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Fake Skating by Lynn Painter Review: A Banter-Filled YA Hockey Rom-Com
Fake Skating is a young adult romance novel by Lynn Painter, published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on September 30, 2025, that pairs a fake-dating premise with a hockey-loving Minnesota setting, childhood-sweetheart tension, and themes of found family — earning a number one spot on the New York Times Young Adult Hardcover Best Seller list for fifteen of its first twenty-eight weeks on the chart.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Readers aged 14 and up who love the childhood-sweethearts and fake-dating tropes in combination, want a fast, warm YA romantic comedy with genuine sports-community atmosphere, and don't mind a slow-burn misunderstanding driving the central tension.
Worth it if
You're a fan of Lynn Painter's earlier YA voice — breezy dialogue, snappy pacing, and two leads whose chemistry anchors everything — and you can tolerate a deliberately prolonged misunderstanding as part of the pleasurably frustrating fake-dating formula.
Skip if
You find "forced misunderstanding" plots where a single honest conversation would resolve everything more irritating than fun, or you're easily pulled out of a story by dense pop-culture-reference humour.
What readers & critics say
Kirkus Reviews calls it "a compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters," awarding it a starred "Get It" verdict, while Common Sense Media praises the banter and chemistry as "on point" and credits Painter's "breezy dialogue and snapping pacing," though it also flags the central misunderstanding as artificially stretched across the full novel. All About Romance ranks it among the reviewer's favourite Lynn Painter YA titles, and The Moving Words describes it as "a charming, emotionally resonant YA romance that balances humor and heart with skill."
“A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.”
— Kirkus Reviews“Breezy dialogue and snapping pacing keep readers engaged; banter and chemistry between Dani and Alec are on point — another binge-worthy delight.”
— Common Sense Media4.5from 5,874 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
Look inside the book
Preview the actual pages, via Google BooksIn This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Novel Is and What It Contains
- Origins, Context, and Place in Painter's Career
- Strengths: Chemistry, Pacing, and the World Around the Ice
- A Genuine Limitation: The Sustained Misunderstanding
- Who This Book Is For
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- Debuted as a number one New York Times Young Adult Hardcover Best Seller, holding that position for fifteen of its first twenty-eight weeks on the list
- Common Sense Media praises the lead characters' banter and chemistry as 'on point,' citing Painter's 'breezy dialogue and snapping pacing'
- Hockey culture serves as genuine community and emotional infrastructure rather than mere backdrop, per the novel's own design and Common Sense Media's assessment
- Won a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction
- Dual-motivation fake-dating premise — Dani's Harvard application and Alec's NHL-scout rehabilitation — gives the central arrangement concrete, believable stakes
What Doesn't
- Common Sense Media identifies the central misunderstanding between Dani and Alec as artificially prolonged across the full novel, resolving only as a late aside rather than through genuine character confrontation
- Frequent pop culture references, flagged by Common Sense Media, may date the novel quickly or interrupt pacing for readers less attuned to that style of humor
Fake Skating delivers exactly what its premise promises — sharp banter, a satisfying fake-to-real romance, and a Minnesota hockey community that feels lived-in — but a central misunderstanding stretched thin across the full novel keeps it from being as tight as its best moments.
What the Novel Is and What It Contains
Fake Skating by Lynn Painter front cover
Fake Skating is a young adult romance novel by Lynn Painter, published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on September 30, 2025. The story follows high school senior Dani Collins, who relocates to Southview, Minneapolis, with her mother after her parents' divorce, moving in with her grandfather — a prolific former ice hockey player. There, Dani reunites with Alec Barczewski, her childhood sweetheart, who has since become the star of the high school hockey team. Both carry grievances from a years-long silence: Dani wonders why Alec stopped contacting her; Alec believes Dani was the one who broke things off. Their arrangement is purely transactional at first — Dani gets a team manager position to strengthen her Harvard waitlist application, while Alec gets the optics of a serious, academically accomplished girlfriend to rehabilitate his image with NHL scouts after a social-media incident. As they spend time together, the fake relationship gives way to something real, and the novel expands into territory involving found family, complicated family secrets, and the question of where each character belongs.
“is stretched out for the entire book”
Origins, Context, and Place in Painter's Career
According to Wikipedia, Painter conceived Fake Skating after noticing a gap in hockey-centered romantic comedies set in high school. To ground the novel's setting, she traveled from her hometown of Omaha to Minnesota to observe the ice hockey culture firsthand. That research investment shows in how the hockey world functions in the narrative: it provides community infrastructure and emotional stakes rather than serving as mere backdrop. The novel sits within an already successful body of work — Painter is also the author of Better Than the Movies, Nothing Like the Movies, The Do-Over, and several other titles. School Library Journal is quoted in publisher materials describing Fake Skating as a "feel-good rom-com," and the novel went on to win a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction. A film adaptation by Sony Pictures was announced in 2026.
Strengths: Chemistry, Pacing, and the World Around the Ice
Common Sense Media singles out the banter and chemistry between Dani and Alec as "on point," calling the novel "another binge-worthy delight" and crediting Painter's "breezy dialogue and snapping pacing" for keeping readers engaged through to the end. Beyond the central romance, the review notes that the hockey action feels authentic without crowding out the emotional story, and that the sense of community and familial bonds is handled well. These are the elements Painter herself has described as increasingly central to the book as she wrote it — the found-family dimension and the characters' search for belonging expanded organically as the hockey culture of the setting deepened. Publishers Weekly, as summarized in Wikipedia's reception overview, praised Dani and Alec's chemistry and described the novel's world as tangibly rendered. For readers who respond to the childhood-friends-to-lovers trope and the specific warmth of small-town sports community, those ingredients are the book's clearest strengths.
A Genuine Limitation: The Sustained Misunderstanding
The novel's most consistent criticism points to a structural choice rather than a failure of voice. Common Sense Media notes that the core misunderstanding between Dani and Alec — one that a single direct conversation could resolve — is deliberately prolonged across the entire book. The review describes this as a conflict that "is stretched out for the entire book," and observes that the characters avoid processing it directly, with the real explanation surfacing only late in the story. Combined with what Common Sense Media describes as a reliance on frequent pop culture references, these elements can create friction for readers who prefer their romantic tension to arise from circumstance rather than withheld information. The "forced misunderstanding" device is a familiar one in the fake-dating subgenre, and whether it reads as pleasurably frustrating or genuinely annoying will depend on the reader's tolerance for it.
Who This Book Is For
Fake Skating is designed for readers aged sixteen and up, with a grade-level target of 9–12, though Common Sense Media places its content threshold at fourteen and older. It will appeal most directly to fans of YA romantic comedies who enjoy the fake-dating and childhood-sweethearts tropes in combination — a pairing that Painter uses to give the romance both external stakes (Harvard, the NHL scouts) and internal ones (old hurt, incomplete histories). Readers drawn to sports as a community setting rather than a competition plot will find the hockey world here serves emotional rather than athletic ends, consistent with Painter's own stated intent. Those who read Painter's earlier YA titles and responded to their tone will find Fake Skating firmly in that register — warm, fast-moving, and built around two characters whose connection the record consistently describes as the novel's most compelling element.
Frequently Asked Questions
is Fake Skating by Lynn Painter worth reading
If you enjoy fake-dating romances and childhood-sweethearts stories, Fake Skating by Lynn Painter delivers on both fronts — Common Sense Media calls it "another binge-worthy delight" and credits Painter's "breezy dialogue and snapping pacing" for keeping readers hooked. The chemistry between Dani Collins and Alec Barczewski is consistently praised as the novel's strongest element, and the Minnesota hockey community adds genuine warmth rather than just window dressing. The one caveat: the central misunderstanding between Dani and Alec is deliberately stretched across the entire book, so readers who dislike withheld-information tension may find that frustrating.
What is this book actually about
Fake Skating follows high school senior Dani Collins, who moves to Southview, Minneapolis, after her parents' divorce and reconnects with Alec Barczewski — her childhood sweetheart who is now the star of the school hockey team. They strike a transactional deal: Dani gets a team manager role to boost her Harvard waitlist application, while Alec gets the image of a serious girlfriend to impress NHL scouts after a social-media incident. What starts as purely fake gradually turns real, and the story expands into themes of found family, family secrets, and belonging.
Does this book have an annoying misunderstanding plot
Yes, and it's the book's most debated structural choice — Common Sense Media specifically notes that the core misunderstanding between Dani and Alec, which a single direct conversation could resolve, is "stretched out for the entire book," with the real explanation only surfacing late in the story. Whether that reads as pleasurably frustrating or genuinely annoying comes down to your tolerance for the withheld-information device, which is common in the fake-dating subgenre. Readers who prefer romantic tension driven by circumstance rather than avoided conversations are most likely to chafe at it.
Is this book good if you liked Better Than the Movies
Very likely yes — Fake Skating sits firmly in the same register as Painter's earlier YA titles, including Better Than the Movies and Nothing Like the Movies, described by the review as "warm, fast-moving, and built around two characters whose connection" is the most compelling element. The voice, pacing, and emotional tone are consistent across her body of work, so fans of those books will feel at home here. The main difference is the hockey-community setting, which Painter researched firsthand in Minnesota and uses to give the romance extra emotional stakes.
Is this book good for people who don't follow hockey
Definitely — Painter has stated that the hockey world in the novel is meant to serve emotional rather than athletic ends, and the review confirms that "the hockey action feels authentic without crowding out the emotional story." The sport functions as community infrastructure and a source of emotional stakes, not as a competition plot, so you don't need to know the game to follow or enjoy the story. Think of the hockey setting less as a sports novel and more as the warm small-town backdrop that shapes Dani and Alec's relationship.
What age is this book appropriate for
Best for ages 14 and up — Common Sense Media sets the content threshold at 14+, and the book's thematic complexity around divorce, family secrets, and social-media reputation suits a high school reading level. Younger readers may find the emotional nuance of those family dynamics harder to connect with, though the romance and banter are accessible and age-appropriate throughout.
Is this book getting a movie
Yes — a film adaptation by Sony Pictures was announced in 2026, following the novel's strong commercial performance. The book reached number one on the New York Times Young Adult Hardcover Best Seller list for fifteen of its first twenty-eight weeks on the chart, and also won a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction, making it one of Painter's highest-profile titles to date.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
commonsensemedia.org
- Further reading
- 2
Lynn Painter, Wikipedia
- 3
en.wikipedia.org
- 4
allaboutromance.com
- 5
- 6
- 7
pinereadsreview.com
- 8
themovingwords.com
- 9
simonandschuster.com
- 10
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