{"id":58015,"date":"2025-08-18T06:00:57","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T11:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/?p=58015"},"modified":"2025-07-28T12:20:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T17:20:07","slug":"fake-dating-young-adult-romances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/fake-dating-young-adult-romances\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake Dating Young Adult Romances"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the 1990s, I watched many movies with fake dating tropes geared to young adults. Think\u00a0She’s All That<\/em><\/a>,\u00a010 Things I Hate About You<\/em><\/a>, and Drive Me Crazy<\/em><\/a>. It should come as no surprise that as an adult, I still love the fake dating trope, especially in books. To satisfy my younger self, I have created a list of young adult romances with fake dating tropes. This is not a complete list, instead these are the ones that caught my eye first! As of this writing, all of these books are owned by the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions provided by the publishers.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Dungeons and Drama<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Kristy Boyce<\/p>\n

No one loves musicals more than Riley Morris\u2014her dream is to be a Broadway director. But when the spring show is canceled, Riley has to figure out a way to bring it back. Easier said than done\u2014she\u2019s stuck working at her dad\u2019s game store. The place that means more to him than his family does.<\/em><\/p>\n

Riley can\u2019t waste time at a dead-end job when her entire future is resting on making a name for herself. So she convinces her co-worker Nathan Wheeler\u2014the floppy-haired, glasses-wearing guy she barely knows from school\u2014to help her. In exchange, she\u2019ll help him make his gamer-girl crush jealous. Plus it won\u2019t hurt to show her egotistical ex, Paul, just what he\u2019s missing without her.<\/em><\/p>\n

Soon Riley and Nathan are \u201ca couple,\u201d and people seem to believe it. But selling the ruse means joining Nathan\u2019s role-playing game. To Riley\u2019s surprise, the game is almost fun. And even more surprising, flirting with Nathan doesn\u2019t require as much acting as she thought it would. . . .<\/em> – Delacorte Press<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Fake Dates and Mooncakes<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Sher Lee<\/p>\n

Dylan Tang wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition for teen chefs\u2014in memory of his mom, and to bring much-needed publicity to his aunt\u2019s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn.<\/em><\/p>\n

Enter Theo Somers: charming, wealthy, with a smile that makes Dylan\u2019s stomach do backflips. AKA a distraction. Their worlds are sun-and-moon apart, but Theo keeps showing up. He even convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons.<\/em><\/p>\n

In Theo\u2019s glittering world of pomp, privilege, and crazy rich drama, their romance is supposed to be just pretend . . . but Dylan finds himself falling for Theo. For real. Then Theo\u2019s relatives reveal their true colors\u2014but with the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can\u2019t risk being sidetracked by rich-people problems.<\/em><\/p>\n

Can Dylan save his family\u2019s business and follow his heart\u2014or will he fail to do both?<\/em> – Underlined<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Frankly in Love\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/em>by David Yoon<\/p>\n

Two friends. One fake dating scheme. What could possibly go wrong?<\/em><\/p>\n

Frank Li has two names. There\u2019s Frank Li, his American name. Then there\u2019s Sung-Min Li, his Korean name. No one uses his Korean name, not even his parents. Frank barely speaks any Korean. He was born and raised in Southern California.<\/em><\/p>\n

Even so, his parents still expect him to end up with a nice Korean girl\u2013which is a problem, since Frank is finally dating the girl of his dreams: Brit Means. Brit, who is funny and nerdy just like him. Brit, who makes him laugh like no one else. Brit . . . who is white.<\/em><\/p>\n

As Frank falls in love for the very first time, he\u2019s forced to confront the fact that while his parents sacrificed everything to raise him in the land of opportunity, their traditional expectations don\u2019t leave a lot of room for him to be a regular American teen. Desperate to be with Brit without his parents finding out, Frank turns to family friend Joy Song, who is in a similar bind. Together, they come up with a plan to help each other and keep their parents off their backs. Frank thinks he\u2019s found the solution to all his problems, but when life throws him a curveball, he\u2019s left wondering whether he ever really knew anything about love\u2014or himself\u2014at all.<\/em><\/p>\n

In this moving debut novel David Yoon takes on the question of who am I? with a result that is humorous, heartfelt, and ultimately unforgettable.<\/em> – G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Adiba Jaigirdar<\/p>\n

Everyone likes Hani Khan \u2013 she\u2019s easy going and one of the most popular girls at school. But when she comes out to her friends as bisexual, they don\u2019t believe her, claiming she can\u2019t be bi if she\u2019s only dated guys. Panicked, Hani blurts out that she\u2019s in a relationship\u2026 with a girl her friends can\u2019t stand \u2013 Ishu Dey.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ishu is the polar opposite of Hani. An academic overachiever, she hopes that becoming head girl will set her on the right track for university. Her only problem? Becoming head girl is a popularity contest and Ishu is hardly popular. Pretending to date Hani is the only way she\u2019ll stand a chance of being elected.<\/em><\/p>\n

Despite their mutually beneficial pact, they start developing real feelings for each other. But some people will do anything to stop two Bengali girls from achieving happily ever after.<\/em> – Hachette<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Hot Dog Girl<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Jennifer Dugan<\/p>\n

Elouise (Lou) Parker is determined to have the absolute best, most impossibly epic summer of her life. There are just a few things standing in her way:<\/em><\/p>\n