The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise

The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise

Release Date: April 30, 2013
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Rated: YA 14+
Format: ARC
Source: Borrowed – Thanks Richa (City of Books)!
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

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?

I did get a few stares from my friends when I walked hand-in-hand with this book. The Boyfriend App– who wouldn't want that? Get the perfect guy for you and live happily ever after. Unfortunately things don’t always go as planned, but sometimes things find a way of working out. While I did love some of the plot and characters, I found myself thinking how ridiculous the story sounded at times. I thought it was going to a contemporary novel, sticking to a more realistic story, but there was some slightly paranormal (maybe?) bits to the story which made it really weird.

I liked Audrey’s character. She was really interesting! She reminded me of Wick from Find Me (minus the whole hacker trying to find a dead girl thing) and I really enjoyed her snark and sarcasm. Her narrative was great to relate to. I also liked Lindsay’s character. I love how different she was from Audrey and how girly she could be in contrast. Of course, Aiden was also a favourite of mine. Such a cute, sweet guy! Xander wasn’t bad, and the scene with him in the cafeteria was hilarious, but I mean Aiden? Wowie. LOVED HIM.

There was one little part of the book though that got on my nerves. It wasn’t the whole paranormal thing, and it was just a little bit of the book, but it really stuck with me the whole time, because I HOPE it got corrected in the final version, but I seriously doubt it. The author should have really checked because WOW was she wrong. At one point of the story, when Lindsay meets Nigit, she actually utters this line: “The worship of Ganesh isn’t restricted to India and Hindis, Nigit.” (p. 73, ARC). Um, what? HINDIS? I may not be one, but I’m pretty damn well sure, being from India and having actually lived there for a part of my life, that it’s HINDU not HINDI. HINDI is a language. Problem number two followed up on the next page. Nigit’s character says this: “It was a gift from my mom for Ramadan. I keep it on my puja table when I’m not here.” (p. 74, ARC). WHATTTT. Ramadan? REALLY? I’m Muslim, and unless Nigit is half-Muslim (which he is NOT), why on earth would he celebrate Ramadan? Seriously, the inaccuracy kills me, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

Then, of course, there’s the paranormal parts of the story. I mean, couldn’t it just have been based on the matches that the app gives? Not turn it into a device that makes people fall in love with the person who points it at you? That would have seriously been a better story. I’m now afraid of reading Katie Sise’s next book, The Pretty App, because even though it would be cool to see events play out from Blake's, aka Queen Bee, point of view, I’m afraid it’s going to be a repeat of events.

Meh. I don’t know what to say. The Boyfriend App really didn’t live up to my expectations and I’m sad to admit that while I probably will be reading The Pretty App, I’ll be bracing myself to expect version 2.0 of The Boyfriend App. While some bits were fun, this novel fell flat for me. Katie Sise’s concept was a great one, but what it lacked was execution and believability.

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