Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan is an adorable YA (Young Adult) book that will have you kicking your feet and giggling as you turn each page. I was overcome with emotion by the romantic relationship between the two main characters Karina Ahmed and Ace Clyde. If you want a sweet, pure romance book that is light and innocent, Counting Down with You is a great selection.
This book illustrates overshadowing parents and the undeniable pressure they put on their children to live up to their expectations. I believe the author, Bhuiyan, spoke to the hearts of all those who have immigrant or minority parents when creating her character, Karina Ahmed. Often the stage is set for children of immigrant or minority parents from the time they are born because their future is already decided for them. In Counting Down with You we see Karina come to this same fork in the road, where she is expected to become a doctor, but her heart yearns to go into literature. I felt sympathetic for this fictional character because though she may not be real, the problems she faces are very real. Throughout the book, I found myself becoming Karina's #1supporter. This is mainly because I also want to pursue journalism and though it is sometimes an overlooked field, my parents continue to support my aspirations. When I saw that Karina did not have that same support, I immediately wanted to fill that void.
This book is also home to many of my favorite tropes such as fake dating, good girl/bad boy and forced proximity. I will never get tired of the fake dating trope and the way Bhuiyan wrote it into the plot made me love it even more. The main character Karina has found herself entangled in a fake relationship with her high school’s resident bad boy. I thought the dynamic between Karina and Ace was adorable and it even had me wishing for my own fake high school relationship. Even though Ace Cylde puts up a front pretending to be tough as nails, I found it heartwarming when he softened around Karina and put effort into their relationship despite its fakeness. In comparison, Karina’s friendly and bubbly attitude was a contrast to Ace’s, but made for fun and exciting moments between the two. In addition, Karina promised to help tutor Ace and also indulged the reader in a semi-forced proximity trope as Karina was charged with the task of helping Ace academically. This made for a more interesting plot because though we know Karina tries to keep her distance it is impossible which leads to a mounting feelings.
Counting Down with You is a great book if you are looking for cultural diversity mixed with cute coming of age romance. This book had me cheesing in my room and I am sure you will do the same if you read it too!