Title: The Boyfriend App
Author: Katie Sise
Publication Date: April 30, 2013
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Pages: 312
Age Rating: Readers above the age of 12
My Opinion: 7/10
Hi, Readers!
Who doesn't love a good app? My favorite apps would have to be Words With Friends and Bejeweled, and I play them almost every day. Now that almost everybody has smartphones and tablets, the app industry is booming. Imagine if apps could actually begin to influence social relationships! Katie Sise explores the moral predicaments that Audrey, an app-creator, faces in a high school environment in The Boyfriend App.
Audrey McCarthy loves to hide out in the computer lab at school and code with her tech-savvy friends. She does almost anything to stay out of the public eye because she suffered a fall from popularity after her father's death a few years ago. However, when a global tech company, Public, offers an app-creating competition for high school students, Audrey decides to enter in order to win the full college scholarship prize. She comes up with the idea of a Boyfriend App to help girls like herself find their perfect matches. At first, the app is a huge success, but when matched relationships start to fail, Audrey has to scramble in order to keep her app on top. Audrey struggles with a number of social and moral dilemmas while advocating for the Boyfriend App, but in the end, it is up to Public Tech Company to decide who has created the best app.
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| Public users from around the country could download Audrey's Boyfriend App onto their mobile devices |
My favorite part about the book is how realistic Audrey is as a character. She's the perfect mix between geeky and popular, and her close-knit group of friends sticks with her through thick and thin. Plus, Audrey puts her friends and family before herself most of the time, unlike many YA novel characters. On a different note, The Boyfriend App has many interesting settings, from the rural campus of Notre Dame to the urban center of California. Katie Sise did a good job showing instead of telling when describing settings. The last, and best, part about The Boyfriend App is its ingenious plot line. As soon as I thought the story was over, Sise threw in a major plot twist that made the novel much more interesting.
On the other hand, The Boyfriend App seems drawn out at the end. It probably could have been fifty pages shorter if all of the unnecessary fluff was cut out. Also, the ending of the book did not completely satisfy me because the evil Public Corporation CEO was never exposed for his dangerous business tactics. Finally, Audrey's moral compass seemed a bit off when she used her app to force boys to fall in love.
Overall, the novel was a fun read and was filled with plot twists and tech-y ideas. Who wouldn't love an app that would instantly find your perfect match, like Audrey's Boyfriend App? The book is a great read for high school girls who are interested in technology, but boys definitely would not enjoy The Boyfriend App.
Happy reading!
I do like your review! I loved this book, and Katie Sise is a sweetheart. I think she was even writing a second book... Yeah I'm pretty sure she is! So we might get to see the high and mighty CEO flushed out then? I would really like to see that as well!
ReplyDeleteAudrey's characters was amazing huh? It was one of my favourite aspects of the book as well.
Great review!