My new favorite from Palestinian Canadian author, Jackie Khalilieh!! This YA romcom features a mixed race Arab teen girl, Jamie who finds herself single after getting unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Ben. She then somehow stumbles into a fake dating relationship with Ben's younger neighbor, Axel who helps her let loose and explore Toronto in a way Jamie's anxiety hasn't let her before. There was a lot of family drama, identity issues and teen angst but also great disability and mental health rep (Jamie has a diagnosed anxiety disorder and IBS and she also sees a therapist). I loved it and highly recommend for fans of authors like Lynn Painter, Jane Igharo and Farah Heron. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

really this is more of a three star read for me but i'm adding an extra star for:
- the fact that this is advertised as YA and is actually YA
- the diversity and representation, it was so refreshing
- and the author's note (or even her little review here on goodreads bc help why was i going to cry)

genuinely if you have a sister or brother or cousin or friend or anyone that's a younger teenager, please hand this book to them when it comes out. the way that it tackles heavier topics (anxiety, absent parent, etc.) while simultaneously remaining a fun little romance book is just done so well. the balance between topics and moods was masterful.

i'm a few years older than the target audience, admittedly, so maybe this complaint is just because of that - but i did find some of the characters (specifically some side characters) to be written in such an obnoxious (?) way. i generally liked both of our main characters, but the others were kind of up and down the entire time for me.

alsooo!!! the author is palestinian and our mmc is arab!!! yay for diversity!!! free palestine!!!

thank you to netgalley & tundra book group for the arc! all opinions are my own <3

I want to start off by saying that though this was a good book, it wasn't a romcom. It was a book about self-discovery. It had a very romcommy cover and title, so I felt a little misled. But aside from that, there were many things I admired about You Started It.

First is the honesty. Jamie, the MC, has a lot going on: an absent father, anxiety, and anxiety-induced IBS. In the acknowledgements, Jackie wrote about how she'd worried that including IBS in the book would be going too far. But I think that if it's real -- if it helps readers feel recognized -- then it's never going too far. Maybe some people find it uncomfortable, but that's their problem. I was glad to find such raw honesty (even if it was a fictional story) in Jamie's thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Second is the growth. Jamie does a LOT of growing over the course of the story ... maybe the reason I liked her arc so much was because of how I resonated with it. I went on a similar journey of self discovery not too long ago, and reading about Jamie experiencing the same thing, and the people who helped her, was empowering because it showed me that I'm not the only one.

In that note, the third thing I admired was Axel and Jamie's romance. They fit together so perfectly. They were exactly what the other needed. And while their relationship wasn't all cupcakes and roses, it was still heartwarming watching them come together -- and stronger.

At some points, the dialogue *did* feel a little scripted. And there was a *little* too much angst for my liking. But when it comes to the core of the story, I'm a fan!

I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

i loved this book it was so olivia rodrigo coded. the fake dating trope is one of my favorites and i love that the mmc is a dancer because i usually don't read about them often. thank you so much for the arc as i really enjoyed this

You Started It - Jackie Khalilieh
⭐️
I am very thankful to be selected as an ARC reader for this book. Unfortunately, this was not the book for me and I found it hard to be able to finish the book. After reading the description, I thought that this would be an enjoyable and quick read, however I did find myself not staying engrossed in the book.

This book was super cute with a surprising amount of depth and great character development for a YA novel.

Jamie is a wonderfully flawed character who I felt reflected a lot of the ups and downs of trying to navigate love and relationships as a teenager. I will admit, her attitude and behavior in the first chapter gave me pause about continuing the book, but I am glad I continued, because her bold introduction gave way to lots of character development. Her evolution and self-development journey, like in life, were not entirely linear, but she persisted and her journey was better for it.

Axel is simply a wonderful human being, secure in who he is and unapologetic for it and uncaring about the possibility of failing because it means he tried and learned something. He is the perfect blend of supportive and attentive to what Jamie needs but knows her well enough to challenge her to go beyond her comfort zone without pushing her too far. It seems that, in everything they did, he found ways to help Jamie find herself, allowing her to finally feel like she deserved to take up space.

One of my favorite things about this book is that while the story surrounds Jamie and Axel’s relationship, each character, even the secondary family members and friend, seemed to have some level of character development and most relationships evolved in one way or another❤️

The novel is definitely written for a YA audience, but is written well and with compelling characters that can hold your attention and remind you of your teenage years, even if they are behind you.
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📚YA romance
🚲 Fake dating
📚 MMC 16/MFC 17
🚲 Kill-it *bucket* list
📚Anxiety disorder & panic attacks
🚲 Absent parent
📚 Book dragon
🚲 TikTok dancer
📚 Closed door
🚲 Single POV
📍Toronto area, Canada
—
In general, I would give this 3-3.5⭐️ but for the YA genre I would give this 4⭐️
—
Thank you Tundra Book Group & NetGalley for this complimentary ARC - all thoughts are my own! 📚
Publishers release date 5/20/2025

This book was very enjoyable however I think I am a few years above the demographic. The book follows the relationship of 17 year old Jamie taher-Foster. The story is honestly very realistic and relatable to me as a 19 year old. There is some miscommunication and it shows that not every love story is perfect. My favorite aspect though was the portrayal of Anxiety Disorder, it was very accurate on how anxiety can present itself which I loved.
The one thing that was a bother to be was the use of slang. A lot of the time it didn’t make sense but it was really just at the start of the book. I believe this book would be good for 13-15 year olds. There is a little talk about sexual activity but it is not acted on.


Thank you net galley for letting me read this Arc.

This was so good! Jamie and Axel were so cute, and I just really had a great time reading this. I loved that they were both Arab and Axel helped Jamie connect with her heritage a bit more.

i'm an full grown adult but i will always love the bubbly feeling of first love in a ya book. i adored To All the Boys I Loved Before and i kept getting the same happy kicking my feet feelings i got from that series, So i'd say this is a perfect book for fans of Jenny Han.

Fake dating is always a top trope for me, so when it started in this book i was PUMPED. I also just love the slow burn of realizing they actually like each other.

I really enjoyed the representation in the book, i have been trying to diversify my reading the past few years so really making sure to read books about or written by people of color and lgbtqia+ communities. So Axel was a welcome change to the generic love interest in so many other books. He felt fully realized and well rounded, and while some of the moments of internalized racism were emotionally hard to go through i felt it was important to experience with the character.


I'd never read anything by this author before so i can't want to read more!!

Alright, let’s talk about Jamie Taher-Foster, the girl who has her life planned out down to the very last "Winter Formal fairytale moment." But then, BAM—her boyfriend of three years, Ben, goes full plot twist and dumps her out of nowhere. And the kicker? She finds him cozying up to Olivia Chen the very next day. Like, excuse me? Jamie's not about to let this slide, and thus begins her epic (and slightly unhinged) plan to get him back, which includes fake dating TikTok-famous Axel Dahini. Yes, that Axel Dahini—the guy whose bike she accidentally destroyed.

Now, if you’re thinking “fake dating trope? Sign me up!”—same. But this book isn’t just your usual rom-com chaos (though there’s plenty of that). Jamie is a whirlwind of anxiety, lists, and messy Type A energy, while Axel is this calm, laid-back, TikTok-dancing sweetheart who couldn’t be more opposite. And somehow, their oddball dynamic just works.

The fake dating starts as a “means to an end” kind of thing, but it quickly evolves into something deeper. Through their forced hangouts, Jamie starts to learn that life isn’t always about ticking things off a checklist or chasing perfection. Axel? He’s not just comic relief or a "plot device" to make Ben jealous—he's got layers. Their cultural connection as Arab teens adds another dimension to their relationship, grounding the story in shared heritage and giving it a depth that’s refreshing in a rom-com.

What I loved most is how Jamie’s anxiety is portrayed. It’s raw and real, but not her entire identity. Khalilieh balances the heavy stuff with laugh-out-loud moments (Axel’s TikTok antics are gold), making it a story that feels both relatable and fun.

And the ending? It’s not your predictable “let’s wrap it all up in a perfect bow” vibe. It’s realistic, heartfelt, and leaves you rooting for Jamie to keep growing—whether or not it involves a boy.

You Started It is an absolute must-read if you’re into chaotic love stories, characters who feel like your messy best friends, and just the right mix of swoon and self-discovery. Plus, Axel Dahini might just be my new favorite book boyfriend. Sorry, Ben—you had your chance.

This was one of the cuter YA books I have read in a while. I loved the chemistry between Axel and Jamie. The complexity between the dynamic of her feeling unlovable and Axel's ability to shows love adds a level of character building that helps to keep the story flowing. I prefer characters when someone feels at their worst they can still be worthy to someone else. The fake dating trope definitely gives the characters more to work with. The one thing I loved about this book was the fact that they told each other they had crushes pretty early on! As much as I love a good pining over someone else, I appreciated how the characters just let each other know how they felt and had room to grow their relationship. It felt so much more relateable since I would be the type to say it straight out when I like something.

This book follows Jamie Taher-Foster who has big plans for her last year of high school. She has a bucket list of places in Toronto for her and her boyfriend to check off. But then, Ben puts a wrench in the plan by coming back from a summer camp and breaking up with Jamie. When she sees Ben with another girl the next day, Jamie is determined to get him back. Which might even mean fake-dating the younger, cocky TikTok dancer Axel Dahini. When she accidentally runs over Axel's bike, she feels obligated to pay him back and give him rides to school in the meantime, but they quickly use this as a cover for a fake-dating scheme. Though the two have very little in common, their forced proximity leads them to understand each other better.

"Be scared. Be uncomfortable. It means you're challenging yourself. You can't put fear on a checklist, Jamie. You can't write it down and cross it off. You have to live through it. You have to experience it. You have to take that risk."

This is very much a coming-of-age story that is compared to Better Than the Movies and the Sour album from Olivia Rodrigo. I really enjoyed the fake-dating aspect, and I feel like it was really well done. I saw myself in Jamie, specifically with the anxiety representation, so there was a lot of the book that really cut deep. I think this book would be perfect for teens because of the Gen Z references. I didn't feel so unconnected from all of it, but I do think I'm not the target audience.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This book had so many unique attributes. I really liked how the book was set in Toronto, CA. I have been there many times before and it's just so cool when a book was set somewhere that you know. It just makes it all the more special! (lol) The characters had depth and this is definitely one of my favorite YA books right now!

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me a digital copy to review!

When I was younger, I couldn’t get enough of books about love and finding myself—they were like candy, something I craved without question. But no matter how many stories I inhaled, I never saw someone like me in them. As someone half-Palestinian, growing up near Toronto and now married to a fully Lebanese husband, I was always searching for a reflection of my world in those pages, but it never appeared. Until now.

Reading this book felt like reconnecting with a younger version of myself, like offering her a story she always needed but never had. I smiled constantly as I read, not just because the characters felt so familiar, but because Jackie masterfully shattered the tired stereotypes about Arabs—especially Arab men—in a way that was refreshing and overdue. Even as an adult, I couldn’t put it down, and by the last page, I felt something unexpected: healed.

I adored her first book, loved this one even more, and I’m already eager for whatever she writes next. The characters are beautifully flawed, their struggles real and nuanced. If you’re looking for a story that blends heart, humor, and a breaking of old narratives, this is the book you didn’t know you needed.

In this YA novel we have our main character Jamie who gets dumped by her boyfriend and decides to try and win him back by fake dating his next door neighbor and new kid in school Axel.

I love a good fake dating but I never understood why she wanted to get back with her ex when he literally cheated on her. Jamie a lot of the time in this book drove me crazy, I get the teen angst and the anxiety but at times she was just mean especially to her mom. I also never understood why she wanted to win back Ben for so long, like girl the boy cheated on you. He’s not worth it
Axel, I love love love him. I like that he was just down with the plan to fake date and he tried so hard to get her to realize that she could do better and I loved that he helped Jamie discover who she was and wanted to be and helped her with her heritage.

The ex boyfriend I couldn’t care less for there were so many times that I just wanted to smack him in the back of the head and tell him to leave everyone alone.

There were a couple of times when I thought the book was a little bit cringe but that’s just me being older than the target audience.

I want to thank Tundra Book Group and NetGalley for the Arc and the opportunity to read this early.

5 stars//
After wading through the struggles of her parents' divorce and moving with her mom into her uncle's house, Jamie is ready to tackle her senior year of high school with her longtime boyfriend, Ben, at her side. Plans change as Ben, upon coming back from his summer counseling job, decides to break up with Jamie. The next day, she goes to his house to try and talk him into getting back together and sees him kissing their classmate Olivia. In a fit of embarrassment and anger, she drives off only to run over Betty White (the bicycle, not the person). Axel comes out and before he has a chance to shake her down for money for repairs, she recruits him to be her fake boyfriend to make Ben jealous enough to want her back. The lines between fake and real get blurry for Jamie and Axel and she has to try and see whether she still wants her original goal of getting her best friend and ex Ben back or to explore a real relationship with TikTok dancing star Axel.

This book blew me away! I read Something More back in 2023 and knew that Khalilieh would be an instant buy author from then on for me. The humor in this book and the showcasing of the truths of being an anxious teenager going through constant changes just really spoke to me. Seeing Jamie as she is at the beginning of the book and the realistic arc she has to become the girl she is at the end is incredible. I also really appreciated that Khalilieh didn't fully villanize and write off Ben and Olivia as side characters- they had more depth to them than just "girl who stole my man" and "guy who dumped me and immediately got with someone else after" which I feel like is rare, especially in both romance and YA. I am truly excited to see what her third book Everything Comes Back to You is going to be about.

this is a YA book about Axel and Jamie.

This was honestly such a cute book that also touched on serious matters. It’s an opposite-attracts, breaking free they both help each other romance.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, the only thing i didn’t like was the third-act but i can see why it happened i’m just not a fam of them! I would recommend it to anywho who wants a lighthearted book that has diversity!

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes so I knew I had to read this when I read the synopsis. It definitely didn’t disappoint either. This was such a fun cute read! I loved the writing and the characters so much! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

With a female protagonist fake-dating but torn between who she loves, and an overall lighthearted, crazy, and fun feel, You Started It made it feel like Ali Hazelwood had written To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before–except better. With YA tropes like fake dating, opposites attract, and the boy next door, it's that book that makes you curl up and grin as you soak it all in. Jackie Khalilieh took what we all loved and didn’t recycle it, but made something refreshing and new.

The language and especially sexual innuendo are mainly why it’s 4/5 stars for me, but I also had a problem with the main female character, Jamie. She often had a justifiable reason to get frustrated but could have focused on kindness and humility instead of letting off steam and getting snarky every moment. However, I loved Axel, the ultimate definition of a golden retriever! (Seriously, it should be a law that you should be able to look up "golden retriever person definition" and find his picture underneath.) His behavior and actions carried the spirit of story and filled it with bliss, silliness, and warmth. Man, I think I'm starting to have a crush on him!

Just what I needed, and definitely not Khalilieh’s last book I’ll read. I hope You Started It makes it to the Goodreads Choice Awards! Thank you so much, NetGalley, for the eARC copy!

This is my first read of Jackie Khalileh's books, and I wasn't disappointed, plus the cover art is so cute!!

4☆

Jamie’s senior year takes a wild turn when her long-term boyfriend, Ben, dumps her, and she ropes Axel, the carefree new guy in town, into a fake-dating scheme. Along the way, she learns life doesn’t have to go exactly according to plan.

This book nailed the anxiety representation—Jamie’s stress, and big emotions felt so real. Axel is confident and genuinely caring, making him such a fun love interest. Watching them grow and learn about themselves together was really nice.

Even the third-act breakup (well, mid-way), which can sometimes feel forced, was done really well. It actually helped the characters grow instead of just added to create drama and predictable discourse.

The lost star is because I am too old for a lot of the references, the book is written for a younger audience - totally a me problem, but I did struggle to relate at times, and I did find myself pushing through to get to more relatable moments.

Between the humor, heart, and great representation, I would definitely recommend to younger audiences 16 and up.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada and Jackie Khalilieh for eARC, in exchange for my honest review!