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Jaigirdar wins the YA Book Prize with ‘charming, relatable’ queer rom-com
Adiba Jaigirdar’s “charming, relatable, funny” queer rom-com, Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating (Hachette Children’s), was revealed as the winner of the £2,000 YA Book Prize 2022 at Edinburgh International Book Festival on 25th August. The announcement was made at a live ceremony at the festival, chaired by poet and novelist Dean Atta and featuring appearances from most of the authors on the 10-strong shortlist.
Published in May 2021, Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating is Bangladeshi-Irish author Jaigirdar’s second book. It focuses on two very different Bengali girls—popular Hani and academic overachiever Ishu—who begin a fake relationship to both help Hani convince her friends that she is bisexual and increase Ishu’s popularity and chances of becoming head girl. Before long, they start to develop real feelings for each other, but not everyone in their lives is rooting for them. Jaigirdar told The Bookseller that the story, which she wrote the first draft of in just 30 days, was inspired by “a lot of media I watched when I was younger, where queer relationships were often only portrayed with tragic endings; usually with one of the characters dying”.
"Bengali people have a long and important history in the United Kingdom but sadly we are very lacking in literature in general. I feel honoured that I got to write this story about two Bengalis, and even more honoured that their story is being recognised by the YA Book Prize and by audiences in the UK"
– Adiba Jaigirdar
She added: “I was very tired of consuming this kind of media and I think it does so much damage to young queer kids who begin to internalise that they are only capable of having tragic endings to their love stories. So I wanted to write this book, which utilises one of the most popular rom-com tropes, gives it to two queer Bengali girls, and lets them have their happily ever after.”
To date, the book has sold 13,204 copies through Nielsen BookScan. It is the fourth title published by Hachette Children’s Group that has scooped the YA Book Prize in the award’s eight-year history.
Jaigirdar said she was “honoured and excited” to be nominated for the award, expanding: “Bengali people have a long and important history in the United Kingdom but sadly we are very lacking in literature in general. I feel honoured that I got to write this story about two Bengalis, and even more honoured that their story is being recognised by the YA Book Prize and by audiences in the UK.”
Children’s writer, events programmer, bookseller and reviewer Sarah Webb, who was on this year’s judging panel, said: “Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating is an outstanding YA novel and a highly deserving winner of the YA Book Prize 2022.” She described it as a “charming, relatable, funny book about family, friendship and relationships” and added: “Jaigirdar’s characters are so real they jump off the page and her dialogue crackles with life and authenticity. I loved the contemporary Irish setting too!”
Rachel Fox, Edinburgh International Book Festival’s children and schools programme director, joined the panel for a second year. She commented of the winning title: “I loved reading Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating and I’m so delighted that more people will get to meet Hani and Ishu... I honestly missed them when I had finished! Thank you for writing such a wonderful winning book, Adiba.”
Fellow judge and award-winning author Elle McNicoll said: “There was an incredible shortlist to choose from this year, and every title offered something fresh and fantastic to the Young Adult reading experience. But for me, there was just so much assurance and competence in [Jaigirdar’s] voice... Most importantly, it was a cracking read.”
Content creator and judge Joel Rochester echoed this, stating: “Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating truly defines the potential of Young Adult literature within the UK and Ireland—not only does it deliver such a sweet narrative between two main characters, but it also makes subtle commentaries about racism and white victimhood, which were integrated into the story with nuance and finesse. Adiba Jaigirdar has solidified herself as a strong voice in YA, and I’m excited to see the other stories she puts out in the future.”
The judging panel was chaired by The Bookseller’s children’s editor and deputy features editor Caroline Carpenter, who said: “Every year, the YA Book Prize judges are given the near-impossible task of choosing a winner from the boldest and best YA fiction from the UK and Ireland, and the 2022 list was no different. I’m delighted that the judges chose to crown Adiba Jaigirdar’s delightful rom-com, which puts a fresh spin on the popular ‘fake dating’ YA trope by balancing skilled storytelling with a nuanced exploration of issues such as friendship and otherness, in a tale filled with humour and heart.”
Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating was up for the 2022 prize alongside: Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Usborne); The Yearbook by Holly Bourne (Usborne); Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen (Penguin); Afterlove by Tanya Byrne (Hachette Children’s Group); The Upper World by Femi Fadugba (Penguin); You’re the One That I Want by Simon James Green (Scholastic); The Crossing by Manjeet Mann (Penguin); House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland (Hot Key Books); and First Day of My Life by Lisa Williamson (David Fickling Books).
Second time lucky
Jaigirdar was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and has been living in Dublin since the age of 10. She has a BA in English and History and an MA in Postcolonial Studies. She is a contributor for Bookriot and an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher. Her debut, The Henna Wars, another queer young adult rom-com, was released in May 2020.
This year, Hachette Children’s announced it had signed three more of Jaigirdar’s queer YA romances. Her first historical novel A Million to One, pitched by the publisher as a “heart-pounding romantic adventure”, follows four friends who manage to sneak aboard the “Titanic” to pull off “the heist of their lives”; it will be published in January 2023. This will be followed in June 2023 by Dos and Donuts of Love, which sees a girl enter a baking show where she is competing against an ex-girlfriend as well as her new crush. The third title is slated for release in June 2024.
The YA Book Prize was launched by The Bookseller in 2014 to celebrate books for teenagers and young adults from the UK and Ireland. Last year’s award went to Alice Oseman’s Loveless (HarperCollins Children’s Books), about a teenager who realises she is aromantic and asexual, and past winners include Louise O’Neill, Patrice Lawrence and Juno Dawson. This year, Edinburgh International Book Festival came on board as a partner on the prize, with the festival hosting two panels showcasing the shortlisted authors as part of its Baillie Gifford Schools Programme, as well as the winner’s event.
