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Seventeen-year-old Jamie Taher-Foster has big plans for senior year. She's made a list of things and places in Toronto she and her boyfriend of three years, Ben Cameron, need to check off before graduating. And the biggest plan of all: a very special night for the two of them at the upcoming Winter Formal. But then Ben arrives back home after a summer away with an unthinkable announcement: he wants to break up.
And when Jamie discovers him with Olivia Chen the next day, she is determined to get him back. Even if that means fake dating the younger, curly-haired, TikTok dancer Axel Dahini, whose bicycle she accidentally ran over.
Though she and Axel have nothing in common aside from their shared Arab heritage — she's a messy, type A with anxiety; he's carefree but meticulous — their forced time together brings them to better understand one another. And for Jamie, it just might mean learning that not all experiences or people need to be crossed off a list.
"You Started It is honest, wise, and wholeheartedly romantic, starring a cast of endearingly flawed characters who feel like real friends. A total delight." —Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda
“A true joy to read. Earnest and effortlessly charming, You Started It embodies everything I adore about YA rom-coms. Jackie Khalilieh has such a talent for writing nuanced characters you can’t help but laugh with, cry with, and root for.” —Ann Liang, New York Times bestselling author of I Hope This Doesn’t Find You
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
May 20, 2025 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781774884768
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781774884768
- File size: 1269 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from May 1, 2025
Gr 9 Up-Khalilieh's sophomore YA rom-com is a heartfelt, delightful story about Jamie Taher-Foster, a biracial Palestinian Canadian high school senior navigating a recent breakup with her boyfriend Ben Cameron. She's started having feelings for Axel Dahini, the younger Lebanese boy she's been fake dating after running over his bicycle. Readers will have no trouble relating to Jamie's likable accident-prone, list-making nature and the way she isn't afraid to rely on coping strategies, such as therapy and medication, to manage her anxiety disorder and IBS. Khalilieh creates an excellent balance between the complicated family relationships Jamie has with her mother and absentee father and some lighter comic moments of going on dates with Axel around their hometown of Toronto. With his golden retriever energy and loving Arab family, Axel shows Jamie how to try new things and embrace her identity in ways she never has before. VERDICT Highly recommended for libraries diversifying their YA romance collections with more stories that focus on managing identity, disability, and mental health anxieties in positive ways. A sure delight for fans of authors like Tashie Bhuiyan and Farah Heron.-Shannon O'Connor
Copyright 2025 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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May 1, 2025
A painful breakup and revenge plot lead to unexpected love. Boy dumps girl. Girl strikes a bargain with boy's new neighbor (after she totals his bike). They'll fake date, making her ex-boyfriend jealous. The new boy will tell his parents he's with "a nice Arab girl," while he's actually filming the TikTok dance videos they're not keen on. Seventeen-year-old Jamie Taher-Foster, a Canadian girl who's white and Palestinian, deals with anxiety disorder and a litany of problems that stem from her parents' divorce by making plans, setting goals, and keeping lists. She's also fond of rattling off homographs. Lebanese Canadian Alexander "Axel" Dahini is spontaneous and has an online following--very much not Jamie's usual type. As Jamie and Axel hang out, they find ways to help each other become more comfortable with just being themselves. The enjoyable romance novel beats--meet-cutes, tiffs, and misunderstandings--are accompanied by fun social media content. Khalilieh explores heavier topics, including mental health and racism, in a deft manner that avoids heavy-handedness. Packed with intense moments, emotional drama, and lots of loving (and fraught) family moments, the book ultimately celebrates kindness and love. There's also a celebration of Palestinian heritage and a welcome inversion of negative stereotypes, especially about Arab men, as exemplified by characters such as Axel and Jamie's caring and supportive uncle, Amo Eli, who's gay. A love of words meets a passion for dance in this charming romance. (content note, playlist)(Romance. 13-18)COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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