What an adorable and fresh new book to add to the South Asian LGBTQ+ YA romance category. Okay, it's not a large category, but Adiba Jaigirdar weaves all of the elements of the different themes in those categories into HANI AND ISHU'S GUIDE TO FAKE DATING beautifully. The framing of the erasure of Hani's sexuality as the trigger point for the fake relationship is so real and raw for anyone who has had that experience, and the casual racism and microaggressions throughout the book feel so real. It very much captures the element of "other" that many LGBTQ+ and South Asian teenagers go through while they're in high school and trying to figure out their place. I love this more than Henna Wars....and that's saying something, considering the Henna Wars was on my list of top books of 2020!