Author: Katie Sise
Genre: young adult, contemporary
Series: N/A
Pages: 320
Published: expected April 30 2013
Source: publishers via edelweiss
Rating: N/A
In The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, super-smart, somewhat geeky Audrey McCarthy can’t wait to get out of high school. Her father’s death and the transformation of her one-time BFF, Blake Dawkins, into her worst nightmare have her longing for the new start college will bring.
But college takes money. So Audrey decides she has to win the competition for the best app designed by a high schooler—and the $200,000 that comes with it. She develops something she calls the Boyfriend App, and suddenly she’s the talk of the school and getting kissed by the hottest boys around. But can the Boyfriend App bring Audrey true love?
Having just read and enjoyed a perfectly fluffy piece of teen fiction (How Zoe Made Her Dreams Come (Mostly) True), I went into this expecting much of the same: a bit of a silly plot, amusing characters, and maybe a likeable romance. Unfortunately, The Boyfriend App lacked the heart that made How Zoe... so much more fun. From the outset, these characters and plot both just didn't click with me. I wanted to care about Audrey and her family, I wanted her to get the money for winning the contest, but The Boyfriend App just ended up leaving me cold.
I gave this book a good 120 pages before I gave up and called it quits. It's definitely another "it's not you it's me" situation. I can easily see why others will enjoy and absorb this lighter-hearted read, but it both struck too close to the plot of a novel I'd just finished, and I wasn't invested in anyone in the book. There's nothing egregiously wrong with The Boyfriend App (though it does take a bit of a turn to crazy town later on in the novel), it ultimately just wasn't a novel for me. Audrey is another smart, but socially abandoned YA heroine, and her romance is neither obnoxiously obvious not intricately subtle. The love interest isn't a creep, or a stalker, just too generic. All in all, thiswas just too similar to many other YA contemporary offerings out there. When I find myself counting down the pages to the end, I know it's time to throw in the towel.
The Boyfriend App is fluffy, and silly, but it may be for you. An easy read, but just one not suited for my tastes, I think it will find an audience that will love it and enjoy it far more than I did.
I hate it when that happens!
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