I really enjoyed the romance in this book, and can't say I don't ship Mina and Emmitt! I felt at points like certain relationships weren't as fleshed out as I would have hoped - there was a lot of "believe the narrator when she says xyz" without xyz being proven in the text.

3.5/5 stars

I absolutely loved this story! The entire time I was head over heels in love with these characters and everything they brought to the table. Tashie Bhuiyan does an incredible job shining the light on how depressive symptoms can manifest in young adults. It can be so easy to brush that irritation and social isolation as part of being "a teen" but it can be so much more than that. The MC was vulnerable and sought help when she was able to, and I think that was beautiful. Also don't get me started on the romance - it was so cute! I loved their interactions all the mini field trips they took all over New York to get the photos.

The epilogue with the time jump was executed flawlessly and I wish we could've gotten more - I never wanted the story to end!

First of all, I want to thank NetGalley and InkYard Press for providing me with an early digital version for review purposes.

The premise of this book really drew me in mostly because it was not something I had seen before done in a serious manner. I was worried that maybe that plot would not be developed in a way that could feel realistic but I was quickly proven wrong. Tashie Bhuiyan made the characters and the situation feel as real as possible and I was actually able to connect with them better.

In terms of the relationships between characters, I think that - besides the romance that flourishes between the two main characters - it was one of the things that was exceptional about this book. The reason I say this, is because they were imperfect. As simple as that may sound, it is often that a fight between friends occurs in a book especially if it is part of the third act conflict, but in this case, it was part of what gave the characters depth. Mina's issues with her best friend, Rosie, her parents, and her sister helped me feel closer to her than I would have felt had those problems not been explored. In my view, this book gives an honest perception on how not every relationship we create will be perfect, and that is okay, as long as both sides acknowledge responsibility and are able to act maturely and forgive in order to move on.

Before I move on to the main relationship, I want to say I actually appreciate how the relationship with the parents was portrayed at the end of the book. I was expecting this book to be like many others - this might be a slight spoiler - in that it would end up with the parents asking forgiveness of their daughter and making amends; It didn't. Even though in my opinion they were being hurtful and selfish towards both of their daughters, they only "conceded" in order to have no more fights and still refused to show support for Mina's goals. I like that it wasn't a perfect, happily ever after between them because I have rarely seen that in YA books and I think it should be represented more.

Now on to the main relationship, the only thing I have to say about Mina and Emmitt is that I absolutely loved them from the beginning! The banter was great, their connection slowly building up did not make it feel rushed, and the support they ended up being for each other made me so happy that both of them had found someone who listened and understood the other. I love books that also encourage us to pursue what we are passionate about, to not leave behind those hobbies that may give us the happiest of moments. If this sounds like something you gravitate towards as well, I recommend you give this story a chance.

A Show for Two is a sweet romance with endearing characters. Mina and Emmitt are likeable enough to keep a true romance fan turning the pages. But, for readers who want a story that hooks them quick and draws them in, this book is a pass. Even though the characters are well developed, the pacing of the story could be sped up and still qualify as a slow burn romance. Personally, I would not add this to our library collection because of the pacing. I don’t think many young readers would be patient enough to hang in until the end.

I am a tashie bhuiyan stan!!!! Another fabulous book that makes me feel literally every single emotion. I fell in love with the characters and seeing how tashie talks about mental health. dealing with my own depression recently, seeing a character so obviously struggling and talking about it in ways other than the surface level ways i see in a lot of books is very refreshing. This book is wonderful.

If I could pick one word to describe this book, it would be slow burn. The romance is a slow burn, the character development is a bit of slow burn, and the plot is a slow burn and I mean all of this in the best way possible. My only critique is that Emmitt and Mina were enemies but lacked valid reason for being enemies. Overall, it was an enjoyable book with an enjoyable premise and important topics.

This was definitely a read that started slow, but picked up as it went on. Some parts were cringey and the second hand embarrassment was a little too much. It was cute! It's definitely personal experience driven and I wish we got his perspective and that there was more tension. Thank you Netgalley!

I was provided with an eARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

This book was a bit of a rollercoaster, but a good one nonetheless. Mina was a super complex MC, full of anger and dreams and a desperate sort of hope. Her home life is really not good, and I appreciated that the author showed that not everyone has the perfect parents, and also that a bad parent-child relationship isn't always just a misconception colored through the eyes of an angsty teen - so often, it truly is not good. Luckily Mina has a great support system in her sister and best friend, and Emmitt. Oh Emmitt; he's a cinnamon roll of good looks and charm. He is a really good match for Mina, as he brings out the hope-filled side of her.

While this isn't the typical fluffy YA contemporary, it was still well worth the read and you will finish with a smile of contentment on your face.

When I head that Tashie Bhuiyan used Tom Holland's undercover stint at a high school as her inspiration for A Show for Two, I knew I needed to get my hands on this book immediately! A fun YA contemporary novel showcasing 2 diverse main characters who are enemies to lovers is my jam!

While Mina and Emmitt's romance was cute, I also appreciated that there was more depth than just their falling-in-love story. The relationship between Mina and her parents, overcoming that conflict and discovering what home met to her, Mina's relationship with her friends, and more! Bhuiyan did a good job of portraying the nuances and complexities of a teenager's life in an approachable and easy-to-digest way.

A Show for Two was lots of fun and I'm excited to read more of Tashie Bhuiyan's books! Thank you NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Tashie Bhuiyans writing is outstanding and this second book proves that! I will admit Karina and Ace are still at the top of my list but Mina and Emmitt put up a good fight for that spot. I loved their banter and how they warmed up to each other. I love how Mina had so much to work through and found a way to do, even if it wasn’t always the best way. I also appreciate all the movie and music references, they made complete since for this story. Also the Karina/Ace mention and all the little Easter eggs was great!

Tashie Bhuiyan is easily my newest favorite YA author. I adored her first book and after reading this one, I can say that her voice and the way she approaches hard topics, she should be on all the best-of lists!

The premise for this book is an indie film star, Emmitt, goes undercover to a high school to get a better understanding of what that's like for a film role. Mina, co-president of the film club, has a disaster-meet with him and after she realizes who he is, has to try to get him to help her with a film club project. From there, they have cute banter and getting to know each other while working on their projects together.

The author does difficult family relationships so well. Mina has an impossible relationship with her parents, and it just tore at my heart because it was so familiar to me. But also complicated by Mina's feeling of alienation from her culture because of her parents. It was nice to see an array of relationships - Mina's relationship with her sister has been great and Emmitt and his mom are a different kind of complicated. I think these dynamics is where the author shines as she's able to put so much emotion and nuance into all of these.

I thought the romance was done well, but really I was mostly interested in Mina and all of the relationships around her. There's also a great friendship explored in here, which is something I always like to see. Everything in this book felt realistic to me and I can't wait for more from Tashie Bhuiyan.

Last year I enjoyed Tashie Bhuiyan's debut, Counting Down with You, a YA contemporary about a Bangladeshi-American high school student’s struggle with anxiety, demanding and controlling parents, and falling in love with a white boy. I liked it enough to request an ARC of her second book, A Show for Two.

A Show for Two is also an #ownvoices (Bangladeshi-American) YA that focuses on a teenager’s difficulties with abusive parents and her need for a healthier and better environment, a mental illness (depression, in this case), and a romance. In this book, to get out from under her parents Mina Rahman must win the Golden Ivy film competition–her ticket to USC, where she wants to study filmmaking.

Winning the competition is difficult. Each year her school has entered they have lost despite having strong material. Mina and her best friend Rosie, a fellow filmmaking buff, feel that some of the other schools had an advantage that was almost impossible to overcome—a celebrity playing a role in their competition entry. Without being able to cast a well-known actor, their school doesn’t have much shot at the prize, and the prize means everything. Without a scholarship and admission to USC, Mina will be trapped.

This is a partial review. The entire review can be found at Dear Author, here:

https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/dnf-reviews/review-a-show-for-two-by-tashie-bhuiyan/

At a film club meeting, Grant, a student who has a crush on Mina, approaches her and Rosie, but Mina cuts him off before he can get much out. She is not interested in Grant and wishes that he wasn’t interested in her, and moreover, after having to deal with a conflict with her mom that morning, she is in a bad mood.

Later, on her way home from school, Mina is caught in the rain. She is hurrying to the subway station when she crashes into another teen. Her phone goes flying and his falls into a puddle. The boy gets mad, accusing her of angling for a picture, and tells her that she could stand to be a little less desperate. Understandably, Mina is furious, and she’s equally rude and sarcastic. She remains defensive even when he begins to catch on to her vulnerability and, when it seems he won’t move out of her way, shoves her shoulder into his to push past him (this last I had a much bigger problem with).

From there Mina goes to a nearby deli—her father asked her to pick up a few things on the way home. The stranger comes in to buy a map, and when he takes a picture, she thinks he’s following her and accuses him of taking her picture. He is not, but even after realizing it Mina thinks “I promptly decide that I am not dealing with this today. I’ve hit my threshold of bullshit.” The boy tries to buy her a new umbrella in a presumptuous way, and she tells him to piss off. Another girl tries to approach him and he cuts her off. After one more argument with the boy, Mina tells him to get fucked.

But there are some real reasons for the boy’s behavior, as Mina realizes later, when she finally recognizes him. He is an up-and-coming movie star, Emmitt Ramos, who mistook her for a rabid fan. He thought she’d recognized him and had crashed into him on purpose, and the other girl had actually recognized him, heightening his need to get away.

The next day Emmitt appears in Mina’s school, and she realizes he must be there undercover, preparing for a role. Emmitt isn’t American (he has a British accent) and before he takes on the role of a teenaged superhero in a movie that’s expected to be a blockbuster, he has to learn what American high schools are like.

Emmitt is sitting in the back of her Italian class and Mina clues Rosie in to his identity. When he spots Mina he gives her a condescending look and Mina, insulted, asks the teacher if the new student could introduce himself in Italian. Emmitt doesn’t know any Italian, and he has to leave immediately.

(Grant goes with him, clarifying that Grant’s father, a producer, is involved in Emmitt’s presence in the area and that at the film club meeting, if she had let Grant finish, Mina would have realized that was trying to tell her that this could be an opportunity to recruit Emmitt for the school’s film.)

Rosie asks Mina to apologize to Emmitt and ask him to help them out by acting in their movie, so Mina does, through gritted teeth. Emmitt easily sees through that, and he tells her he’s not interested.

Later, though, having possibly overheard a conversation where Mina offered sincere advice to another girl with controlling parents, Emmitt approaches Mina with a suggestion. He reveals that he is a photographer and offers to help her out if she will show him around New York and take him to the places where he might get the best photographs.

So. I didn’t like this book nearly as much as I did Counting Down with You, and I didn’t get past the 25% mark. At the top of my list of reasons is Mina’s behavior. I had the feeling that Mina’s rudeness (and given that this includes deliberate physical contact, there’s a good case to be made that it goes beyond rudeness) to Emmitt was supposed to set up the chemistry between them, but for the most part it just made me dislike her. Sure, Emmitt was rude too, but at least he tried, in however arrogant a way, to make amends.

Also, even after learning that the reasons for his behavior weren’t as unsound as she had thought, Mina decided to get some revenge. Yes, Emmitt cast her a very condescending look in Italian class. But it was only a look, and Mina nearly exposed him in retaliation. He was undercover for reasons having to do with his job in an important role, and she already knew that he was leery of fans and wouldn’t want that kind of attention. It felt like a power play, like Mina showing him that she held something over his head, and that didn’t endear her to me.

This is a partial review. The entire review can be found at Dear Author, here:

https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/dnf-reviews/review-a-show-for-two-by-tashie-bhuiyan/

This was so good! I really enjoyed reading this fluffy, fun novel. I especially loved that it was based on a real experience with Tom Holland.

Rating 4.5/5
Plot 4.5/5
Spice 2/5
Character Development 5/5

[I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book]

A Show for Two by Tashie Bhuiyan is a YA contemporary novel between Mina Rahman and Emmitt Ramos. Mina has a plan to win the student film festival at her high school, be accepted into her dream program, and leave New York City to start her life. When Mina finds out that Emmitt (indie film star) is attending her high school undercover in order to gather research for his next role, Mina reaches out to Emmitt, hoping he’ll help her with her film. Emmitt agrees to be in Mina's film in exchange for Mina giving him a tour of the city to help with a photography contest he's entering.

Although Mina feels that she’s ready to leave New York for good, the more time Emmitt and Mina spend together exploring, the more Mina realizes that the city she grew up in has become more of a home to her than it has ever been. This leads Mina to question her original plan.

This novel is inspired by Tom Holland who went undercover as a student at the author's high school (I freaking love this little reference/inspo)! I love the diversity in this book with POC characters (Mina is Bangladeshi and Emmitt is half-Chinese), discussions of mental health, and complex family dynamics. The plot is realistic and I felt that I could relate a lot to the characters.

If you enjoy StarStruck (TV Movie 2010), Tom Holland, and Taylor Swift, you’ll love this book!

I was a big fan of Bhuiyan's debut, Counting Down with You, when it came out last year. When I heard her sophomore release was loosely based on the her actual experience when Tom Holland went undercover as a student at her high school, I was sold.

Film meant everything to Mina, it was her ticket out of NYC and away from her verbally abusive parents. She just needs to finally win the student film competition. When undercover indie actor Emmitt Ramos walked into her class, it looked like smooth sailing to USC film school. Except that he'll only help her if he gets something in return.

While this was a romance, it was much more centered on Mina and her growth. She thinks that her only way to make it in film was to be in LA—getting away from her toxic parents was a plus, too. Her parents were truly awful—isolating and verbally sparring with both daughters through guilt as immigrant parents. The relationship with her parents was so strained that it damaged her connection to her Bangladeshi culture and Muslim religion. Mina's need to get away causes a rift between her and her sister, who believes Mina wants to abandon her with their unrelenting parents.

As Mina and Emmitt grew from adversaries to something more, she showed him around the five boroughs and helped him complete a photography contest. Through their exploration, not only did Mina fall in love with Emmitt, but she also fell back in love with her hometown of NYC. She was not going to let her parents' behavior push her away from her home.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was so good! I loved the entire premise of a celebrity starting at your school. The author's note about her experience was fun to know. Lots of great things happening in this YA. This is the second book I've read by the author where the character has a difficult relationship with her parents. That was tough to read but the balance of everything else - the romance, dreaming of the future, balanced out the book. Loved it.

tldr; “A Show for Two” by Tashie Bhuiyan explores the relationship of Mina, a budding high school filmmaker, and Emmitt, a rising actor, in a sweet but heavy high school romance.

All Mina Rahman wants to do is win the Golden Ivy Film Festival, graduate high school, and escape New York to attend college at USC. In order to win the film festival, Mina needs a cameo from a celebrity in her short film. Conveniently, Emmitt Ramos, a rising actor, joins the senior class undercover to prepare for his next role. Unfortunately, Emmitt hates her, and Mina has to find a way to convince him to help her out.

Who hasn’t dreamed of dating a celebrity? This novel reminds me of “Camp Rock '' or “The Lizzy McGuire Movie,” except with a diverse main cast (Mina is Bangladeshi-American and Emmitt is a biracial Chinese-Spanish-British)! Mina is dedicated to her dream of becoming a film director, despite family opposition. Both characters are likable and their relationship is sweet! Mina helps Emmitt achieve his dreams of being a photographer, and Emmitt in turn helps Mina understand her goals for the future.

Mina goes through some of the same challenges that most diaspora kids struggle with such as her relationship with her religion, culture, and mental health. Bhuiyan explores the effects of Mina’s depression on relationships with her sister and her friends. Mina’s parents are abusive, but Bhuiyan does a good job of avoiding stereotyping Bangladeshi parents by also showing examples of good parenting in the community. Emmitt also has a difficult relationship with his mother, which is explored as Mina and Emmitt become closer.

Just like any other YA novel, I had to suspend my disbelief. Mina is abrasive to Emmitt, but he still falls for her. Also I find it difficult to believe that barely anyone recognizes Emmitt, both at school and in New York City, although he is a rising star who has acted in several movies and has a famous mother.

Overall, “A Show for Two” tackled some heavy topics, but still managed to stay sweet and lighthearted. I would especially recommend it to fans of YA novels (or 2000s dcom movies).

A Show for Two by Tashie Bhuiyan, 416 pages. Inkyard Press, 2022. $19. LGBTQIA
Language: R (139 swears, 39 “f” + British swears); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Mina, a high school senior, will have time to figure out her emotions and mental health later. Right now, she needs to focus on avoiding her parents, getting into USC, and winning the Golden Ivy student film competition – all the things that will make her life better. Unfortunately, Mina just made an enemy out of her best chance at winning the film competition via insulting him. Multiple times.
Bhuiyan has written a good book with realistic characters – and I especially loved the occasional use of beautiful Arabic words. But I did not like Mina because of how she treats people. At first, just those she deems aren’t worth her time are those she treats poorly, but then she extends poor treatment to those she counts as loved ones because Mina blinds herself to other’s needs. I understand how it happened and how it fits into her character growth, but it was still hard to read with a protagonist I didn’t like. Also, you should read the author’s note.
Mina and her family are Bangladeshi Muslims, and Emmitt is half Chinese, half Spanish. There are a few other non-white side characters mentioned, including Nigerian and Brazilian. The mature content rating is for mention of alcohol, making out, and innuendo.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I don’t read a whole lot of YA but Tashia Bhuiyan’s voice really speaks to me and she is quickly becoming an auto-read author for me. I adored her debut, Counting Down with You and this book, while dealing with topics that seem a bit heavier than the previous book, is also delightful and romantic.

As Tashie explains in her author’s note at the end of the book, the book’s premise is inspired by something in her own life – when she was in high school, the actor Tom Holland, went undercover as a student in her high school to prepare for his role in Spider-Man. And so, the book begins with film buff Samina (Mina to her friends) running into indie film star Emmitt Ramos on her way home from school. It’s hardly the stuff of a meet-cute – it’s raining outside, Mina can’t quite place who he is and he thinks she purposely bumped into him so that she could find a way to meet him. Needless to say, neither one makes a very good impression on the other.

Mina, meanwhile, is desperately trying to get into USC Film School and in order to do that, she, as co-president of her school’s film club, needs to win the student film competition her club is entering. The best way to do that – find a big-name actor and convince them to make a cameo in the film. I don’t need to spell it out for you where this book is headed – surely, you’ve figured it out by now. Mina needs Emmitt to help make her film a winning success and Emmitt in turn decides if he’s going to do Mina a huge favor, it’s going to come at a price. His request is that Mina acts as his tour guide around NYC because he wants to win a photography competition, kind of as a way to honor his late father.

A lot of the book is Mina leading Emmitt around NYC but a fair amount of the book is also about Mina’s home life and her relationship with her parents, her sister, and her best friend. One of the hardest things about reading this book was the utterly toxic relationship Mina has with her parents. It was truly difficult to read some of their interactions – painful and heartbreaking. It is no surprise that Mina has her heart set on getting away from her parents and NYC and desperately wants to move all the way to California for college. To that end, she’s driven, almost to the point of obsession, about winning this film competition because she feels that’s her only ticket out of New York and away from her emotionally harmful parents.

Mina’s relationship with her sister is strong. They are only a year apart and they both watch out for each other and defend each other and protect each other from their parents. However, you can see the seeds of disharmony as Mina begins to focus on the film competition to the exclusion of nearly everything else, making her sister feel like she’s being left behind and abandoned by the only person in her family who truly seems to care about her.

There is also an excellent best friendship in this book. Rosie is Mina’s best friend and co-president of the film club. And she too takes Mina to task for being so consumed by winning this film competition that she forgets about friendships and feelings. It’s a tough scene when the two of them finally have their dark moment and beautifully captures the emotion of friendships at that age when everything seems monumental and terrible, every misunderstanding feels like the absolute end of the world.

Mina, along with having a difficult family life, also suffers from depression and I’m glad the book mentions that she will seek counseling for it. I wish more had been said on that particular topic because the scenes where Mina is struggling with depression do make it clear that she absolutely needs therapy. And it’s yet another thing that her parents fail her on, dismissing her fears and dreams and feelings at every turn.

Essentially, this book is about home and what it means to you. Mina’s understanding of home is so distorted that she feels she has to run to the opposite side of the country to find peace and make a new home. Ultimately, it’s her relationships with her sister and Rosie and her growing feelings for Emmitt that help her realize that home isn’t just a place, it’s the people you love.

In short, I adored this book as much as I adored Tashie Bhuiyan’s first book. I loved the characters, that they are so flawed and realistically portrayed, teenagers on the brink of college and independence, trying to find their place in this world, a place where they can belong, a place where they can call home.

Content warnings: depression, toxic parental relationships, off page parental death

I absolutely adored Tashie Bhuiyan’s first book so of course I was incredibly excited for this one, especially since it hinted at a celebrity romance. While I don’t think her sophomore effort is as good as her debut, it’s still a fun and sweet story with enemies-to-lovers and an incredible meet-disaster.

Since she was a child, Mina has loved the movies. With her sights set on attending a prestigious program in California, she knows that her best bet to get in is to win the annual high school film competition. She’s written a solid script and her best friend Rosie is an amazing director, but there’s one problem. All of the past winners have had cameos from famous actors and they’ve got no leads on anyone. So when an up-and-coming actor starts shadowing a student at their school in preparation for a new role, it’s the perfect opportunity… except Emmitt and Mina do not get along. But then Emmitt proposes a trade. Mina will help him find subjects in New York City for a photo competition he’s entering and in return he’ll do a bit part in their film. The more time Mina spends with Emmitt, the less he seems like the jerk she took him for. But with the competition looming, she doesn’t have time for a friendship – or anything else – with him, right?

“My obsession with winning the competition is the only way I know how to get through the day right now. It gives me something to keep reaching for. It gives me a purpose. Most importantly, it gives me hope.”


This book feels a bit like the author took everything from Counting Down with You and turned it up to 11. Mina’s again from a Bangladeshi family, though this one is extremely disapproving of her choice to attend film school, to the point of being confident that she won’t be able to get in. The romance (with Emmitt, the half-Chinese half-British actor) starts with them as enemies, then friends, then into something else. But as opposed to the last book, in some ways, the romance here feels like an after-thought. There’s a lot going on in the book, from Mina’s relationship with her parents, her friendship with Rosie, her relationship with her sister, her battle with depression, the film competition, the photo competition… you get the point. Mina is extremely focused on her goal of getting into the film program in California and getting out of NYC (and away from her parents). Anything that threatens that goal or distracts her from it? Scorched earth, she doesn’t have time for it. And sometimes that includes Rosie, her sister Anam, and even Emmitt. There’s a point where she’s called selfish for being so driven, and while I understand where those people were coming from, I also felt like they didn’t have enough empathy for someone who was seriously going through a lot of stuff.

“You know, you could stand to be a little less rude,” he mutters.
“Probably,” I agree, before I shrug. “You could also stand to be a little less of a dickhead. Are either of us going to make an effort to stop? I highly doubt it.”


And that’s what really sticks with me with the author’s writing: Mina feels like a real teenager, flaws and all, and the representation of her depression especially struck a chord with me. While I wanted more of it, the banter between Mina and Emmitt was fun, and I found them both the yearning and then the reality of them as a couple incredibly sweet. I also enjoyed the touristy tour of NYC (and Mina’s slow realization of how much she’ll miss it). There’s something absolutely captivating and immersive about the author’s writing style and it was seriously hard for me to put down this book once I started. Bonus points for the Taylor Swift references (including “Cornelia Street”)!

“If I think about it too long, I get overwhelmingly sad. I wish my parents didn’t care so much about appearances. I wish our happiness was enough.”


Before this next part, I want to be clear I’m coming at this from a white, middle-aged cis woman’s perspective. I was disappointed, though, that the main character’s family was absolutely awful and that she felt disconnected from her heritage and religion. I understand the author is writing from her own experience, but it would be nice to have a main character that had positive associations with her culture. There are positive reflections of Bangladeshi families (like their cousins) where the parents respect their children’s choice of college major and the kids appear to not have the same hang-ups.

Overall, though I did have a number of concerns, I was still completely sucked into this book and I’ll definitely be picking up whatever the author writes next!

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.