Kirkus Spotlights a Fake-Dating High School Romance in ‘Faking for Now’

Kirkus Reviews has highlighted Faking for Now, a stand-alone young adult romance built around rivalry, soccer, and a fake relationship that turns inconveniently sincere. The book centers on high school seniors Summer Lindsey and Rowan Blakenship, whose separate pressures at rival schools push them into a plan that seems useful at first and far messier once feelings get involved.

A transfer, a rivalry, and a scholarship dream Summer’s life is upended when she is forced to transfer from Oakley High to rival Frost Lake High for 12th grade. She worries about being isolated at her new school, sitting on the bench instead of playing, and losing her shot at a college soccer scholarship. Rowan, a Frost Lake soccer player, is dealing with a different kind of stress: he wants his ex, Amanda, to notice him and hopes his parents will back off their intense college expectations.

The setup turns when it becomes clear that Amanda thinks Summer and Rowan are together, and the assumption bothers her. Summer and Rowan decide to use that misunderstanding to their advantage, fake-dating in an effort to make Amanda jealous. The arrangement also gives each of them something practical: Rowan can help Summer fit in socially, while his family’s connection to Frost Lake University could give her an admissions edge.

Romance with real-world stakes What makes the premise more than a standard romantic trick is the pressure sitting underneath it. Summer is not only trying to navigate a hostile-feeling school change; she is also trying to prove herself on the field and protect a future that depends on athletics. Rowan, meanwhile, is caught between adolescent longing and the expectations coming from home. Kirkus notes that the book gives both characters “other challenges” that should ring true for many readers.

According to the review, the story’s sports material is a strength. The soccer scenes are described as exciting, and the competition at the center of Summer’s life gives the romance something tangible to compete with. That matters in a genre where relationship tension can sometimes feel disconnected from everything else; here, the game, the school environment, and the college pipeline all affect what the characters can do and what they stand to lose.

The book also fits neatly into a familiar young adult tradition: the fake-dating romance. But instead of using the device only for comic misunderstandings, Faking for Now ties it to social belonging and institutional advantage. Summer’s need to find her place at Frost Lake and Rowan’s access to his parents’ university connections make the arrangement feel like more than a flirtation; it becomes a strategy for survival in a world of teens already thinking about admissions and status.

Kirkus identifies the pair as white, and the review frames them as a couple whose attraction grows out of a problem they each want solved. The longer the ruse continues, the less convincing the pretense becomes, suggesting the book leans into the emotional blur between performance and sincerity that is central to many fake-dating plots.

The review is more cautious about pacing. While it calls the romance thrilling, it also says the book could use more even pacing, implying that the emotional build may outstrip the structural balance of the story. Still, the overall assessment points to a novel with genuine stakes, energetic athletic scenes, and a relationship arc that gives both characters a path toward something more than what they first intended.

For readers of teen romance, Faking for Now arrives with the familiar pleasures of a high school fake-out but anchors them in sports ambition and college anxiety. That combination gives the book a clear place in the current YA landscape: a love story where the biggest question is not just who ends up with whom, but whether two pressured seniors can build a future without losing themselves along the way.