Pages: 341
Published: 25th May 2021
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Content warnings: Biphobia, microaggressions
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.
This book has a delightful premise and is full of very nice touches, but it is held back by a regrettably weak plot. There is teenage angst and indecision everywhere you look with two main characters who carry a lot of charm, giving you that connection you crave as a reader, yet its attempts to convey certain messages allow some obvious flaws to rise to the surface.
It must be emphasised that this novel is aimed primarily at the lower end of the young adult age group, which does provide some excuse for the lack of nuance, but there are still several parts of the story that you feel would have worked better if a little more thought had gone into it. Still, even with those niggles it is an entertaining and diverse read that offers an entertaining take on the fake dating trope.
On the face of it Hani and Ishu are complete opposites, which makes the concept more intriguing and fun. Hani is very polite, organised, and hates confrontation – which makes it hard for her to call out her friends when pay little regard to her feelings. Meanwhile, Ishu is incredibly studious but also abrasive and not very sociable. Their family circumstances are different too, with Hani having an open, understanding relationship with her mother, and Ishu under pressure to impress her parents.
This dynamic plays a major part in the narrative, with Ishu having the added complication of her sister Nik, who has taken a radical step in her life and has moved on from their old sibling rivalry. It feels like this environment makes Ishu extremely guarded whereas Hani is much warmer and more embracing, yet her constant willingness to compromise means she is not always kind to herself.
Of the two, Hani is much the more likeable. Her kindness and thoughtfulness radiates from the page, and your heart breaks that she cannot be totally herself when she is with her supposed friends. Ishu is more of an acquired taste, mainly because she is so clear in her convictions and does not mince her words, but you can certainly empathise with her too. In truth, readers will find lots to relate to with both characters.
It is plainly obvious from the moment Hani and Ishu decide to fake date that they will soon develop feelings for each other, but to see it happen is adorable to read nonetheless. The angst is palpable as both believe their growing bond is unrequited, and it takes them both a rather long time to realise the truth. This can often be frustrating, but for some reason here it is just endearing.
For all the sweetness that comes with the fake dating trope, too many elements of the plot fail to hold up. Some threads are resolved in an overly simplistic way or just feel slightly far-fetched. The one that really stood out is when Nik proves to the principal at Ishu’s school that she had not been cheating in an exam. It was hard not to cringe while reading that scene.
Another issue is that although the central messages and themes of this book take precedence, acting as a form of education to those slightly younger readers, it does lead to some rather two-dimensional characterisation. The main culprits in this regard are Aisling and Diedre, who are not properly fleshed out and only seem to exist as a plot device.
These issues meant that it does not match the excellence of Adiba Jaigirdar’s debut novel The Henna Wars, but the writing is still full of wittiness and the cultural references are a real treat. It is thoroughly engaging and will make you laugh often, with particular highlights including Hani’s list of rules for their relationship and the Instagram reaction to her first ‘date’ with Ishu.
Overall, it is a story which entertains for most of the way and puts forward all the right messages, but some of these lack subtlety and the plot is flimsy in parts. The characters and the writing are what prevent it from being a total disappointment, so it goes down as a missed opportunity and leaves fairly mixed emotions.
I quite enjoyed this book, but I expected to like it more. The characters and the writing were great. I just was not sold by several parts of the plot.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Stephen Writes 