Author: Adiba Jaigirdar

Publication Date: 25 May 2021

Publisher: Page Street Kids 

Reading Method: Physical ARC [ Thank you to the publisher ] 

Page Count: 352

Dates Read: May 19 – 22

Synopsis: 

Everyone likes Humaira “Hani” Khan―she’s easy going and one of the most popular girls at school. But when she comes out to her friends as bisexual, they invalidate her identity, saying she can’t be bi if she’s only dated guys. Panicked, Hani blurts out that she’s in a relationship…with a girl her friends absolutely hate―Ishita “Ishu” Dey. Ishu is the complete opposite of Hani. She’s an academic overachiever who hopes that becoming head girl will set her on the right track for college. But Ishita agrees to help Hani, if Hani will help her become more popular so that she stands a chance of being elected head girl. 

Despite their mutually beneficial pact, they start developing real feelings for each other. But relationships are complicated, and some people will do anything to stop two Bengali girls from achieving happily ever after.

Review: 

You know what I love? The fake dating trope.  I will literally pick up any book that has even a hint of a fake dating element.  So when Page Street sent me a copy of Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating I was over the moon excited! 

Plot: 

Hani needs help proving she’s not going through a phase while Ishu needs Hani’s popularity to become head girl.  There is a lot happening in this book and I enjoyed every second of it.  Not only do we have the main faking dating storyline, we also see some discontent in Ishu’s family dynamic, a political election, mean girls plotting to ruin relationships, and sisterly love.  I really really enjoyed getting to watch Ishu’s relationship with her sister change and grow.  

Characters: 

Ishu is brilliant and a bit reserved.  But she’s so sure of herself and has an enviable attitude of not caring what others think and staying true to yourself.  Hani is a people pleaser.  She’s a loyal friend and always tries to make others happy, often sacrificing her own happiness to do so.  These two together?  Perfection.  They both bring out a little something special in the other.  

The side characters in this story are just as great as Hani and Ishu.  Hani’s best friends since she was a kid are giving her a hard time about coming out to them and doing their best to make life difficult for her.  As mean girls go, these girls are well written.  Little, subtle digs throughout the story, scheming, and a complete disregard for Hani’s culture – I wanted to shake them by the end of it.  We also get to see a relationship grow between Ishu and her sister, which may have been my favorite part of the whole book.  

Overall: 

All in all, I really liked Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating.  It’s got everything you could possibly want from a YA fake-dating story.  There’s fun, self-discovery, ever-changing relationships… it was a fantastic read and I would highly recommend checking it out!