A review by helixirette
Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

“Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating” by Adiba Jaigirdar follows the story of Hani and Ishu, two Bengali high school seniors, as they navigate the prejudiced world of current-day Dublin. Hani and Ishu are the only Bengali kids at their school but aren’t friends due to their clashing personalities; Hani is outgoing and popular, while Ishu is studious and cold. Trouble happens when Hani’s friends try to set Hani up with yet another guy she finds gross since they don’t believe that she’s really bisexual. To defend her sexuality, Hani asks Ishu to pretend to be her girlfriend. Ishu agrees on the condition that Hani will help her with her campaign to become head girl. Together, they try to help each other out while overcoming all the other problems that come with high school in this dual-POV contemporary YA romance. 

First off, I loved this book so much more than I imagined I would going into it. Its story is far more grounded than the cover and synopsis lead you to believe, and I ended up relating so much to the problems both Hani and Ishu face during their last year of high school. I loved seeing Ishu’s relationship with her sister grow realistically and enjoyed the book’s depictions of family in general. The two different portrayals of Bengali parents with Ishu’s strict parents and Hani’s friendly parents disrupt the idea that all families from a certain culture have the same dynamic. Overall, this book handled its discussions of racism, biphobia, stereotypes, and religion very well. The outside world is more hostile than our current reality, but I think that change was done tastefully to convey the themes and message of the story better. 

Hani and Ishu’s relationship contains traces of Grumpy/Sunshine, but both characters are way more than tropes. They start off not really liking each other, but through spending time together, their relationship flourishes. They fall in love with each others’ quirks and explore each others’ hobbies together, and I found myself rooting for them the whole story because they both deserve people who truly care about them. 

While the plot may seem out of touch with reality at first glance, the story Jaigirdar tells is truly resonant. My only critique is that the ending left a lot of loose ends. I wanted more closure with Ishu’s family drama, Hani’s friendship breakup, and their romantic relationship. However, the open ending didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the book as a whole, and I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an insightful contemporary queer romance. 
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