 |
| Click banner for the tour schedule. |
Author: Katie Sise
Pages: 320 pages
Format acquired: Paperback (ARC)
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Publication date: April 30th 2013
Source: Received from the publisher in exchange for a honest review (Thanks, Christine!)
Pre-order the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble
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?
(Image and summary taken from Goodreads)
Review:
It's an unspoken agreement between Louisse and I that whenever we review books, the cute, overly girly and estrogen filled stories are what I cover while she covers the tough girl kick ass ones. While both of us do read from the same genres, it's somewhat obvious that I focus more on the chick lit part of YA. And because of that, I can safely say that I've somewhat mastered the twists and turns of the Chick lit maze. Too much, actually, that sometimes even the plot twists don't surprise me anymore and its sad, because I've always believed that plot twists make the story 5x better. And plot twists that you didn't see coming would make you like the book possibly 500x (not an exaggeration) better. Aaand speaking of unexpected plot twists, TBA really does bag an award this category.
I'll have to admit, I had low expectations for this book. I heard from other bloggers and sites that this book really was one to watch out for. But of course, I knew better than to set my expectations at a bar someone else put. That and sometimes books get unworthy hype or it's really just not for me. It was also not a love at first page kind of thing. I read the first few pages and I was actually turned off from reading it. I think it was something about the way it was written that just didn't spark my interest. So I left it. A few days later, it stood out in my TBR pile so I decided to give it a second chance. Because I already knew about the lackluster intro, I decided to skip a few pages instead. And boy, did I make the right decision. The book somehow gets better at the part I decide to open it at. Audrey seemed more alive and interesting and active in the story and finally, the whole environment that the book was going for was unfolding right in front of me.
I find it really interesting that Ms. Katie decided to explore a part of YA that's ignored. The geek chick section. I've tried my hand at programming in school and while I can't say it's fun, I'll agree that the thrill of typing in a few seemingly harmless codes and seeing it come alive really does feel pretty awesome. So when Audrey was describing her life around programming, I wasn't completely clueless and I actually shared a little bit of her joy.
In my opinion, the characters in the book really complemented each other. We have Audrey's support team of nerds/techies, her fashionista BFF, the unattainable boy, and herself. These characters show so much of who Audrey really is. These people were facets of her personality and I found it really cool that Ms. Katie decided to put that in. Because even with the differences Audrey has with her *fashionista BFF*, you'll see that they still connect and have the same underlying traits. I feel that Audrey is such a strong, smart and one-track minded character and while that is good, it's not that awesome when put in a teenager's powers. Audrey is definitely one of the most memorable characters I've ever read about. Next would be Aidan. Aah, a love interest. One that wasn't a douchebag or egotistical to begin with. He's like one of those super cool, good-looking, laid back geeks that you would totally date. Beauty and Brains and Kindness. Score!! :D Next would be *sassy fashionista friend*. She's a really supportive friend!! I love her. She's always just looking out for Audrey and she just wants what's best for her. I love that's she's famous and still kind of down to earth. And still doesn't forget who her real friends are. It's really awesome how her all her friends support her in the end and really love her. Blake really got to my nerves. She was such an effective antagonist! I hated her. She was fighting dirty and she knew it. She kept giving low blows and even when she seemed like she regretted it, I still despised her. The plot turns I was talking about, they were really turns. Like sharp, cutting edge turns. They were explosive! And they just kept getting more interesting and unexpected!
So overall, this book really piqued my interest. And even though this had a bad start, it still was able to redeem itself through the characters and plot. Well done, Ms. Katie! More power to you!
I'll have to admit, I had low expectations for this book. I heard from other bloggers and sites that this book really was one to watch out for. But of course, I knew better than to set my expectations at a bar someone else put. That and sometimes books get unworthy hype or it's really just not for me. It was also not a love at first page kind of thing. I read the first few pages and I was actually turned off from reading it. I think it was something about the way it was written that just didn't spark my interest. So I left it. A few days later, it stood out in my TBR pile so I decided to give it a second chance. Because I already knew about the lackluster intro, I decided to skip a few pages instead. And boy, did I make the right decision. The book somehow gets better at the part I decide to open it at. Audrey seemed more alive and interesting and active in the story and finally, the whole environment that the book was going for was unfolding right in front of me.
I find it really interesting that Ms. Katie decided to explore a part of YA that's ignored. The geek chick section. I've tried my hand at programming in school and while I can't say it's fun, I'll agree that the thrill of typing in a few seemingly harmless codes and seeing it come alive really does feel pretty awesome. So when Audrey was describing her life around programming, I wasn't completely clueless and I actually shared a little bit of her joy.
In my opinion, the characters in the book really complemented each other. We have Audrey's support team of nerds/techies, her fashionista BFF, the unattainable boy, and herself. These characters show so much of who Audrey really is. These people were facets of her personality and I found it really cool that Ms. Katie decided to put that in. Because even with the differences Audrey has with her *fashionista BFF*, you'll see that they still connect and have the same underlying traits. I feel that Audrey is such a strong, smart and one-track minded character and while that is good, it's not that awesome when put in a teenager's powers. Audrey is definitely one of the most memorable characters I've ever read about. Next would be Aidan. Aah, a love interest. One that wasn't a douchebag or egotistical to begin with. He's like one of those super cool, good-looking, laid back geeks that you would totally date. Beauty and Brains and Kindness. Score!! :D Next would be *sassy fashionista friend*. She's a really supportive friend!! I love her. She's always just looking out for Audrey and she just wants what's best for her. I love that's she's famous and still kind of down to earth. And still doesn't forget who her real friends are. It's really awesome how her all her friends support her in the end and really love her. Blake really got to my nerves. She was such an effective antagonist! I hated her. She was fighting dirty and she knew it. She kept giving low blows and even when she seemed like she regretted it, I still despised her. The plot turns I was talking about, they were really turns. Like sharp, cutting edge turns. They were explosive! And they just kept getting more interesting and unexpected!
So overall, this book really piqued my interest. And even though this had a bad start, it still was able to redeem itself through the characters and plot. Well done, Ms. Katie! More power to you!
Rating:
It sounds really great and can't wait to read it! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm really excited to read this book. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeletebeen wanting to read this book ever since I saw this on Goodreads giveaways. I really want to read this book because I used to be a Computer Science student and I'm excited about the programming parts!
ReplyDeleteI am dying for a copy!
ReplyDeleteIts so catchy! :D
ReplyDeleteI think it's a quirky read!
ReplyDeleteWow this book is really interesting!
ReplyDelete