Fake Skating

Gr 9 Up–Dani and Alec are childhood besties who only saw each other the summer Dani visited her grandparents in Minneapolis. The last time Dani saw Alec was in middle school, right before the falling out between her parents and Grandpa Mick. Her dad’s job in the Air Force caused her family to move all around the country and the world. Her parents never had the perfect marriage, but their divorce has Dani reeling, and suddenly they are moving away from their last station in Germany, all the way back to Minnesota to live with her grandpa. Alec has changed a lot since the last time Dani saw him. No longer is he the short, awkward nerd that she remembers. He is an over six-foot-tall hockey god, beloved by the masses. A huge misunderstanding soon puts them in a compromising position, only fixed by Dani pretending to be Alec’s new girlfriend. True to the title, this book follows the fake dating trope to a T. Told in alternating chapters from both Dani and Alec’s perspectives, the mystery of why Dani and Alec lost touch with each other is not revealed until the end of the book. This is a feel-good rom-com that accurately portrays the insecurity, complexity, and earnest sweetness of a high school relationship.