Category/Genre: Young Adult ContemporaryPublisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: 4/30/13
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 312
Source: Received from publisher for review
Rating: 4 stars
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?
The Boyfriend App is seriously one of the sweetest books I have read in a really long time. I love Young Adult because sometimes it is the perfect blend of new love, growing up, and just fun all wrapped up in a bundle. Luckily for me this book had all of that.
Audrey is a girl who doesn't think she has much going for her. She is a 'trog' or computer geek that loves building computer programs and hacking. The setup for the story comes from Audrey wanting to win an App building competition to get herself a $200,000 scholarship that she desperately needs for school.
Since her father passed away her freshman year, she has been locked in her shell. Her friends Aidan, Mindy, Niget and Lindsay are the only people who know how great she really can be...but ex-BFF/frenemy Blake is a classic mean girl who loves bringing them all down in the worst ways. She is desperate to win the prize money and comes up with a foolproof boyfriend app to match people with their close by (literally, through GPS) compatible matches. This will go perfectly as planned, right?
In all that Audrey isn't confident in herself, her cousin and friend Lindsay has a lot of it and helps her no matter what. She was a favorite character of mine because she blogs (and is really good at it!) and has Audrey's back. My other favorite is Aidan. There was a lot of desperation on my part wanting him to go for it and just tell Audrey whether or not he liked her already, but neither want to lose their friendship if things don't go well.
There is way more depth to this story than what first meets the eye. I had lots of questions with the app development, will they fall in love, will she win the competition, will she get the confidence to stand up against the bullies, and will she finally just be okay with herself and her social status living in a small apartment with her mom. This definitely reiterates how glad I am that I don't have teenage drama in my life...but I loved it and will definitely recommend to my Mom who is a high school librarian!
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