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App #1
The Boyfriend App
Get the app. Get the guy.
Computer-whiz Audrey McCarthy feels most at home in a tech lab, surrounded by her fellow geeks. Once popular and fearless, she hasn't been the same since her dad died. And her ex-best friend, gorgeous queen bee Blake Dawkins, has turned into her worst nightmare. Audrey is counting the minutes until high school is over and she can get the hell out of Dodge and go to college-that is, if she can find a scholarship.
So when Public Corporation, a giant tech company, announces a contest for the best app developed by a high schooler-with $200,000 in prize money-Audrey is spurred to action. She comes up with an idea so simple, yet so brilliant, she can't believe it hasn't been done: the Boyfriend App. With a simple touch of the screen, romance blooms among the unlikeliest couples in high school, and people start to take notice. But it's not quite enough.
To beat out the competition, Audrey will have to dig deeper. And she does-right into a scandal that would rock Public to its core. Suddenly the Boyfriend App lands Audrey where she never expected to be: in the middle of the limelight, passionately kissed by the hottest guys in school, causing complete and utter mayhem. But can it bring her true love?
Computer-whiz Audrey McCarthy feels most at home in a tech lab, surrounded by her fellow geeks. Once popular and fearless, she hasn't been the same since her dad died. And her ex-best friend, gorgeous queen bee Blake Dawkins, has turned into her worst nightmare. Audrey is counting the minutes until high school is over and she can get the hell out of Dodge and go to college-that is, if she can find a scholarship.
So when Public Corporation, a giant tech company, announces a contest for the best app developed by a high schooler-with $200,000 in prize money-Audrey is spurred to action. She comes up with an idea so simple, yet so brilliant, she can't believe it hasn't been done: the Boyfriend App. With a simple touch of the screen, romance blooms among the unlikeliest couples in high school, and people start to take notice. But it's not quite enough.
To beat out the competition, Audrey will have to dig deeper. And she does-right into a scandal that would rock Public to its core. Suddenly the Boyfriend App lands Audrey where she never expected to be: in the middle of the limelight, passionately kissed by the hottest guys in school, causing complete and utter mayhem. But can it bring her true love?
312 pages, Hardcover
First published April 30, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 748 reviews
July 2, 2013
I'm not sure what I was expecting when reading the description of this book, but it certainly wasn't what I got.
The book overall was pretty good if you don't mind fluff pierced with descriptions of coding and hacking (which I usually don't). There are a few instances where timing and descriptions don't really make sense which makes me think that this book could use another run through with an editor.
My biggest problem, however, is that this book is...rapey.
The main character makes an app which makes the person you point your phone at fall deeply and quickly in love with you. Any boy who gets "apped" immediately begins kissing intensely the girl who he was making eye contact with. Consent, anyone? This isn't even presented as a problem in the book. None of the boys mind being forced to feel deep emotions for a girl, in fact some of the couples end up dating post-app! How romantic!
I found the second half of this book disturbing and uncomfortable. If it had been reversed, gender-wise I cannot even fathom this being published. Why is it ok for men to be emotionally raped? Answer, it isn't. One star.
The book overall was pretty good if you don't mind fluff pierced with descriptions of coding and hacking (which I usually don't). There are a few instances where timing and descriptions don't really make sense which makes me think that this book could use another run through with an editor.
My biggest problem, however, is that this book is...rapey.
The main character makes an app which makes the person you point your phone at fall deeply and quickly in love with you. Any boy who gets "apped" immediately begins kissing intensely the girl who he was making eye contact with. Consent, anyone? This isn't even presented as a problem in the book. None of the boys mind being forced to feel deep emotions for a girl, in fact some of the couples end up dating post-app! How romantic!
I found the second half of this book disturbing and uncomfortable. If it had been reversed, gender-wise I cannot even fathom this being published. Why is it ok for men to be emotionally raped? Answer, it isn't. One star.
February 18, 2013
Smart, geeky Audrey McCarthy needs money for college, so she decides to enter a competition to design a phone app that lets users find their perfect romantic match. I loved the idea of a girl who's a tech nerd, so I was very entertained by the first half of this book. Audrey's a fun character, and the explanations of technical terms and use of social media is well-integrated into the story; I also enjoyed the breezy writing and quick pace. But halfway through, the plot took a turn that was insanely farfetched to me, and sadly never really regained its footing. I'm a pretty go-with-the-flow kind of reader, but sometimes if you can't buy into a certain point, it affects the way you feel about the book overall.
While I had more mixed feelings about this one, I liked the author's fresh and funny narrative voice quite a lot and I'd definitely check out future books by her. If you're interested in checking out this book, by the way, we'll be giving away a copy next month!
This review also appears in The Midnight Garden. An advance copy was provided by the publisher.
While I had more mixed feelings about this one, I liked the author's fresh and funny narrative voice quite a lot and I'd definitely check out future books by her. If you're interested in checking out this book, by the way, we'll be giving away a copy next month!
This review also appears in The Midnight Garden. An advance copy was provided by the publisher.
January 14, 2014
When I first heard of The Boyfriend App, I thought “techy chick lit,” and I was interested in seeing how that played out, to see if someone could write a YA book that was smart but also modern and sassy. In short, the concept has a world of potential.
The product did not live up to it. I actually have a few complaints about The Boyfriend App. First, the writing is choppy and sporadic. Sise will often be describing a scene, only to take a break to make a random observation, usually about a character’s appearance. Nothing is more anticlimactic than reading about an interesting conversation or exploit, only for it be interrupted for a completely irrelevant notice that some character is wearing glasses or has a tattoo.
Second, the technological aspects are not handled well. Audrey is apparently a computer science genius and hacker extraordinaire, but I got that sense mostly from the narrative voice hammering it into my brain, not from the story itself. Sure, Audrey does some pretty techy stuff (like designing an app!), but the actual actions come so easily and quickly to her that they seem more like magic than real accomplishments. On the other end of the spectrum, Sise throws in some technological explanations for the enlightenment of her readers, but they are incredibly basic. I do not code at all. I cannot make a computer program or an app, and I could not hack into a completely unprotected program—yet almost nothing that was explained to me in this book was new to me. Sise’s intended audience, teenagers, has grown up on technology unlike any other generation. I imagine many of them will find Sise’s explanations rather basic, as well, and I wish she would have delved a little deeper.
Third, I was disoriented by The Boyfriend App because, going into it, I assumed it was supposed to be a realistic contemporary novel. Reading it, I found it to be closer to some type of contemporary daydream. This is fine, except I have no idea whether Sise intended it to smack a bit of fantasy, or if she is just very disconnected from how high schools work. For instance, once the Boyfriend App starts gaining national popularity, Audrey becomes an instant celebrity. When she goes to school the next morning, dozens of students are waiting outside for her arrival, chanting her name, maybe even waving signs (I don’t remember). The point is…the other students are acting as if Audrey is Jennifer Lawrence or something, which would never happen in a real high school. Halfway through the book, I sincerely suspected that Audrey was going to wake up at the end and realize she had dreamed the entire thing.
However, all these faults pale in comparison with the fact that book shines a positive light on rape. I can only assume it does so unintentionally, but this book got through a lot of people—the author, test readers, an agent, editors and a publisher—and no one found it problematic. That in itself is problematic to me.
Audrey creates two versions of the Boyfriend App in the book. The first bears similarities to a mobile dating site. Users fill out a personality questionnaire, and then the app finds potential romantic matches. When a girl is within 100 yards of a match, she gets a notification from her phone telling her the name and location of her match. She can then decide to approach him, or pass. (The app is also supposed to work for girls seeking girls and guys seeking guys, and who gets the notification in these cases is never explained.) This is slightly stalkerish, in my opinion, but both parties signed up for the app knowing how it works, so power to them.
The real problem is the Boyfriend App 2.0. Audrey hacks into the app contest’s host company’s system and discovers they are using inaudible sound waves to persuade their products’ users to buy even more of their products. Audrey modifies this technology and creates an app with which girls can point their phones at an intended target and force them to lust after them—then act on their lust. That’s right; girls can use their phones to force guys to hug them, kiss them, grope them, and presumably go farther (though the book is kept PG-13 and no intercourse is mentioned).
No one in the book has a problem with this. Not Audrey, or her friends, or the male victims, or any news sources or government agencies who release articles about Audrey and her app. In fact, the moral issue of the story is framed to be Audrey’s hacking and theft of the sound wave technology. People are more concerned that Audrey stole the technology that enables rape, than they are that she is enabling rape. (Incidentally, no one seems overly concerned that the same technology is being used by a large corporation to force people to buy their products either.)
I do not dismiss many books on moral grounds. I enjoy a number of stories that include or even encourage actions I object to, and I like a lot of books that go so far as to directly attack my personal beliefs. However, I found the attitude towards rape in The Boyfriend App absolutely appalling, and I am frankly surprised that so few other readers/reviewers have objected to it. I am disgusted and offended, and I am sure public reaction to this story would be entirely different if it included a “Girlfriend App” that allowed guys to force girls to hook up with them. I would not in good conscience recommend this book to anyone.
The product did not live up to it. I actually have a few complaints about The Boyfriend App. First, the writing is choppy and sporadic. Sise will often be describing a scene, only to take a break to make a random observation, usually about a character’s appearance. Nothing is more anticlimactic than reading about an interesting conversation or exploit, only for it be interrupted for a completely irrelevant notice that some character is wearing glasses or has a tattoo.
Second, the technological aspects are not handled well. Audrey is apparently a computer science genius and hacker extraordinaire, but I got that sense mostly from the narrative voice hammering it into my brain, not from the story itself. Sure, Audrey does some pretty techy stuff (like designing an app!), but the actual actions come so easily and quickly to her that they seem more like magic than real accomplishments. On the other end of the spectrum, Sise throws in some technological explanations for the enlightenment of her readers, but they are incredibly basic. I do not code at all. I cannot make a computer program or an app, and I could not hack into a completely unprotected program—yet almost nothing that was explained to me in this book was new to me. Sise’s intended audience, teenagers, has grown up on technology unlike any other generation. I imagine many of them will find Sise’s explanations rather basic, as well, and I wish she would have delved a little deeper.
Third, I was disoriented by The Boyfriend App because, going into it, I assumed it was supposed to be a realistic contemporary novel. Reading it, I found it to be closer to some type of contemporary daydream. This is fine, except I have no idea whether Sise intended it to smack a bit of fantasy, or if she is just very disconnected from how high schools work. For instance, once the Boyfriend App starts gaining national popularity, Audrey becomes an instant celebrity. When she goes to school the next morning, dozens of students are waiting outside for her arrival, chanting her name, maybe even waving signs (I don’t remember). The point is…the other students are acting as if Audrey is Jennifer Lawrence or something, which would never happen in a real high school. Halfway through the book, I sincerely suspected that Audrey was going to wake up at the end and realize she had dreamed the entire thing.
However, all these faults pale in comparison with the fact that book shines a positive light on rape. I can only assume it does so unintentionally, but this book got through a lot of people—the author, test readers, an agent, editors and a publisher—and no one found it problematic. That in itself is problematic to me.
Audrey creates two versions of the Boyfriend App in the book. The first bears similarities to a mobile dating site. Users fill out a personality questionnaire, and then the app finds potential romantic matches. When a girl is within 100 yards of a match, she gets a notification from her phone telling her the name and location of her match. She can then decide to approach him, or pass. (The app is also supposed to work for girls seeking girls and guys seeking guys, and who gets the notification in these cases is never explained.) This is slightly stalkerish, in my opinion, but both parties signed up for the app knowing how it works, so power to them.
The real problem is the Boyfriend App 2.0. Audrey hacks into the app contest’s host company’s system and discovers they are using inaudible sound waves to persuade their products’ users to buy even more of their products. Audrey modifies this technology and creates an app with which girls can point their phones at an intended target and force them to lust after them—then act on their lust. That’s right; girls can use their phones to force guys to hug them, kiss them, grope them, and presumably go farther (though the book is kept PG-13 and no intercourse is mentioned).
No one in the book has a problem with this. Not Audrey, or her friends, or the male victims, or any news sources or government agencies who release articles about Audrey and her app. In fact, the moral issue of the story is framed to be Audrey’s hacking and theft of the sound wave technology. People are more concerned that Audrey stole the technology that enables rape, than they are that she is enabling rape. (Incidentally, no one seems overly concerned that the same technology is being used by a large corporation to force people to buy their products either.)
I do not dismiss many books on moral grounds. I enjoy a number of stories that include or even encourage actions I object to, and I like a lot of books that go so far as to directly attack my personal beliefs. However, I found the attitude towards rape in The Boyfriend App absolutely appalling, and I am frankly surprised that so few other readers/reviewers have objected to it. I am disgusted and offended, and I am sure public reaction to this story would be entirely different if it included a “Girlfriend App” that allowed guys to force girls to hook up with them. I would not in good conscience recommend this book to anyone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2013
I LOVED THIS BOOK.
No seriously, I loved it.
A lot. A whole lot.
It was smart, fun and full of everything a not so young adult could ask for in a young adult novel. A pretty kickass girl (who wears skull and cross bone Vans and can program and knows what Linux and an SSH session are), a swoony boy (who can also program) and a great story to back it all up!
Audrey McCarthy is a senior in high school, and since the death of her father, things haven’t been so great for her. Following his death, she lost her best friend and fell from popularity into obscurity. Now, her main mission is to push through and get high school over with so she can just move on from all of it. The only problem is, she’s not quite sure where she’ll move on to considering there’s no way she could ever afford to pay for the college education she so badly wants.
So, when a contest is announced offering a two-hundred thousand dollar college tuition prize for the designer of the most popular or most innovative smart phone app, Audrey decides to throw her hat in the ring. She just needs to come up with something that will knock everybody else’s app out of the competition… And she does.
The Boyfriend App
Find the perfect guy, right from the palm of your hand! Once he’s within a hundred yards, your phone will alert you and bing! love connections can be made! Audrey’s app sees almost instant popularity after a few test subjects (her cousin Lindsay, and her friend Nijit) are the first to pair up… but popularity sometimes comes at a price, as Audrey soon learns.
I will admit that for some, this might not be your cup of tea. But for me? This was right up my alley. What do I mean by that? Well, you may or may not know that I met my husband on the Internet. And what you also probably don’t know is that when we met, we were both members of a group that—in our time, anyway—was known for hacking. No, I’m not kidding. One of our friends actually went to jail for hacking NASA. In fact, hubs is still a hacker. Except now he gets paid to do it. And this book totally brought me back to those days and made me all nostalgic with its dead on descriptions and computer jargon. (bravo, Katie!) It was fantastic.
And I promise I’ll shutup now because I don’t want to spoil all the things, but trust me when I say this is one book you want to add to your to-be-read-list pronto! Even if you’re not a computer nerd like me, you definitely don’t want to miss out on the adventures of Audrey, or on the swoon that Aidan brings to the table (along with his V). ;)
September 1, 2013
Trigger warnining: multiple sexual assaults This is my first attempt at a spoiler free review. If anyone who read the book wants to discuss why I gave a trigger warning, please feel free to reply to the review.
This book is internally divided into a part 1 and a part 2. I wish I could divide my review the same way, as I would give 4 stars to part 1 and 1 star to part 2. Part 1 was very nice - we met the characters, we get an outline of the problem to be solved, we see a first attempt at a solution, On a more meta level, we learn about twitter and to a lesser extent marketing. There is also a good deal of humor in the book. I'm a very long way from being a teenager, and the first half of the book gave me an interesting view into how contemporary teens have built things like texting and twitter into their lives. A first date gets livetweeted, to excellent comic effect. The book also talks a lot about principles of ethical hacking, which is a welcome relief from the evil hacker stereotype. The discussion was somewhat superficial but provides a basis for someone who wants to learn more. It also teaches a lot about fashion, but as an older guy I have no idea whether this was intentionally humorous or not. (But really - who recommends Michael Jackson as a style icon?) The first half half also provides a variety of strong female role models (and I was particularly pleased that they were different from one another.) The casual acceptance of gay teens (who are just other characters in the novel, and who exists for reasons other than to be gay) was also very pleasing.
Part two could have been a completely different.book. It fails on all levels - the ethics are terrible, the plot twists and turns at the author's convenience as characters fail to foresee the obvious and immediate consequences of their own actions, and those actions then have no consequences, The protagonist builds a machine that facilitates sexual assault and distributes it for free on the internet. Oddly, no one in the entire novel ever directly addresses this, which is why I filed the book under rape culture. She is praised for her computer design skills, but never taken to task for facilitating thousands of sexual assaults world wide.
I'm not sure if I will ever read another book by the author or not. Who will write her next book - the author of part 1 or of part 2?
This book is internally divided into a part 1 and a part 2. I wish I could divide my review the same way, as I would give 4 stars to part 1 and 1 star to part 2. Part 1 was very nice - we met the characters, we get an outline of the problem to be solved, we see a first attempt at a solution, On a more meta level, we learn about twitter and to a lesser extent marketing. There is also a good deal of humor in the book. I'm a very long way from being a teenager, and the first half of the book gave me an interesting view into how contemporary teens have built things like texting and twitter into their lives. A first date gets livetweeted, to excellent comic effect. The book also talks a lot about principles of ethical hacking, which is a welcome relief from the evil hacker stereotype. The discussion was somewhat superficial but provides a basis for someone who wants to learn more. It also teaches a lot about fashion, but as an older guy I have no idea whether this was intentionally humorous or not. (But really - who recommends Michael Jackson as a style icon?) The first half half also provides a variety of strong female role models (and I was particularly pleased that they were different from one another.) The casual acceptance of gay teens (who are just other characters in the novel, and who exists for reasons other than to be gay) was also very pleasing.
Part two could have been a completely different.book. It fails on all levels - the ethics are terrible, the plot twists and turns at the author's convenience as characters fail to foresee the obvious and immediate consequences of their own actions, and those actions then have no consequences, The protagonist builds a machine that facilitates sexual assault and distributes it for free on the internet. Oddly, no one in the entire novel ever directly addresses this, which is why I filed the book under rape culture. She is praised for her computer design skills, but never taken to task for facilitating thousands of sexual assaults world wide.
I'm not sure if I will ever read another book by the author or not. Who will write her next book - the author of part 1 or of part 2?
April 28, 2018
Cute yet predictable.
The Boyfriend App was a likable book. Okay, it was downright enjoyable. Audrey was an interesting character and I loved how clueless she was when it comes to flirting. The app seemed like a pretty interesting idea and I probably would have had it in High School if it existed. However, it wasn't what I thought it would be at all.
However, the app didn't seem realistic at all. Pressing a button that will make you fall in love sounds ridiculous and so untrue! I wish that would happen but it wont. I still enjoyed the crap out of this book though. Probably because it wasn't realistic at all and I just kind of went along for the ride.
I wish I could say that I liked Audrey and Blake's "relationship" throughout the book but I can't. I honestly couldn't keep track of what was being said and what had actually happened. Then the random "I hate you now" was totally throwing me off for a bit but in the end I didn't like Blake. She was a bitch.
Then there was Aidan and Xander. I loved them so much. Aidan was Audrey's best friend when no one else was. He was super cute too. Xander was Audrey's crush. I liked him too but Aidan was my man, if I'm being completely honest here!
Overall, it was cute. Will I read the second book in this series? You bet your ass I will!
The Boyfriend App was a likable book. Okay, it was downright enjoyable. Audrey was an interesting character and I loved how clueless she was when it comes to flirting. The app seemed like a pretty interesting idea and I probably would have had it in High School if it existed. However, it wasn't what I thought it would be at all.
However, the app didn't seem realistic at all. Pressing a button that will make you fall in love sounds ridiculous and so untrue! I wish that would happen but it wont. I still enjoyed the crap out of this book though. Probably because it wasn't realistic at all and I just kind of went along for the ride.
I wish I could say that I liked Audrey and Blake's "relationship" throughout the book but I can't. I honestly couldn't keep track of what was being said and what had actually happened. Then the random "I hate you now" was totally throwing me off for a bit but in the end I didn't like Blake. She was a bitch.
Then there was Aidan and Xander. I loved them so much. Aidan was Audrey's best friend when no one else was. He was super cute too. Xander was Audrey's crush. I liked him too but Aidan was my man, if I'm being completely honest here!
Overall, it was cute. Will I read the second book in this series? You bet your ass I will!
February 18, 2013
This was a cute read, although I did have a few issues with it - primarily that it was a bit too geeky and over-the-top. And there were a few things that were confusing that kind of threw me off course (not on the predictability, but I had to figure out the timeline or consistency).
I wanted to read a fun book that would lighten my mood, and the first few chapters hit me like a ton of bricks. It was way too technical with all the computer/phone language that a lot of it went over my head. I know Sise had to put some of that in there or she would probably get a few criticism about it being unrealistic, but geez, it was so overloaded that I was not only lost but also bored. And then, it got better.
I was a little confused from the summary because I thought the Boyfriend App was going to make Audrey the talk of the school and make hot boys kiss her, and when I found out what the app was, it didn't really happen like that. But then I realized there was an update, and a lot more made sense.
Well, I can't really say this book was realistic because it was far from it. And when I say it was over-the-top, I didn't exactly mean this part. Well, yeah, the whole mean girls picking on the geeks is pretty routine, and the typical triangle between the hot guy and shy friend is overdone. Not to mention a soundwave technology that makes you want something (seriously?), and a button that will make you fall in love (get real!) or the crazy chaotic riots at the school campus and on the Public corporate grounds. But those made the book kind of fun.
What i really meant about the over-the-top (and also the holes) was really the relationship between Audrey and Blake. I really had to stop and think about the timeline on this… I guess it was just a little too much for me. I guess pushing the mean girl bullying the geek concept on stupid stuff.
But I guess Audrey's quirks are what made the book fun, and I liked how adorable Aiden was (I tend to have a soft spot for the dorky best friend). I think Lindsay is a badass cousin, and Nigit and Mindy were okay friends. It's not unpredictable, but it is an entertaining read if you can get past the geek-talk.
I wanted to read a fun book that would lighten my mood, and the first few chapters hit me like a ton of bricks. It was way too technical with all the computer/phone language that a lot of it went over my head. I know Sise had to put some of that in there or she would probably get a few criticism about it being unrealistic, but geez, it was so overloaded that I was not only lost but also bored. And then, it got better.
I was a little confused from the summary because I thought the Boyfriend App was going to make Audrey the talk of the school and make hot boys kiss her, and when I found out what the app was, it didn't really happen like that. But then I realized there was an update, and a lot more made sense.
Well, I can't really say this book was realistic because it was far from it. And when I say it was over-the-top, I didn't exactly mean this part. Well, yeah, the whole mean girls picking on the geeks is pretty routine, and the typical triangle between the hot guy and shy friend is overdone. Not to mention a soundwave technology that makes you want something (seriously?), and a button that will make you fall in love (get real!) or the crazy chaotic riots at the school campus and on the Public corporate grounds. But those made the book kind of fun.
What i really meant about the over-the-top (and also the holes) was really the relationship between Audrey and Blake. I really had to stop and think about the timeline on this… I guess it was just a little too much for me. I guess pushing the mean girl bullying the geek concept on stupid stuff.
But I guess Audrey's quirks are what made the book fun, and I liked how adorable Aiden was (I tend to have a soft spot for the dorky best friend). I think Lindsay is a badass cousin, and Nigit and Mindy were okay friends. It's not unpredictable, but it is an entertaining read if you can get past the geek-talk.
Want to Read
December 22, 2012The Boyfriend App? OMG. Can I get me a BOOK Boyfriend App??? (x <3
Did Not Finish
December 17, 2014Get the app: get the guy.
I wish man. I wish.
So this was a DNF, and I can't really explain why but here's my reading stances and my capricious reading interests which flicker more frequently than an A/C motor's emf. (Wow, I actually remember thermodynamics. That's new.) (P.s. that's 50 Hz fyi.)
At various stages of reading over a time period of two months or so:
0%- When I heard of the book-
If this shit were real, I'd be hogging the PlayStore like a madwoman trust me but it isn't real and so I'm just gonna rot here playing the occasional otome game(LOL, jk, I don't touch that shit with a pole.) and drool over Kpop idols which are my newfound, not-YET-jaded interest.
How i wish this were filed under "Non-fiction" but no:
"Realistic fiction", my foot. T_T
During Chapter 1-10:
•Wow, much trope.
•Getting a boyfriend is of prime importance, apparently. This is what happens kids, when you read too much twilight and get yo priorities messed up, (WAit, who am I even calling a kid? I AM A KID )
•"I got lost in those almond-colored eyes. Shades of green came to life now that the sun was streaming into the cafeteria. A little like almonds covered in mold, but not in a bad way."
Senseless analogies. You tried, author, you tried.
•Nope.
•I learnt that programming shit in eighth grade girl, why am I not making apps and getting boys? That's right because eighth if/else java programs are for class 1 arithmetic, not applications. And I'm not boasting or anything, It's the truth. There's more to it than some few hundred lines of programming, and it's frustrating when the programming examples are the ones for the n00bs. No, really. There's a reason people organize teams and associates for developing apps. But noooo, her dad was good at opening a fricking Microsoft Word file probably, and so our MC is so darn prodigious and adept. She's a senior; not even an undergrad for crying out loud. You don't go around doing that stuff unless you're the Colin Singleton of all things computer. It's not realistic.
I'm being mean as hell but the whole idea and presentation just doesn't appeal to me. It's almost as if she's trying to go around and about the making of the BFA, than directly attacking what actually the process involves. The queries she noted were something I'd upload to quora or quizilla at 12. It'd be so much better if a BIT of research could have been done but who cares because YA readers are just gullible grandmas, who will eat up anything fed to them and all you've gotta do is spout some techy lines and voilà! you have a cool nerd at your literary disposal. #smh man, #smh.
•Love interests fail. Geek is NOT a geek. Not even trying at the cutesy geek. Nope. There are better geeks you can grin at even if they LARP instead of going public static void main[].
Crush is a massive fail with as much expressiveness and depth as a wooden plank.
Girl doesn't have a clue who or what she likes about them. Confused AF. Indecisive AF.
•Never have had friends like -that- (Maybe because I'm a derp but still.)
•Predictable AF. Everything from her father, to the bff-turned-vamp, to the ''Lulz let's make apps because we've got nothing better to do'' contest- so frickin predictable.
•THE RABBIT'S FOOT GODDAMMIT THAT'S GROSS AND CREEPY THEY'RE RIGHT >.<
And as I begin Chapter 10 after a fortnight, I have no idea where I left, nor do I care what happens to Audrey and her Apple-ripoff company competition or all her 136 cliched days to go
•#Unimpressed.
And disillusioned.
And I'm not even sure if that's the correct word but I literally, am in no mood to correct typos or think before typing today. Deal with it.
(Although, that's not totally fair because I'm judging this on the first 10 chapters but then again, I just don't have the tiniest inclination to find out whatever the heck happens to Audrey's high school story or her #daddyissues, because I tried, but I just. don't. care. Dunno why. I'm erratic and weird I guess but then which teen isn't? :/ Also, it is kinda hard to impress someone after that they've just binged on a dozen KPop vids because my suppy of awe and amazement had dwindled. So yeah, blame Korean idols and their fighting and aegyo idkasdfghjkil :3 Not me.)
•And yeahhh- bottom line is that I'm bored and uninterested and maybe I just ignored the next-big-YA-thing and this review is not to be trusted but meh. Just the fact that despite the shit with her BFF and daddy and basically her uncertain and turbulent life, she's more concerned with nagging a BF for herself and playing matchmaker for others just annoys me a lot. Moreover the sequel is called the Pretty App AND JESUS CHRIST GIVE ME A BREAK IT'S NOT WORTH IT
So yeah. That's how I ended flicking this off my virtual book-rack.
Kbye.
I say yeah too many times.
But I'm not sorry.
I wish man. I wish.
So this was a DNF, and I can't really explain why but here's my reading stances and my capricious reading interests which flicker more frequently than an A/C motor's emf. (Wow, I actually remember thermodynamics. That's new.) (P.s. that's 50 Hz fyi.)
At various stages of reading over a time period of two months or so:
0%- When I heard of the book-
If this shit were real, I'd be hogging the PlayStore like a madwoman trust me but it isn't real and so I'm just gonna rot here playing the occasional otome game(LOL, jk, I don't touch that shit with a pole.) and drool over Kpop idols which are my newfound, not-YET-jaded interest.
How i wish this were filed under "Non-fiction" but no:
"Realistic fiction", my foot. T_T
During Chapter 1-10:
•Wow, much trope.
•Getting a boyfriend is of prime importance, apparently. This is what happens kids, when you read too much twilight and get yo priorities messed up, (WAit, who am I even calling a kid? I AM A KID )
•"I got lost in those almond-colored eyes. Shades of green came to life now that the sun was streaming into the cafeteria. A little like almonds covered in mold, but not in a bad way."
Senseless analogies. You tried, author, you tried.
•Nope.
•I learnt that programming shit in eighth grade girl, why am I not making apps and getting boys? That's right because eighth if/else java programs are for class 1 arithmetic, not applications. And I'm not boasting or anything, It's the truth. There's more to it than some few hundred lines of programming, and it's frustrating when the programming examples are the ones for the n00bs. No, really. There's a reason people organize teams and associates for developing apps. But noooo, her dad was good at opening a fricking Microsoft Word file probably, and so our MC is so darn prodigious and adept. She's a senior; not even an undergrad for crying out loud. You don't go around doing that stuff unless you're the Colin Singleton of all things computer. It's not realistic.
I'm being mean as hell but the whole idea and presentation just doesn't appeal to me. It's almost as if she's trying to go around and about the making of the BFA, than directly attacking what actually the process involves. The queries she noted were something I'd upload to quora or quizilla at 12. It'd be so much better if a BIT of research could have been done but who cares because YA readers are just gullible grandmas, who will eat up anything fed to them and all you've gotta do is spout some techy lines and voilà! you have a cool nerd at your literary disposal. #smh man, #smh.
•Love interests fail. Geek is NOT a geek. Not even trying at the cutesy geek. Nope. There are better geeks you can grin at even if they LARP instead of going public static void main[].
Crush is a massive fail with as much expressiveness and depth as a wooden plank.
Girl doesn't have a clue who or what she likes about them. Confused AF. Indecisive AF.
•Never have had friends like -that- (Maybe because I'm a derp but still.)
•Predictable AF. Everything from her father, to the bff-turned-vamp, to the ''Lulz let's make apps because we've got nothing better to do'' contest- so frickin predictable.
•THE RABBIT'S FOOT GODDAMMIT THAT'S GROSS AND CREEPY THEY'RE RIGHT >.<
And as I begin Chapter 10 after a fortnight, I have no idea where I left, nor do I care what happens to Audrey and her Apple-ripoff company competition or all her 136 cliched days to go
•#Unimpressed.
And disillusioned.
And I'm not even sure if that's the correct word but I literally, am in no mood to correct typos or think before typing today. Deal with it.
(Although, that's not totally fair because I'm judging this on the first 10 chapters but then again, I just don't have the tiniest inclination to find out whatever the heck happens to Audrey's high school story or her #daddyissues, because I tried, but I just. don't. care. Dunno why. I'm erratic and weird I guess but then which teen isn't? :/ Also, it is kinda hard to impress someone after that they've just binged on a dozen KPop vids because my suppy of awe and amazement had dwindled. So yeah, blame Korean idols and their fighting and aegyo idkasdfghjkil :3 Not me.)
•And yeahhh- bottom line is that I'm bored and uninterested and maybe I just ignored the next-big-YA-thing and this review is not to be trusted but meh. Just the fact that despite the shit with her BFF and daddy and basically her uncertain and turbulent life, she's more concerned with nagging a BF for herself and playing matchmaker for others just annoys me a lot. Moreover the sequel is called the Pretty App AND JESUS CHRIST GIVE ME A BREAK IT'S NOT WORTH IT
So yeah. That's how I ended flicking this off my virtual book-rack.
Kbye.
I say yeah too many times.
But I'm not sorry.
December 7, 2013
When Audrey McCarthy sees an opportunity to change her family’s fortunes and win a college scholarship for herself by developing the next great mobile app, she accidentally sets off a firestorm of confusion and not-so-wacky hijinks.
Her idea is simple: create an app which will find each user the perfect partner based on complicated algorithms and detailed profiles. She enlists the aid of her fashion-obsessed cousin and her fellow tech geeks (collectively nicknamed the “troglodytes” by the popular clique) to put things into motion. And for a while, things look promising. A few early love matches, a celebrity tweet or two, and she’s on the fast track to winning the contest.
And then things go…wrong. Because love isn’t something you can guarantee just because a computer or smartphone or mobile app tells you so. Frustrated and desperate, Audrey takes advantage of a chance discovery to retool her app. The Boyfriend App 2.0, now with guaranteed love. That’s when it all blows up in her face. Can she find a way to get out of this situation?
The Boyfriend App is a strange story, and one might well accuse it of multiple personalities. It starts off as a fairly innocent romantic comedy, one of those slice-of-life teenage tales, where the plucky geek heroine uses her technological expertise to create the award-winning app which will win her the scholarship, the fame and fortune, and the boyfriend. At last, she’ll show her ex-best friend and queen bee of the mean girls, her true worth. Cue slow clap and maybe an speech at graduation.
Sise, however, puts some subtle clues into play along the way, and halfway through she yanks the rug out from under the readers with some strange and interesting twists. The story goes from “romantic comedy for the technophile” to “evil corporation using technology just shy of science fiction to do nefarious things, and only our heroine is aware.” It goes from awkward tale of redemption to something reminiscent of Cory Doctorow’s YA work, with the clever hacker teens fighting the system. Cue dirty secrets, blackmail, industrial espionage, revenge.
Things I like about this story: The cast is diverse and multi-dimensional. One of Audrey’s friends is Indian, and pretty cool in his own geeky way. (Kind of like a much more confident Raj from the Big Bang Theory, without the racial stereotyping.) Another is Hispanic with a speech disorder, and she’s played straight, not for laughs or as an object of pity or derision (save by the mean girls, who hate everyone.) When Audrey creates her app, she acknowledges that it can be for “girls wanting girlfriends, girls wanting boyfriends, boys wanting boyfriends, and boys wanting girlfriends.” In short, everyone. And later, we see the app bringing same-sex couples together. It’s not even something to remark upon in the story, it’s accepted and they all move on.
I also like the oddly parallel nature of the setting to our own world. Google and YouTube and Twitter all exist, but instead of Apple, we get the ubiquitous Public Corporation, with its social networking site (Public Party), music download platform (buyJams) media deice (buyPlayer) and smartphone (buyPhone). With the reach, versatility, and power of a vastly less ethical Apple, they pretty much rule the roost, with an especially strong presence in South Bend, Indiana, where the story is set (in the shadow of Notre Dame). It grants the book an extra step of remove from our own world, which comes in handy when trying to swallow some of what goes down.
I like that Sise doesn’t shy away from the nuts and bolts of the technological side of things. Her protagonist and mainly of the secondary characters are computer experts, programmers, hackers, and geeks, and it shows. The story as a whole treats them with a fair amount of respect and honesty, and it’s easy to root for the good guys. This really is a book for the hackers and programmers and gadget lovers, the ones who’re comfortable with HTTP and backdoors and coding. Sise either knows her stuff, or has at least done her research. (A quick glance at her bio informs me that she’s a jewelry designer and television host, and a fashion consultant. So she at least made a stab at making her techno babble sound realistic.)
So far, I’ve said some very nice things about a book I rather enjoyed. Now, however, I have to address the things I found problematic. Beyond this point, there be spoilers, because one cannot speak of them otherwise.
Audrey’s first app is designed so that everyone fills out a profile, and then the app uses GPS and other features to seek out all compatible profiles within five miles. If a compatible profile is within a certain range, say one hundred yards, the app will play a sound and give the female user an arrow and GSP directions to their love match. (No explanation on how it works if same sex couples are involved, or who gets designated the girl for the purposes at hand.) So theoretically, the power is in the hands of the girl to seek out their love match… the unsuspecting guy who may or may not want anything to do with the girl with whom he’s been matched.
I’m pretty sure there have been apps along those lines in the past. Maybe not specifically dating apps, more like data aggregation programs for smartphones, but they all led to the exact same issue I have here, one that’s never addressed: the potential for stalking and abuse. After all, these profiles rely on honest answers, and they allow you to surrender a lot of privacy without fully realizing the consequences. It’s almost a relief when this app goes down in flames. For every genuine match, there had to have been dozens of misfires. As Audrey herself realizes, you can’t necessarily trust technology where matters of the heart are concerned. But the Stalker App is right out….
The Boyfriend App 2.0 is downright terrifying. Audrey develops it after learning that Public is using an inaudible sound frequency through their products to essentially control teenagers and get them to buy more stuff. She reworks the technology to hijack the frequency and create an app that literally makes the target fall in love with the user.
I’ll pause. I’ll let that sink in.
Audrey creates an app that makes the target fall in love with the user. And keys it to only work for female profiles.
And then she not only uses it, she releases it into the wild.
Do I really need to explain why this is a spectacularly bad idea? The only reason the idea isn’t both terrifying and repugnant is because it’s being fielded by a teenage girl in what’s supposed to be a semi-comic manner. Because she wants to win a contest and save her family and get back at the big evil exploitive corporation which smeared her dead father’s reputation, it’s all hand waved as good fun. I still think of this as the Rape App, and I started twitching the moment Audrey honestly thought it was a good idea.
Now, perhaps I’m overdrinking things a little. Who wouldn’t love an app that tells you when a potential love match is close by? Imagine how easy it would be to meet people if your phone could tell you when they’re in the vicinity? (And how awkward it would be to find them in the restroom, or with their current girlfriend, or doing any one of a thousand private or embarrassing things…) Who wouldn’t love an app that lets you control the emotions and desires of anyone you desire (provided they fulfill certain criteria as set out in the story). Because teenagers can be trusted with that sort of power, right? (I was a teenager. The answer is Oh HELL No.)
So there’s the problem. Here we have a lively, entertaining, thoughtful comedy for the techies and geeks and trogs, and it’s wrapped around some profoundly disturbing issues that undermine a lot of the goodwill otherwise inspired by the colorful cast of characters and worthwhile plot. I mean, I like Audrey and her friends. I love how they interact with one another. I like some of the couples that come together as a result of the story. I wanted to root for Audrey and company to find happiness and success…and yet I was expecting the NSA to “vanish” her at the end of the book.
Clearly, Sise has a lot of potential as a YA author. There’s a measure of depth and complexity to what could have been a total fluff piece, and there was plenty to love here. I just hope that the themes and decisions made as part of the story spark some genuine discussion as well.
Her idea is simple: create an app which will find each user the perfect partner based on complicated algorithms and detailed profiles. She enlists the aid of her fashion-obsessed cousin and her fellow tech geeks (collectively nicknamed the “troglodytes” by the popular clique) to put things into motion. And for a while, things look promising. A few early love matches, a celebrity tweet or two, and she’s on the fast track to winning the contest.
And then things go…wrong. Because love isn’t something you can guarantee just because a computer or smartphone or mobile app tells you so. Frustrated and desperate, Audrey takes advantage of a chance discovery to retool her app. The Boyfriend App 2.0, now with guaranteed love. That’s when it all blows up in her face. Can she find a way to get out of this situation?
The Boyfriend App is a strange story, and one might well accuse it of multiple personalities. It starts off as a fairly innocent romantic comedy, one of those slice-of-life teenage tales, where the plucky geek heroine uses her technological expertise to create the award-winning app which will win her the scholarship, the fame and fortune, and the boyfriend. At last, she’ll show her ex-best friend and queen bee of the mean girls, her true worth. Cue slow clap and maybe an speech at graduation.
Sise, however, puts some subtle clues into play along the way, and halfway through she yanks the rug out from under the readers with some strange and interesting twists. The story goes from “romantic comedy for the technophile” to “evil corporation using technology just shy of science fiction to do nefarious things, and only our heroine is aware.” It goes from awkward tale of redemption to something reminiscent of Cory Doctorow’s YA work, with the clever hacker teens fighting the system. Cue dirty secrets, blackmail, industrial espionage, revenge.
Things I like about this story: The cast is diverse and multi-dimensional. One of Audrey’s friends is Indian, and pretty cool in his own geeky way. (Kind of like a much more confident Raj from the Big Bang Theory, without the racial stereotyping.) Another is Hispanic with a speech disorder, and she’s played straight, not for laughs or as an object of pity or derision (save by the mean girls, who hate everyone.) When Audrey creates her app, she acknowledges that it can be for “girls wanting girlfriends, girls wanting boyfriends, boys wanting boyfriends, and boys wanting girlfriends.” In short, everyone. And later, we see the app bringing same-sex couples together. It’s not even something to remark upon in the story, it’s accepted and they all move on.
I also like the oddly parallel nature of the setting to our own world. Google and YouTube and Twitter all exist, but instead of Apple, we get the ubiquitous Public Corporation, with its social networking site (Public Party), music download platform (buyJams) media deice (buyPlayer) and smartphone (buyPhone). With the reach, versatility, and power of a vastly less ethical Apple, they pretty much rule the roost, with an especially strong presence in South Bend, Indiana, where the story is set (in the shadow of Notre Dame). It grants the book an extra step of remove from our own world, which comes in handy when trying to swallow some of what goes down.
I like that Sise doesn’t shy away from the nuts and bolts of the technological side of things. Her protagonist and mainly of the secondary characters are computer experts, programmers, hackers, and geeks, and it shows. The story as a whole treats them with a fair amount of respect and honesty, and it’s easy to root for the good guys. This really is a book for the hackers and programmers and gadget lovers, the ones who’re comfortable with HTTP and backdoors and coding. Sise either knows her stuff, or has at least done her research. (A quick glance at her bio informs me that she’s a jewelry designer and television host, and a fashion consultant. So she at least made a stab at making her techno babble sound realistic.)
So far, I’ve said some very nice things about a book I rather enjoyed. Now, however, I have to address the things I found problematic. Beyond this point, there be spoilers, because one cannot speak of them otherwise.
Audrey’s first app is designed so that everyone fills out a profile, and then the app uses GPS and other features to seek out all compatible profiles within five miles. If a compatible profile is within a certain range, say one hundred yards, the app will play a sound and give the female user an arrow and GSP directions to their love match. (No explanation on how it works if same sex couples are involved, or who gets designated the girl for the purposes at hand.) So theoretically, the power is in the hands of the girl to seek out their love match… the unsuspecting guy who may or may not want anything to do with the girl with whom he’s been matched.
I’m pretty sure there have been apps along those lines in the past. Maybe not specifically dating apps, more like data aggregation programs for smartphones, but they all led to the exact same issue I have here, one that’s never addressed: the potential for stalking and abuse. After all, these profiles rely on honest answers, and they allow you to surrender a lot of privacy without fully realizing the consequences. It’s almost a relief when this app goes down in flames. For every genuine match, there had to have been dozens of misfires. As Audrey herself realizes, you can’t necessarily trust technology where matters of the heart are concerned. But the Stalker App is right out….
The Boyfriend App 2.0 is downright terrifying. Audrey develops it after learning that Public is using an inaudible sound frequency through their products to essentially control teenagers and get them to buy more stuff. She reworks the technology to hijack the frequency and create an app that literally makes the target fall in love with the user.
I’ll pause. I’ll let that sink in.
Audrey creates an app that makes the target fall in love with the user. And keys it to only work for female profiles.
And then she not only uses it, she releases it into the wild.
Do I really need to explain why this is a spectacularly bad idea? The only reason the idea isn’t both terrifying and repugnant is because it’s being fielded by a teenage girl in what’s supposed to be a semi-comic manner. Because she wants to win a contest and save her family and get back at the big evil exploitive corporation which smeared her dead father’s reputation, it’s all hand waved as good fun. I still think of this as the Rape App, and I started twitching the moment Audrey honestly thought it was a good idea.
Now, perhaps I’m overdrinking things a little. Who wouldn’t love an app that tells you when a potential love match is close by? Imagine how easy it would be to meet people if your phone could tell you when they’re in the vicinity? (And how awkward it would be to find them in the restroom, or with their current girlfriend, or doing any one of a thousand private or embarrassing things…) Who wouldn’t love an app that lets you control the emotions and desires of anyone you desire (provided they fulfill certain criteria as set out in the story). Because teenagers can be trusted with that sort of power, right? (I was a teenager. The answer is Oh HELL No.)
So there’s the problem. Here we have a lively, entertaining, thoughtful comedy for the techies and geeks and trogs, and it’s wrapped around some profoundly disturbing issues that undermine a lot of the goodwill otherwise inspired by the colorful cast of characters and worthwhile plot. I mean, I like Audrey and her friends. I love how they interact with one another. I like some of the couples that come together as a result of the story. I wanted to root for Audrey and company to find happiness and success…and yet I was expecting the NSA to “vanish” her at the end of the book.
Clearly, Sise has a lot of potential as a YA author. There’s a measure of depth and complexity to what could have been a total fluff piece, and there was plenty to love here. I just hope that the themes and decisions made as part of the story spark some genuine discussion as well.
December 23, 2019
I don’t even know what I just read. At first, it turned out to be rather interesting. Computer hacking lingo that I never even understood until this, but then it kind of went downhill. I thought it it dragged on a bit and I ended up flipping through the pages just to find out what happened, merely skimming it just to end it. Not the most exciting book, but it did hold some promise in the beginning.
May 20, 2013
Guys, I am writing this as a zombie blogger, because I died of cute. Seriously, this book is so fun and sweet and humorous and delightful. I picked The Boyfriend App at just the right time, when I was in the mood for a lighter read, for a contemporary novel, and this hit the spot so perfectly. To me, the best books are the ones that can make me feel, and The Boyfriend App delivered, making me actually laugh aloud and grin like an idiot pretty much the whole way through. As I sit here writing this, I still have the foolish grin on my face, because this book is that adorable.
For those who don't know, my day job involves working at a software company, so I hear a lot of talk about programming and apps and all of this stuff. I feel so brilliant when I understand those conversations, and that was a fun aspect of The Boyfriend App. It doesn't get super technical, but one of my best friends is super into app design and hearing all of the ideas and seeing the passion these kids have is so uplifting. Also, it's awesome that there's such a focus on technology in The Boyfriend App, because fiction tends to lag behind on the technological curve, but everything in here is very timely.
Audrey McCarthy loves hacking and programming, taught by her father, who perished in a mysterious accident, for which he was, likely, wrongfully blamed. Audrey and her mother, who is a lunch lady at her school, struggle to make ends meet. Unable to keep herself in the latest fashions, Audrey's not popular at school, but she's totally okay with that, because she has some of the best friends ever, insultingly referred to as "trogs" by her ex-best friend Blake and her cronies.
The characters in The Boyfriend App really shine. Of course, I've got a weak spot for geeky bands of misfits. I love how diverse the kids in this group and in the school as a whole are; this felt a lot more like my high school than most of the ones depicted in YA fiction. Going off on a slight tangent, Sise not only includes characters of various diversities, but she's also not hetero-normative, referencing both lesbian and gay couples.
Anyway, back to Audrey's little group. Nigit and Aidan are programmers like Audrey, and she's crushing on Aidan hard secretly. Mindy, though lovely, is teased mercilessly for her speech impediment. Lindsay, Audrey's cousin, is a fashionista who runs an enormously popular fashion blog. The dialog between all of them is so realistic and engaging. They all feel so real to me. Plus, they're so supportive of one another, and I love seeing a young adult novel with such a strong depiction of friendship, and one where it's a group and not a singular best friend is even rarer.
Okay, so the plot of The Boyfriend App is that Public, a technology company that's totally a parody of Apple runs a contest for high school students to design an app. The two winners will receive $200,000, and Audrey wants to win badly, because this is her only chance to go to a good school and not leave seriously in debt, since she and her mother have a total of $2000 dollars saved. Audrey designs this app intended to help girls find boyfriends, and hijinks totally ensue. There's this one scene in the cafeteria that just killed me, thus why I'm now a zombie. It's over the top in just the right way. Just don't take this book too seriously, because this is comedy and it is good.
At the very end, the book does go in a slightly weird direction. Yes, Sise makes it work, but the plot felt a bit more meandering once the app contest ended. Though a bit more trite of an ending, closing shortly after the announcement might have been more effective, since things got a trifle too serious for the tone thereafter. I also have a few questions about how the Boyfriend App gets information on boys, and a few other niggling questions like that about the app, but that's totally not the point, so I'm going to try to tell my nit-picky self to shut the hell up.
With a sweet romance, laugh out loud humor, and lots and lots of kissing, Katie Sise's The Boyfriend App is a must read for fans of light contemporary fiction. With such a strong debut, you can bet I'll be reading whatever Sise writes next!
For those who don't know, my day job involves working at a software company, so I hear a lot of talk about programming and apps and all of this stuff. I feel so brilliant when I understand those conversations, and that was a fun aspect of The Boyfriend App. It doesn't get super technical, but one of my best friends is super into app design and hearing all of the ideas and seeing the passion these kids have is so uplifting. Also, it's awesome that there's such a focus on technology in The Boyfriend App, because fiction tends to lag behind on the technological curve, but everything in here is very timely.
Audrey McCarthy loves hacking and programming, taught by her father, who perished in a mysterious accident, for which he was, likely, wrongfully blamed. Audrey and her mother, who is a lunch lady at her school, struggle to make ends meet. Unable to keep herself in the latest fashions, Audrey's not popular at school, but she's totally okay with that, because she has some of the best friends ever, insultingly referred to as "trogs" by her ex-best friend Blake and her cronies.
The characters in The Boyfriend App really shine. Of course, I've got a weak spot for geeky bands of misfits. I love how diverse the kids in this group and in the school as a whole are; this felt a lot more like my high school than most of the ones depicted in YA fiction. Going off on a slight tangent, Sise not only includes characters of various diversities, but she's also not hetero-normative, referencing both lesbian and gay couples.
Anyway, back to Audrey's little group. Nigit and Aidan are programmers like Audrey, and she's crushing on Aidan hard secretly. Mindy, though lovely, is teased mercilessly for her speech impediment. Lindsay, Audrey's cousin, is a fashionista who runs an enormously popular fashion blog. The dialog between all of them is so realistic and engaging. They all feel so real to me. Plus, they're so supportive of one another, and I love seeing a young adult novel with such a strong depiction of friendship, and one where it's a group and not a singular best friend is even rarer.
Okay, so the plot of The Boyfriend App is that Public, a technology company that's totally a parody of Apple runs a contest for high school students to design an app. The two winners will receive $200,000, and Audrey wants to win badly, because this is her only chance to go to a good school and not leave seriously in debt, since she and her mother have a total of $2000 dollars saved. Audrey designs this app intended to help girls find boyfriends, and hijinks totally ensue. There's this one scene in the cafeteria that just killed me, thus why I'm now a zombie. It's over the top in just the right way. Just don't take this book too seriously, because this is comedy and it is good.
At the very end, the book does go in a slightly weird direction. Yes, Sise makes it work, but the plot felt a bit more meandering once the app contest ended. Though a bit more trite of an ending, closing shortly after the announcement might have been more effective, since things got a trifle too serious for the tone thereafter. I also have a few questions about how the Boyfriend App gets information on boys, and a few other niggling questions like that about the app, but that's totally not the point, so I'm going to try to tell my nit-picky self to shut the hell up.
With a sweet romance, laugh out loud humor, and lots and lots of kissing, Katie Sise's The Boyfriend App is a must read for fans of light contemporary fiction. With such a strong debut, you can bet I'll be reading whatever Sise writes next!
September 22, 2013
Actual Rating 3.5
After reading a whole bunch of fantasy and paranormal I decided I needed a chic lit and so I requested this.
One of my reasons for requesting this book in particular was that it was a book about geeks. I happen to be one myself; not a computer geek but you know a geek never the less. I’ve heard quite a few people complain about the technical language in the book and how they didn’t understand it. I am hopeless with computers but I think I could mostly understand because it was very easy for me to relate to the character, plus her descriptions about the programming stuff were always fun to read for me. She was so passionate about computer programming that I was able to enjoy it despite the fact that I suck with computers.
She uses this as a way to connect to her father who died when she was a freshman because of an incident at work. The little bit of insight we are given into their relationship does make me incredibly sad because they shared such a wonderful father/daughter relationship.
Another reason I requested this book was that in one of the reviews I had read it mentioned that this was what I call a best friend romance; where two people who are good friends get together. I happen to love those.
Aidan was the said “best friend”. He took Audrey under his wing when she had no one left; her best friend had become a bitch to her because she thought Audrey had betrayed her.Aidan is the super cute, shy geek.
I happen to have a soft spot for those. There are so many brooding/jerk/badass heroes out there, what happened to the cute shy guys?
It’s always fun to see him clam up because someone who is as cute as him could easily attract girls and should be confident about himself. Although he did attract girls when he first moved to the school but when they realized how shy he was they backed off. I believe this probably has something to do with the fact that his father left them. Things like that are bound to leave some sort of mark on you.
What we are shown of her past relationship with Blake is also interesting. Blake has always been popular and back when they were best friends, so was Audrey. But Blake wasn’t particularly cruel until they became freshmen. Then Blake had so much more competition that she became a bitch to keep up. This was also around the time Audrey’s father had died and after seeing Blake hurt so many people she finally snapped, she had her own grief to deal with, she didn’t want to see anyone else’s . After that their relationship dwindled until well they became nemesis of sorts and Blake did everything in her power to make Audrey’s life miserable.
I also like how Audrey’s crush on the jock, Xander, is justified. She used to be nice to him when everyone else bullied him. I usually don’t understand what girls see in jocks in books, they are usually portrayed as womanizing douche bags, but Xander had a depth to him and I appreciated that the author tried to separate him from the usual clichés.
Lindsay is also a great cousin, she is somewhat of an airhead but she is always there for Audrey and extremely loyal.
Of course this book happens to be a chic lit so it isn’t the best thing ever but some of the things that really stand out in it are the relationships and the characters; the author does a good job with developing the relationships between the characters and the characters happen to be interesting.
I recommend this book for anyone looking for a good chic lit to chill out with.
This review has also been posted on my blog
After reading a whole bunch of fantasy and paranormal I decided I needed a chic lit and so I requested this.
One of my reasons for requesting this book in particular was that it was a book about geeks. I happen to be one myself; not a computer geek but you know a geek never the less. I’ve heard quite a few people complain about the technical language in the book and how they didn’t understand it. I am hopeless with computers but I think I could mostly understand because it was very easy for me to relate to the character, plus her descriptions about the programming stuff were always fun to read for me. She was so passionate about computer programming that I was able to enjoy it despite the fact that I suck with computers.
She uses this as a way to connect to her father who died when she was a freshman because of an incident at work. The little bit of insight we are given into their relationship does make me incredibly sad because they shared such a wonderful father/daughter relationship.
Another reason I requested this book was that in one of the reviews I had read it mentioned that this was what I call a best friend romance; where two people who are good friends get together. I happen to love those.
Aidan was the said “best friend”. He took Audrey under his wing when she had no one left; her best friend had become a bitch to her because she thought Audrey had betrayed her.Aidan is the super cute, shy geek.
I happen to have a soft spot for those. There are so many brooding/jerk/badass heroes out there, what happened to the cute shy guys?
It’s always fun to see him clam up because someone who is as cute as him could easily attract girls and should be confident about himself. Although he did attract girls when he first moved to the school but when they realized how shy he was they backed off. I believe this probably has something to do with the fact that his father left them. Things like that are bound to leave some sort of mark on you.
What we are shown of her past relationship with Blake is also interesting. Blake has always been popular and back when they were best friends, so was Audrey. But Blake wasn’t particularly cruel until they became freshmen. Then Blake had so much more competition that she became a bitch to keep up. This was also around the time Audrey’s father had died and after seeing Blake hurt so many people she finally snapped, she had her own grief to deal with, she didn’t want to see anyone else’s . After that their relationship dwindled until well they became nemesis of sorts and Blake did everything in her power to make Audrey’s life miserable.
I also like how Audrey’s crush on the jock, Xander, is justified. She used to be nice to him when everyone else bullied him. I usually don’t understand what girls see in jocks in books, they are usually portrayed as womanizing douche bags, but Xander had a depth to him and I appreciated that the author tried to separate him from the usual clichés.
Lindsay is also a great cousin, she is somewhat of an airhead but she is always there for Audrey and extremely loyal.
Of course this book happens to be a chic lit so it isn’t the best thing ever but some of the things that really stand out in it are the relationships and the characters; the author does a good job with developing the relationships between the characters and the characters happen to be interesting.
I recommend this book for anyone looking for a good chic lit to chill out with.
This review has also been posted on my blog
March 23, 2013
The Boyfriend App was mostly what I expected it to be--cute and quick. I wasn't expecting the almost sci-fi element to it though, nor the twist with Public, a manufacturer of phones and ipod type things as well as social networking for teens leader in this book.
I really enjoyed Audrey and she is the reason I suspended belief a bit with some of the capabilities of technology. She is nerdy and smart, she is the middle of the road almost invisible girl in school, and although I wasn't quite the computer genius like she is, I related with her a lot. She is really into coding and some of that went over my head, but it never made me disconnect from the story. It was very believable in that she learned the script and such from her dad, and that is her hobby.
I also really enjoyed her group of "trog" friends in this book--Nigit, Mindy and especially Aiden. I liked their connection but I was right there wondering when and if there was something romantic there. Audrey's friendship with her cousin Lindsay also added a lot to this story. They seem like unlikely allies and close friends because Lindsay is hardcore into fashion, but still they are there for each other, and support each other no matter what.
The first usage of the app was more what I was expecting. Especially its first happy couple. But the second version is what had me questioning the story. I mean, it is an interesting twist, but I just wasn't expecting the story to go in the direction it did. And I think, no I know that Audrey really didn't think about what she was setting in motion.
Okay, so the rivalry between Blake her ex bff and Audrey... Blake seemed to be the definition of a mean girl, but I could always tell she was just a hurt and jealous girl. But that can make some people act out and try to bully.
Bottom Line: Quick read! Some of the story just didn't click with me, but I liked the main character and the spark between her and Aiden.
I really enjoyed Audrey and she is the reason I suspended belief a bit with some of the capabilities of technology. She is nerdy and smart, she is the middle of the road almost invisible girl in school, and although I wasn't quite the computer genius like she is, I related with her a lot. She is really into coding and some of that went over my head, but it never made me disconnect from the story. It was very believable in that she learned the script and such from her dad, and that is her hobby.
I also really enjoyed her group of "trog" friends in this book--Nigit, Mindy and especially Aiden. I liked their connection but I was right there wondering when and if there was something romantic there. Audrey's friendship with her cousin Lindsay also added a lot to this story. They seem like unlikely allies and close friends because Lindsay is hardcore into fashion, but still they are there for each other, and support each other no matter what.
The first usage of the app was more what I was expecting. Especially its first happy couple. But the second version is what had me questioning the story. I mean, it is an interesting twist, but I just wasn't expecting the story to go in the direction it did. And I think, no I know that Audrey really didn't think about what she was setting in motion.
Okay, so the rivalry between Blake her ex bff and Audrey... Blake seemed to be the definition of a mean girl, but I could always tell she was just a hurt and jealous girl. But that can make some people act out and try to bully.
Bottom Line: Quick read! Some of the story just didn't click with me, but I liked the main character and the spark between her and Aiden.
February 5, 2013
The Boyfriend APP is such a cute and fun read. I am so thankful to Around The World ARC Tours for allowing me to read this book. When I first read the blurb I thought okay this sounds like a light fun read and I can't wait till August till it comes out and I can read it. Katie tells a fun story about what people will do to get to college. How innovative people can be to get a scholarship.
Audrey McCarthy can't wait to get out of high school and move on to bigger and better things like college. But to get to college she needs financial help. She has her goals and dreams but she needs some type of financial help. That is when she sees the a scholarship for 200,00.00 for anyone who can come up with the best App. At first Audrey is not sure what she will do because losing her father has taken it's toll on her but then she decides she will do the boyfriend app. So Audrey comes up with the boyfriend app and her life as she knew it changes and it changes for the better.
Now all of a sudden she is popular and all the kids like her. She has kissed a popular boy and things are starting to look up. Will she win the scholarship? Will she remain popular for the rest of her senior year? This book is a must read! It is so funny and it has it's life lessons in it. Audry has to come to terms with her fathers death as well.
Come April 30th give this book a go! You will laugh out loud so hard your ribs will hurt!
Audrey McCarthy can't wait to get out of high school and move on to bigger and better things like college. But to get to college she needs financial help. She has her goals and dreams but she needs some type of financial help. That is when she sees the a scholarship for 200,00.00 for anyone who can come up with the best App. At first Audrey is not sure what she will do because losing her father has taken it's toll on her but then she decides she will do the boyfriend app. So Audrey comes up with the boyfriend app and her life as she knew it changes and it changes for the better.
Now all of a sudden she is popular and all the kids like her. She has kissed a popular boy and things are starting to look up. Will she win the scholarship? Will she remain popular for the rest of her senior year? This book is a must read! It is so funny and it has it's life lessons in it. Audry has to come to terms with her fathers death as well.
Come April 30th give this book a go! You will laugh out loud so hard your ribs will hurt!
December 15, 2013
I found The Boyfriend App to be a constant page-turner. It was probably the romance up and downs that I found myself needing to read more. Some scenes felt outrageous, but it's fiction. It doesn't have to be real.
Audrey was an interesting character. I liked her. Even though we're not alike, I could still relate to her. I loved Aidan's character and I was rooting for Audrey and Aidan to figure out their feelings for one another. The secondary characters also held dimension.
Some scenes were predictable, but there was a twist at about 70 percent of the book that held a hint of a paranormal aspect. I didn't exactly love the twist, but I appreciate how the author took the idea and ran with it. The Boyfriend App 2.0 made sense in how it worked.
Most of the techy geek speak made sense to me. I'm not a programmer, but I took programming in high school. I know enough about technology that I could follow the story and understand what was being said and explained.
Audrey was an interesting character. I liked her. Even though we're not alike, I could still relate to her. I loved Aidan's character and I was rooting for Audrey and Aidan to figure out their feelings for one another. The secondary characters also held dimension.
Some scenes were predictable, but there was a twist at about 70 percent of the book that held a hint of a paranormal aspect. I didn't exactly love the twist, but I appreciate how the author took the idea and ran with it. The Boyfriend App 2.0 made sense in how it worked.
Most of the techy geek speak made sense to me. I'm not a programmer, but I took programming in high school. I know enough about technology that I could follow the story and understand what was being said and explained.
June 22, 2017
This book almost started to save itself til the end, when the MC let out a breathe she didn't know she was holding. Most of the chapters ended in cliffhangers in the middle of a scene so I didn't feel that we got the full force of the story. Not a bad idea, but could have developed a whole lot more than it did. Plus some things that happened just didn't make enough sense with what we had known from previous information. Glad I stuck it through though to know the ending.
March 19, 2017
I was really intrigued by the concept of this book since I love nerdy protagonists, but this one was too over the top for my taste..
so we get introduced to Audrey who is a computer genius, and she have a crush on her class mate Aiden who is also a computer nerd, and then they enter this competition to invent an app to win a college tuition, so Audrey invents the Boyfriend App which matches you with your soulmate, I was hooked in this idea but after that problems occur and nothing is making sense anymore .. not Audrey or any one else .. even the plots goes over the top just so it get solved in two lines !!
I wanted to enjoy this book more than this but I will read the second book and hopefully it will redeem it
so we get introduced to Audrey who is a computer genius, and she have a crush on her class mate Aiden who is also a computer nerd, and then they enter this competition to invent an app to win a college tuition, so Audrey invents the Boyfriend App which matches you with your soulmate, I was hooked in this idea but after that problems occur and nothing is making sense anymore .. not Audrey or any one else .. even the plots goes over the top just so it get solved in two lines !!
I wanted to enjoy this book more than this but I will read the second book and hopefully it will redeem it
July 3, 2013
As Seen At The Quiet Concert
***********CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS*********
The Boyfriend App tells the story of Audrey, a technologically-gifted high school senior, who chooses to write an app for her phone in order to win a contest and get some scholarship money. The idea that she settles on is to create a matching making app.
In the beginning of the book, I was ok with the basic premise. In fact, I was excited to see a techie girl who was talented at coding. There are not enough of these girls (like me!) in real life so I was happy to see us represented in the book. But then very quickly, issues began to emerge.
First off, the romance in the book seemed forced and simply dumb. The decisions that the characters made baffled me. For instance, the main love interest is mis-matched by the app as being a perfect match for the most popular girl in the school, and he goes along with it even though it is clear he likes with Audrey. He does this to try and bolster Audrey’s confidence in the app… but in real life, who would really do that? I was frustrated by that entire aspect of the story.
Then comes the exciting part: the technology. The twist of the story occurs when Audrey begins to notice special, undocumented functionality built into her phone. The phone, it seems, is capable of emitting sound waves that can alter the behavior of teenagers through mind control. Kind of like subliminal messages What?? You read that correctly… the makers of the phone have been using their devices to control teenagers. Puh-lease. As if that weren’t dumb enough, Audrey uses her awesome high-school senior “hacking” skills to infiltrate the servers of the multi-million-dollar phone manufacturer company, install a back door, and listen in on all of the company’s plans and secrets. Again I ask, What?? Some high school script kiddie was able to get through tons of levels of firewalls and security preventative measures protecting billions of dollars’ worth of information in no time at all, and with no help, financial resources, or training? Impossible and ridiculous.
With Audrey’s newfound knowledge of the secret teen-controlling tones, she refines her app into Version 2, which actually provides the ability to make people “fall in love”. It does this by raising their “hormone levels” to an obscene degree and basically making them want to make out with the person with the app so much that they eat their entire face off. I have always had a problem with implausible, instant love in books, and this just takes that to the next level.
Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone who has any semblance of technical knowledge. Perhaps PERHAPS if a reader is completely clueless about phone or security technology, or can somehow overlook all the blatant impossibilities related to those, then they might enjoy it. But basically, if you’re anything like me, you’ll simply laugh and shake your head the entire read long. 2 stars.
***********CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS*********
The Boyfriend App tells the story of Audrey, a technologically-gifted high school senior, who chooses to write an app for her phone in order to win a contest and get some scholarship money. The idea that she settles on is to create a matching making app.
In the beginning of the book, I was ok with the basic premise. In fact, I was excited to see a techie girl who was talented at coding. There are not enough of these girls (like me!) in real life so I was happy to see us represented in the book. But then very quickly, issues began to emerge.
First off, the romance in the book seemed forced and simply dumb. The decisions that the characters made baffled me. For instance, the main love interest is mis-matched by the app as being a perfect match for the most popular girl in the school, and he goes along with it even though it is clear he likes with Audrey. He does this to try and bolster Audrey’s confidence in the app… but in real life, who would really do that? I was frustrated by that entire aspect of the story.
Then comes the exciting part: the technology. The twist of the story occurs when Audrey begins to notice special, undocumented functionality built into her phone. The phone, it seems, is capable of emitting sound waves that can alter the behavior of teenagers through mind control. Kind of like subliminal messages What?? You read that correctly… the makers of the phone have been using their devices to control teenagers. Puh-lease. As if that weren’t dumb enough, Audrey uses her awesome high-school senior “hacking” skills to infiltrate the servers of the multi-million-dollar phone manufacturer company, install a back door, and listen in on all of the company’s plans and secrets. Again I ask, What?? Some high school script kiddie was able to get through tons of levels of firewalls and security preventative measures protecting billions of dollars’ worth of information in no time at all, and with no help, financial resources, or training? Impossible and ridiculous.
With Audrey’s newfound knowledge of the secret teen-controlling tones, she refines her app into Version 2, which actually provides the ability to make people “fall in love”. It does this by raising their “hormone levels” to an obscene degree and basically making them want to make out with the person with the app so much that they eat their entire face off. I have always had a problem with implausible, instant love in books, and this just takes that to the next level.
Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone who has any semblance of technical knowledge. Perhaps PERHAPS if a reader is completely clueless about phone or security technology, or can somehow overlook all the blatant impossibilities related to those, then they might enjoy it. But basically, if you’re anything like me, you’ll simply laugh and shake your head the entire read long. 2 stars.
September 29, 2014
4.5 stars! I really really enjoyed this book! I hate to use the word cute to describe it, but it's the word that keeps coming to mind when I think of it! This was everything I hoped a young adult novel could be.
Audrey McCarthy can't wait to graduate. The once popular girl who had lots of admirers and friends isn't quite the same after her father's death and the loss of her one time best friend Blake... the resident mean girl. She now sits at a table filled with some of the lowest on the high school totem pole and watches her mom struggle to make ends meet while working in the high school cafeteria.
Audrey may have found the answer to her problems though. A contest is announced that will provide the winner with 200k to use to attend the college of their choice. Audrey needs to win.
And so... The Boyfriend App is created.
What teenage girl (or any girl for that matter) wouldn't want to find their perfect guy by simply filling out a questionnaire and having your phone tell you when you are within 100 feet of them? None... that's the answer. Her app is a success ... but things don't go as smoothly as she had hoped.
What did I love? I adored Audrey. She's absolutely someone I would have hung out with in high school. She loves programming *cough hacking cough* ... mostly because it's something she did with her dad, but also because she's good at it.
I loved Audrey's friends! Mindy, Nigit, Lindsay and Aiden were just the perfect mix and a wonderful inclusion to a great story.
The Boyfriend App provides a perfect mix flails, funny, and romance and I adored every second of it.
I will say that there is a lot of computer speak in this ... I mean it's unavoidable because computers and hacking and programming are the base of this story and so at times it was kind of over my head, but I think Sise does an incredible job of explaining the nerd speak when it was necessary.
Did I mention Aiden yet... yes... well let me mention him again. I adored him. Everytime he said "Auds" I totally melted inside.
Also... I hated Blake. Like Hated Hated.
She takes the definition of mean girl to a whole new level and that up there was my face every single time she appeared.
If you're looking for a wonderfully written YA that's engaging and sweet and a little bit awesomely nerdy, you MUST check out The Boyfriend App. I promise you won't be able to put it down once you start!
Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
This review can be found on my blog, Fic Fare:
Audrey McCarthy can't wait to graduate. The once popular girl who had lots of admirers and friends isn't quite the same after her father's death and the loss of her one time best friend Blake... the resident mean girl. She now sits at a table filled with some of the lowest on the high school totem pole and watches her mom struggle to make ends meet while working in the high school cafeteria.
Audrey may have found the answer to her problems though. A contest is announced that will provide the winner with 200k to use to attend the college of their choice. Audrey needs to win.
And so... The Boyfriend App is created.
What teenage girl (or any girl for that matter) wouldn't want to find their perfect guy by simply filling out a questionnaire and having your phone tell you when you are within 100 feet of them? None... that's the answer. Her app is a success ... but things don't go as smoothly as she had hoped.
What did I love? I adored Audrey. She's absolutely someone I would have hung out with in high school. She loves programming *cough hacking cough* ... mostly because it's something she did with her dad, but also because she's good at it.
I loved Audrey's friends! Mindy, Nigit, Lindsay and Aiden were just the perfect mix and a wonderful inclusion to a great story.
The Boyfriend App provides a perfect mix flails, funny, and romance and I adored every second of it.
I will say that there is a lot of computer speak in this ... I mean it's unavoidable because computers and hacking and programming are the base of this story and so at times it was kind of over my head, but I think Sise does an incredible job of explaining the nerd speak when it was necessary.
Did I mention Aiden yet... yes... well let me mention him again. I adored him. Everytime he said "Auds" I totally melted inside.
Also... I hated Blake. Like Hated Hated.
She takes the definition of mean girl to a whole new level and that up there was my face every single time she appeared.
If you're looking for a wonderfully written YA that's engaging and sweet and a little bit awesomely nerdy, you MUST check out The Boyfriend App. I promise you won't be able to put it down once you start!
Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
This review can be found on my blog, Fic Fare:
February 20, 2013
In the world of apps, iPads, and ever-more capable cell phones, a story like this fits right in. Part teen drama, part entertaining ingenuity, and part heart, The Boyfriend App kept me playing!
Spunky outcast Audrey was easy to like, and as details came to light about how she went from popular best friend of queen bee Blake to geek squad girl, I was in her corner entirely. As if the death of her father wasn't a horrible enough event in her life, she also had to endure the near-constant torture of her former best friend being as cruel as possible whenever she's around. Honestly, Blake made me ill, and I was so infuriated by this character I wanted something awful to happen to her just so she could wallow in it for eternity!! Thankfully she had her friends and Aidan, the boy who secretly held her heart.
In need of some major cash if she ever wanted a prayer of going to the college of her dreams, gifted techie Audrey's ears perked up when the app developing contest was announced. Right up her alley, she just needed a concept; bring on TBA!! Her boyfriend app was not unlike the concept of a dating website, only it pinpoints your perfect match once you're in range. Great concept, with some fatal flaws. As Audrey scrambled to deal with human errors, she stumbled across something much bigger, and much more potent in the app world. What ensued was a series of absolutely insane moments that had me laughing, fuming, and crossing my fingers for things to somehow just pull together for this girl who was in over her head!
When the dust settled on this story, I ended up liking it a lot more than I expected to in the beginning. The characters grew on me, and overall it was a clever YA story that gets a thumbs up from this reader!
Thank you to Harper Collins for allowing me to have an ARC of this book for review!
Spunky outcast Audrey was easy to like, and as details came to light about how she went from popular best friend of queen bee Blake to geek squad girl, I was in her corner entirely. As if the death of her father wasn't a horrible enough event in her life, she also had to endure the near-constant torture of her former best friend being as cruel as possible whenever she's around. Honestly, Blake made me ill, and I was so infuriated by this character I wanted something awful to happen to her just so she could wallow in it for eternity!! Thankfully she had her friends and Aidan, the boy who secretly held her heart.
In need of some major cash if she ever wanted a prayer of going to the college of her dreams, gifted techie Audrey's ears perked up when the app developing contest was announced. Right up her alley, she just needed a concept; bring on TBA!! Her boyfriend app was not unlike the concept of a dating website, only it pinpoints your perfect match once you're in range. Great concept, with some fatal flaws. As Audrey scrambled to deal with human errors, she stumbled across something much bigger, and much more potent in the app world. What ensued was a series of absolutely insane moments that had me laughing, fuming, and crossing my fingers for things to somehow just pull together for this girl who was in over her head!
When the dust settled on this story, I ended up liking it a lot more than I expected to in the beginning. The characters grew on me, and overall it was a clever YA story that gets a thumbs up from this reader!
Thank you to Harper Collins for allowing me to have an ARC of this book for review!
May 3, 2013
The Boyfriend App was fun and cute in most parts. But extremely unrealistic and over top in others.
In many ways it's your typical mean popular girls that pick on geeks and the hot guy kissing the shy girl YA. So lots of the plot was kinda predictable, I didn't really mind that very much. I know it's been done time and time again. But basically I expected it.
What I didn't expect is all the technical talk. While I am a geek girl, I honestly did find it rather disruptive. This is supposed to be a YA romance - not a programming manual. Plus in the whole programming bit suddenly there were totally impossible bits added. A wavelength tech that makes you want something and even worse the falling in love button! Really?
The plot takes a turn to the even more impossible towards the end and is (again totally unrealistically) suddenly solved with a HEA.
My biggest issue though would be the relationship between Blake and Audrey. It totally made no sense, it way to aggressive and over the top. And actually had some plot wholes IMO.
I really enjoyed the relations ships between Audrey and her friends. Aiden is definitely adorable. Somehow that outshone my annoyance about impossible plots ect. And the quirky circle of geeks kinda grew on me.
Still despite those issues it was a fun ready, mostly thanks to Sise's witty and fun writing style. While Boyfriend App missed the mark a bit for me, I am looking forward to Sise's next creation.
In many ways it's your typical mean popular girls that pick on geeks and the hot guy kissing the shy girl YA. So lots of the plot was kinda predictable, I didn't really mind that very much. I know it's been done time and time again. But basically I expected it.
What I didn't expect is all the technical talk. While I am a geek girl, I honestly did find it rather disruptive. This is supposed to be a YA romance - not a programming manual. Plus in the whole programming bit suddenly there were totally impossible bits added. A wavelength tech that makes you want something and even worse the falling in love button! Really?
The plot takes a turn to the even more impossible towards the end and is (again totally unrealistically) suddenly solved with a HEA.
My biggest issue though would be the relationship between Blake and Audrey. It totally made no sense, it way to aggressive and over the top. And actually had some plot wholes IMO.
I really enjoyed the relations ships between Audrey and her friends. Aiden is definitely adorable. Somehow that outshone my annoyance about impossible plots ect. And the quirky circle of geeks kinda grew on me.
Still despite those issues it was a fun ready, mostly thanks to Sise's witty and fun writing style. While Boyfriend App missed the mark a bit for me, I am looking forward to Sise's next creation.
December 20, 2014
This was a good YA contemporary romance with some computer science thrown in.
I liked Audrey, even though her ideas were a little unethical at times. She did seem pretty clueless when a certain person was flirting with her as well.
The storyline in this book got better as it progressed, and the little twists really livened the story up, and kept things interesting. I did think that some of Audrey’s ideas were a little impractical though!
Audrey was pretty clueless when it came to romance really, so it was quite surprising that her app worked as well as it did! I did like how things turned out romantically though.
The ending to this was pretty good, and I’m interested to see where the story goes in book 2. I have to say that overall I was surprised by this book as I expected it to be aimed at younger readers which it wasn’t at all.
7 out of 10
I liked Audrey, even though her ideas were a little unethical at times. She did seem pretty clueless when a certain person was flirting with her as well.
The storyline in this book got better as it progressed, and the little twists really livened the story up, and kept things interesting. I did think that some of Audrey’s ideas were a little impractical though!
Audrey was pretty clueless when it came to romance really, so it was quite surprising that her app worked as well as it did! I did like how things turned out romantically though.
The ending to this was pretty good, and I’m interested to see where the story goes in book 2. I have to say that overall I was surprised by this book as I expected it to be aimed at younger readers which it wasn’t at all.
7 out of 10
December 20, 2014
Actual rating - 3.25
The Boyfriend App was an alright read.
Audrey was an okay character, but she could be a bit naive at times.
The pacing in this started out quite slow, but it got better as the story progressed. It still never made me love the story, but it was enjoyable enough.
Overall, Not great, but i enjoyed it.
The Boyfriend App was an alright read.
Audrey was an okay character, but she could be a bit naive at times.
The pacing in this started out quite slow, but it got better as the story progressed. It still never made me love the story, but it was enjoyable enough.
Overall, Not great, but i enjoyed it.
January 1, 2015
2 years ago, I got an ebook copy of this book, and it was sitting inside my e-reader for the longest time, and then I finally decided to read it. I expected so much better, but what I got was a stupid smartass protagonist who thought that she was the new Steve Jobs and can invent a dumb app about getting a boyfriend. This totally proves on how desperate she was to get a guy. What about her smarts? What about her education? Nope, literally guys were on her mind, all of the time.
Get the app—get the guy? What the heck is this monstrosity?
I’m sorry, but the author probably thought that teenage girls would probably be intrigued in this idea/app, and would probably go with it if it actually was invented. I’m hoping that it won’t, because this would turn into a teenage eHarmony. WE DON’T NEED THAT, PEOPLE! Go outside, hang out, and find yourself a nice smart date wisely without technology. Like really, I’m not a grandma here, but that’s the truth. Get the concept out of here. This was a typical chick-lit story that probably would’ve satisfied me… when I was 9 and dreaming about the outside world and what would happen in the future. This is like a middle-grade book. I’m so over these kinds of books. Give it to the kids, haha. They'd sure be right in line to get it if they knew. -.-
The idea is so simple, yet it kind of worked in a few strange ways. It all began with a project that “computer-whiz” Audrey McCarthy (what an ironic name) had to do in order to impress universities and colleges of her smarts and to get money. She’s “unpopular” and is living a single life where she wish that she was happier—since her ex-best friend “queen-bee” Blake Dawkins embarrassed her in front of the school and ditched her just like that. She comes up with such a “brilliant” idea of The Boyfriend App, where people in a near-radius of her school could find their true love. She becomes so famous and begins to get kissed by everyone she’s ever dreamt of…
And that’s the book. I apologize for my great state of sarcasm used throughout the summary, but it’s the truth. This was so predictable, so cheesy, and utterly gross in some points. I wasn’t really bored, but there were so many strands of things that were bothering me and poking my brain. I don’t want to say this book wasn’t well written, but there were so many “meh” aspects that just punched me in the stomach.
One of the only positive things about this book was the story. I mean, sure, the concept was dumb and all, but the story was believable. It wasn’t one of those unrealistic contemporaries where the love isn’t real and it’s impossible. This sure was possible. I have to say that it was probably the most real contemporary story I’ve read of in a long time. THANK THE BOOKLORDS FOR THAT!
As the story first unfolded, I really enjoyed it, and it mainly was okay for the rest of the time. Nothing big happened, and at the same time, it wasn’t sleepy-boring or all of that. But the rest of those pet-peeved things got to me. I truly wonder how I managed to finish the book. I was almost about to put it down.
The characters were annoying. Although Audrey was an overachiever and a very happy character, she was such a smartass. IT ANNOYED ME SO MUCH. She thought that her smart ways would get her everything—but then there were so many points where she just overtook everything to another level. I feel like she was two-faced. Sure, she was loyal to Xander as he was treated unfairly by some people, but then when there was something that she wanted, she would forget about everyone else, including her best friend, Aidan. I did love him and his loyal character, and then Audrey completely forgot about him by the middle. And then what, he took her apology that quickly?
The writing of the book was simple and lacking. I didn’t find that something extraordinary was popping back at me, and the total technology aspect wasn’t really ‘there.’ Audrey seemed to have designed the app and have gotten it so quickly onto the charts so easily. It doesn’t take that little work, people. No one even had a problem with her hacking skills. Does this show that she was that much of a computer whiz?
I’m a geek (as in books, hello) and so are a lot of people. But is this something that a lot of us can share a good laugh with and understand? Sure, but not really for me. I was looking for a geeky contemporary with so much potential, but instead, I understand that I got a simple contemporary that was way too predictable. The ending sucked—the queen bee was defeated and Audrey fell in love. The rest of the book did seem real, but this was just too easy and too much of a happy ever after. And now, there’s news of a sequel? The Pretty App? How many apps are there going to be to form the cheesiest impossible? To be honest, The Boyfriend App wasn’t anything on how I expected. It was predictable and simply an easy read with a few deep thoughts, as how Audrey had a connection with her dad.
Get the app—get the guy? What the heck is this monstrosity?
I’m sorry, but the author probably thought that teenage girls would probably be intrigued in this idea/app, and would probably go with it if it actually was invented. I’m hoping that it won’t, because this would turn into a teenage eHarmony. WE DON’T NEED THAT, PEOPLE! Go outside, hang out, and find yourself a nice smart date wisely without technology. Like really, I’m not a grandma here, but that’s the truth. Get the concept out of here. This was a typical chick-lit story that probably would’ve satisfied me… when I was 9 and dreaming about the outside world and what would happen in the future. This is like a middle-grade book. I’m so over these kinds of books. Give it to the kids, haha. They'd sure be right in line to get it if they knew. -.-
The idea is so simple, yet it kind of worked in a few strange ways. It all began with a project that “computer-whiz” Audrey McCarthy (what an ironic name) had to do in order to impress universities and colleges of her smarts and to get money. She’s “unpopular” and is living a single life where she wish that she was happier—since her ex-best friend “queen-bee” Blake Dawkins embarrassed her in front of the school and ditched her just like that. She comes up with such a “brilliant” idea of The Boyfriend App, where people in a near-radius of her school could find their true love. She becomes so famous and begins to get kissed by everyone she’s ever dreamt of…
And that’s the book. I apologize for my great state of sarcasm used throughout the summary, but it’s the truth. This was so predictable, so cheesy, and utterly gross in some points. I wasn’t really bored, but there were so many strands of things that were bothering me and poking my brain. I don’t want to say this book wasn’t well written, but there were so many “meh” aspects that just punched me in the stomach.
One of the only positive things about this book was the story. I mean, sure, the concept was dumb and all, but the story was believable. It wasn’t one of those unrealistic contemporaries where the love isn’t real and it’s impossible. This sure was possible. I have to say that it was probably the most real contemporary story I’ve read of in a long time. THANK THE BOOKLORDS FOR THAT!
As the story first unfolded, I really enjoyed it, and it mainly was okay for the rest of the time. Nothing big happened, and at the same time, it wasn’t sleepy-boring or all of that. But the rest of those pet-peeved things got to me. I truly wonder how I managed to finish the book. I was almost about to put it down.
The characters were annoying. Although Audrey was an overachiever and a very happy character, she was such a smartass. IT ANNOYED ME SO MUCH. She thought that her smart ways would get her everything—but then there were so many points where she just overtook everything to another level. I feel like she was two-faced. Sure, she was loyal to Xander as he was treated unfairly by some people, but then when there was something that she wanted, she would forget about everyone else, including her best friend, Aidan. I did love him and his loyal character, and then Audrey completely forgot about him by the middle. And then what, he took her apology that quickly?
The writing of the book was simple and lacking. I didn’t find that something extraordinary was popping back at me, and the total technology aspect wasn’t really ‘there.’ Audrey seemed to have designed the app and have gotten it so quickly onto the charts so easily. It doesn’t take that little work, people. No one even had a problem with her hacking skills. Does this show that she was that much of a computer whiz?
I’m a geek (as in books, hello) and so are a lot of people. But is this something that a lot of us can share a good laugh with and understand? Sure, but not really for me. I was looking for a geeky contemporary with so much potential, but instead, I understand that I got a simple contemporary that was way too predictable. The ending sucked—the queen bee was defeated and Audrey fell in love. The rest of the book did seem real, but this was just too easy and too much of a happy ever after. And now, there’s news of a sequel? The Pretty App? How many apps are there going to be to form the cheesiest impossible? To be honest, The Boyfriend App wasn’t anything on how I expected. It was predictable and simply an easy read with a few deep thoughts, as how Audrey had a connection with her dad.
May 12, 2015
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: A charming contemporary romance that I really enjoyed. It is filled with adorable romance, fun characters, and lots of drama!
Opening Sentence: It was lunchtime in the social battleground known as Harrison’s upperclassman cafeteria, and I was staring at Aidan Bailey.
The Review:
Audrey McCarthy is a senior at Harrison high school. She was once very popular and confident, but that all changed when her father was killed in a terrible accident. After the accident she became awkward and all of her so-called friends abandoned her for better prospects. Now her once best friend, Blake is the “Queen B” at school and she isn’t a very nice person, especially with how she treats Audrey. Audrey has managed to make a new group of friends with the smart kids, but she can’t wait to start her life over in college. The only problem is that college is very expensive and paying for it is going to be a problem. Then an answer comes in the form of a competition to create an app.
Public Corporation is a huge company that sells all sorts of tech savvy things like phones, computers and things like that. They have decided to hold a competition where they will give $200,000 to the one person that comes up with the most popular app. Audrey has major computer skills so creating the app is no problem, but coming up with a unique idea is not as easy. Then all of the sudden it hits her, she should create a boyfriend app. She puts together a complex survey that will match you with someone you are compatible with. At first the app does amazing, but the competition is very competitive and Audrey will have to do more if she wants to win!
Audrey was a likeable character that was easy to connect with. Her tragic past has shaped her into a person she doesn’t want to be and she feels the only way to change is to get away. She planned to wait until college to break out of her shell, but the competition forces her to do it earlier. I loved watching her grow into a stronger person. She still struggles with many things, but at least she is tiring to do better. In many ways I can relate to Audrey because I was also awkward in high school. I wasn’t really made of fun of like Audrey is, but I felt out of place and lonely at times. I imagine that most high school girls have felt like this at one point or another so it is something that makes Audrey an easy character to understand. There were a few times that her voice got on my nerves because she would start to pity herself, but for the most part I really loved her character.
If you have read many of my reviews you will know that the boys tend to be my favorite part of a story and Aidan was no exception to this. He is this super shy guy that is very intelligent, but he is also really good looking. He tends to be awkward around people he doesn’t know, and that has made him kind of an outcast at Harrison High. His relationship with Audrey is so sweet and I loved watching them try to figure things out. It’s pretty obvious that they like each other, but neither one of them want to ruin their friendship so they haven’t ever done anything about it. I have always been a sucker for best friend romances and theirs was done really well. Aidan is a great book boyfriend and he was very easy to swoon over!
The Boyfriend App was an adorable and unique contemporary romance that totally took me by surprise. This book has actually been sitting on my shelf for quite a while now, but after reading the synopsis for the first time I just didn’t really want to pick it up. But I was feeling in the mood for a contemporary read and I saw this one and thought I would give it a try. I am so glad that I did, it was way better then I was expecting. There were a few things that bugged me, but overall this was an extremely entertaining story. I loved the whole nerdy atmosphere that Sise created with the characters; it made this go from an average contemporary to something unique. The romance was so cute and really well done. The plot was slightly predictable, but still interesting enough to keep me hooked. But there were a few flaws, mostly in the villain of the story. I just thought that the whole mean girl thing was overdone and it started to annoy me. The only other thing that I would have liked was to maybe have had just a tad bit more romantic moments. I loved the ones that were in the book, but I would have liked to have seen just a few more. Even though it had a few flaws I thought that this was a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone that is looking for a fun, cute contemporary romance!
Notable Scene:
And then I had it. I knew what the simple, sweet idea was. I knew what my MIT-winning app would be. Everyone in the world would want it. It would make my mom and me millionaires. I’d be on talk shows with Mark Zuckerberg. I’d have the universe in the palm of my hand.
Everything that went wrong would be right again.
Introducing: the Boyfriend App.
Get the app. Get the guy. It would work—even for me. It had to.
FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of The Boyfriend App. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: A charming contemporary romance that I really enjoyed. It is filled with adorable romance, fun characters, and lots of drama!
Opening Sentence: It was lunchtime in the social battleground known as Harrison’s upperclassman cafeteria, and I was staring at Aidan Bailey.
The Review:
Audrey McCarthy is a senior at Harrison high school. She was once very popular and confident, but that all changed when her father was killed in a terrible accident. After the accident she became awkward and all of her so-called friends abandoned her for better prospects. Now her once best friend, Blake is the “Queen B” at school and she isn’t a very nice person, especially with how she treats Audrey. Audrey has managed to make a new group of friends with the smart kids, but she can’t wait to start her life over in college. The only problem is that college is very expensive and paying for it is going to be a problem. Then an answer comes in the form of a competition to create an app.
Public Corporation is a huge company that sells all sorts of tech savvy things like phones, computers and things like that. They have decided to hold a competition where they will give $200,000 to the one person that comes up with the most popular app. Audrey has major computer skills so creating the app is no problem, but coming up with a unique idea is not as easy. Then all of the sudden it hits her, she should create a boyfriend app. She puts together a complex survey that will match you with someone you are compatible with. At first the app does amazing, but the competition is very competitive and Audrey will have to do more if she wants to win!
Audrey was a likeable character that was easy to connect with. Her tragic past has shaped her into a person she doesn’t want to be and she feels the only way to change is to get away. She planned to wait until college to break out of her shell, but the competition forces her to do it earlier. I loved watching her grow into a stronger person. She still struggles with many things, but at least she is tiring to do better. In many ways I can relate to Audrey because I was also awkward in high school. I wasn’t really made of fun of like Audrey is, but I felt out of place and lonely at times. I imagine that most high school girls have felt like this at one point or another so it is something that makes Audrey an easy character to understand. There were a few times that her voice got on my nerves because she would start to pity herself, but for the most part I really loved her character.
If you have read many of my reviews you will know that the boys tend to be my favorite part of a story and Aidan was no exception to this. He is this super shy guy that is very intelligent, but he is also really good looking. He tends to be awkward around people he doesn’t know, and that has made him kind of an outcast at Harrison High. His relationship with Audrey is so sweet and I loved watching them try to figure things out. It’s pretty obvious that they like each other, but neither one of them want to ruin their friendship so they haven’t ever done anything about it. I have always been a sucker for best friend romances and theirs was done really well. Aidan is a great book boyfriend and he was very easy to swoon over!
The Boyfriend App was an adorable and unique contemporary romance that totally took me by surprise. This book has actually been sitting on my shelf for quite a while now, but after reading the synopsis for the first time I just didn’t really want to pick it up. But I was feeling in the mood for a contemporary read and I saw this one and thought I would give it a try. I am so glad that I did, it was way better then I was expecting. There were a few things that bugged me, but overall this was an extremely entertaining story. I loved the whole nerdy atmosphere that Sise created with the characters; it made this go from an average contemporary to something unique. The romance was so cute and really well done. The plot was slightly predictable, but still interesting enough to keep me hooked. But there were a few flaws, mostly in the villain of the story. I just thought that the whole mean girl thing was overdone and it started to annoy me. The only other thing that I would have liked was to maybe have had just a tad bit more romantic moments. I loved the ones that were in the book, but I would have liked to have seen just a few more. Even though it had a few flaws I thought that this was a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone that is looking for a fun, cute contemporary romance!
Notable Scene:
And then I had it. I knew what the simple, sweet idea was. I knew what my MIT-winning app would be. Everyone in the world would want it. It would make my mom and me millionaires. I’d be on talk shows with Mark Zuckerberg. I’d have the universe in the palm of my hand.
Everything that went wrong would be right again.
Introducing: the Boyfriend App.
Get the app. Get the guy. It would work—even for me. It had to.
FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of The Boyfriend App. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
May 31, 2023
I never wanted to bitch slap a side character more than in this one...
March 25, 2013
The premise of this book is what sold me. The synopsis above reads a bit cutesy, but I really liked the idea of a female quirky/ nerdy character designing an app that matched people together. It almost sounds plausible, right? And those parts of The Boyfriend App are GREAT. But I did have some big issues with this book as well.
First the positive. I very much liked the MC Audrey. She is quirky, and loves to hack into complicated computer programs, a skill she learned form her father before he passed away. In fact, I loved that Audrey uses this outlet as a way to keep the connection to her deceased father strong and present in her life.
I also really liked Audrey's friends, her fellow computer geeks, including the dreamy Aidan, who is hipster geeky in a very Rivers Cuomo sort of way.
Another aspect of this book I loved and didn't expect was all the technical descriptions about building apps and other types of programs. I honestly have NO idea if Sise's explanations, which were extremely easy to read and comprehend, are really how this sort of thing is done or if they are total BS, but it FELT like it was true, which is good enough for me.
I also liked how how even after Audrey comes up with the idea of The Boyfriend App, designs it, and submits it in the contest, there are still loads of pitfalls that come her way throughout the book. Those type of things did keep me guessing as to what would happen in the end and that's a good thing.
But for all those great things about The Boyfriend App, there are some pretty glaring problems too. First, a couple of minor annoyances: Name dropping. This is something that really grates on my nerves after a while. Now, all the computer brand names were changed, though it is obvious when the book talks about music downloading sites, certain kinds of apps on cell phones, and certain types of laptops/ tablets, where Sise's inspiration came from (hint: it rhymes with Snapple.) But it's the name dropping of movie stars and clothing brands over and over that is always a major turn off to me. The Boyfriend App had a a LOT of this in the beginning of the book, but it did taper off after a while.
Second minor annoyance: Stereotypical characters. Like the resident mean girl (and her toadies) who also used to be the MC's best friend when they were younger. In this instance the bitchy girl is Blake, and boy, is she awful. She not only says nasty things to people, belittling them and ridiculing them, she has a definite aggressive, bordering on violent, streak. She was vicious. But just that we have this type of character AGAIN, and that she has this x-best friend history with the MC, AGAIN, annoys me.
If those were the only blips than it would be no big deal. But about one third of the way into the book, the plot takes a rather unexpected turn. I won't give away what happens exactly, but it was not only jarring, it just felt off in regards to the overall feel of this book, which, up to to this point, had been more light and humorous. Now while I did find this twist in the plot to be interesting, and somewhat thought provoking, I was never able to shake the feeling that everything had become sort of scattered in terms of plotting.
What's more, about three quarters of the way into the book, this utterly OUTRAGEOUS event takes place in the high school cafeteria involving Audrey's app. I think it was suppose to be funny, but it was so far fetched and "out there", especially when the book had taken on a bit of a darker tone with this new plot twist, that it felt completely out of place and, well, ridiculous. I was so disappointed after that part of the book. Not because I don't like funny writing, or slap stick humor, but because this book kept switching back and forth between cute and funny, to deadly serious/ conspiracy theory-ish, to utterly ridiculous and back again. It was like the book had multiple personality disorder, it was completely unable to figure out what kind of book it wanted to be. It was just STRANGE and not something I was ever really able to overcome while reading.
So in conclusion, The Boyfriend App started strong but became a scattered mess. The characters were good, and I didn't mention a few that were really fun to read, but the tone and feel of the book switched around so rapidly that I always felt off balance as I was reading, and ultimately, was unable to regain my footing. The book has a great premise and a lot of potential, but failed to deliver in the end.
First the positive. I very much liked the MC Audrey. She is quirky, and loves to hack into complicated computer programs, a skill she learned form her father before he passed away. In fact, I loved that Audrey uses this outlet as a way to keep the connection to her deceased father strong and present in her life.
I also really liked Audrey's friends, her fellow computer geeks, including the dreamy Aidan, who is hipster geeky in a very Rivers Cuomo sort of way.
Another aspect of this book I loved and didn't expect was all the technical descriptions about building apps and other types of programs. I honestly have NO idea if Sise's explanations, which were extremely easy to read and comprehend, are really how this sort of thing is done or if they are total BS, but it FELT like it was true, which is good enough for me.
I also liked how how even after Audrey comes up with the idea of The Boyfriend App, designs it, and submits it in the contest, there are still loads of pitfalls that come her way throughout the book. Those type of things did keep me guessing as to what would happen in the end and that's a good thing.
But for all those great things about The Boyfriend App, there are some pretty glaring problems too. First, a couple of minor annoyances: Name dropping. This is something that really grates on my nerves after a while. Now, all the computer brand names were changed, though it is obvious when the book talks about music downloading sites, certain kinds of apps on cell phones, and certain types of laptops/ tablets, where Sise's inspiration came from (hint: it rhymes with Snapple.) But it's the name dropping of movie stars and clothing brands over and over that is always a major turn off to me. The Boyfriend App had a a LOT of this in the beginning of the book, but it did taper off after a while.
Second minor annoyance: Stereotypical characters. Like the resident mean girl (and her toadies) who also used to be the MC's best friend when they were younger. In this instance the bitchy girl is Blake, and boy, is she awful. She not only says nasty things to people, belittling them and ridiculing them, she has a definite aggressive, bordering on violent, streak. She was vicious. But just that we have this type of character AGAIN, and that she has this x-best friend history with the MC, AGAIN, annoys me.
If those were the only blips than it would be no big deal. But about one third of the way into the book, the plot takes a rather unexpected turn. I won't give away what happens exactly, but it was not only jarring, it just felt off in regards to the overall feel of this book, which, up to to this point, had been more light and humorous. Now while I did find this twist in the plot to be interesting, and somewhat thought provoking, I was never able to shake the feeling that everything had become sort of scattered in terms of plotting.
What's more, about three quarters of the way into the book, this utterly OUTRAGEOUS event takes place in the high school cafeteria involving Audrey's app. I think it was suppose to be funny, but it was so far fetched and "out there", especially when the book had taken on a bit of a darker tone with this new plot twist, that it felt completely out of place and, well, ridiculous. I was so disappointed after that part of the book. Not because I don't like funny writing, or slap stick humor, but because this book kept switching back and forth between cute and funny, to deadly serious/ conspiracy theory-ish, to utterly ridiculous and back again. It was like the book had multiple personality disorder, it was completely unable to figure out what kind of book it wanted to be. It was just STRANGE and not something I was ever really able to overcome while reading.
So in conclusion, The Boyfriend App started strong but became a scattered mess. The characters were good, and I didn't mention a few that were really fun to read, but the tone and feel of the book switched around so rapidly that I always felt off balance as I was reading, and ultimately, was unable to regain my footing. The book has a great premise and a lot of potential, but failed to deliver in the end.
Read
May 29, 2026Bookshelf reread.
The book follows Audrey McCarthy, a poor girl attending a school of horrible people. It’s set in Indiana, just like the last book I read, TEEN IDOL, wherein the main character also attended a school full of horrible people.
Audrey used to be best friends with rich and popular Blake Dawkins, who seemed to rely on her greatly for emotional support because of her fear of her father, and Blake was a really good friend to her, becoming even more clingy after Audrey’s dad, who worked for Mr. Dawkins’s company, died in an accident. Mr. Dawkins told a reporter he had been negligent and it was his own fault he died, and the entire town loves Dawkins for all the jobs or benefits his company brings to their city. Blake assured Audrey her dad didn’t mean that, but she started to become a horrible bully at school, and eventually Audrey thought she went too far and unfriends her on social media. While Blake was crying about this, her dad took adventure of the situation to claim Audrey had told him about Blake’s antics with boys and grounded her big time, causing Blake to feel betrayed and hate her.
The social media and technology companies in this book are completely made up, but based off the real things, such as phones and music devices and where they get purchased.
Audrey’s dad was an overlooked coding genius and he taught Audrey so much, so she was able to make a new group of friends after losing Blake by hanging out in the lab with the “trogs” and working on computer stuff. Their school has several amazing coders and a teacher who went to college with the two founders of the leading technology companies for phones and music, which is quite random because one is located in California and the other in New York, and this town is in Indiana and full of smart coders. Dawkins is connected to Alec Pierce, the founder of Public, the source of phones and music devices and social media. The other company is Infinitum unless I’m spelling it wrong, which is less major but has devoted users.
Blake finds pleasure in tormenting Audrey, but also misery, and one day she targets the lucky rabbit’s foot Audrey’s dad had given her, which she’s kept with her ever since he died. When Blake attempts to throw it away and her violent lackeys smash Audrey’s face into the garbage can during lunch, knocking her out while she’s trying to get the rabbit’s foot back, for some reason Audrey’s mom is disappointed about how Audrey handled the situation and so she’s in trouble for the night, but I can’t figure out if Audrey even did anything except react with emotion to the situation and try to get her very important item back, which is an understandable thing to do. This is the first time the girls were physically violent toward her and I thought it was scary that that could happen and there be no repercussions.
Blake never gets in trouble because her uncle is the principal.
An announcement is made that Public is hosting a contest for students to see who can make the most popular or innovative app and post it on their site for free, and the winners will receive huge scholarships and their whole school will get the latest buyphones for free in advance of their release. Since her family was struggling even before her dad’s death and Audrey has never known how she would pay for college, she is excited about this.
Her friends include Mindy, who has a speech issue that got so bullied that she rarely talks, but has become Audrey’s closest friend. Aidan, who moved there from Maine and is tall and good looking but very shy, and Audrey helped him adjust when he first arrived. Nigit, who doesn’t really seem like a friend at all to me but whatever. The book explains the pronunciation of his name, but I still read it wrong every time. Then there’s her cousin Lindsay, who runs a popular fashion blog and knows what she wants to do with her future and always looks out for Audrey. Her family is thrifty and better off than Audrey’s. Only the boys are coders.
Mindy and Audrey have a crush on Xander, Blake’s boyfriend. He didn’t used to be popular until one summer he became good looking. Audrey actually likes Aidan, but she fears messing up their friendship with her feelings, so she pretends and works to convince herself she likes Xander instead. Xander does come talk to her when she’s offering tutoring after school so he can try to apologize for what Blake did to her, but he doesn’t get very far before his friends see him and he rushes off.
Audrey comes up with the idea for the Boyfriend App, which is essentially a more detailed dating platform that requires them to answer a lot of questions about themselves and who they want to date, and it can set them up with unexpected choices who surprisingly match what they seek, registering them within a 5 miles radius and alerting the girl when they’re 100 yards away so she can choose whether to approach the guy or not. It’s supposed to be Boyfriend in name only, because it also seeks out girlfriends and works for same gendered pairs, but since it only alerts the girl, I don’t know how it decides who’s the girl in those situations.
She gets Lindsay to test it and is surprised when she’s matched with Nigit, since only six people are registered and it wouldn’t match people just to match them, it has to be accurate. They’re both apprehensive at first, but Lindsay and Nigit turn out to be a really good pair. She helps alter his style in extreme ways. Lindsay posts moment by moment of their first date on her blog, which is followed by famous singer Danny Beaton, so when she tells everyone it’s a success, he reposts it and the app takes off.
Blake insults Audrey’s dad at the bowling alley, causing her to break down. Blake seems to regret it. Aidan visits later to comfort her and they bond, and he tries to kiss her but she isn’t sure his intentions and turns away.
Everyone at school gets the app, and though it’s supposed to allow the girl the choice to approach her match or not, whenever they recognize the ding of a phone finding a match, the girls keep announcing them and there’s a demand for them to share. It seems to be going good at first, but then Aidan gets matched with the head cheerleader and clearly isn’t happy about it and Audrey plays excited while she’s also upset and thinks he’s happy and is upset about that too, and the cheerleader insists on dating him. He goes along with it because he doesn’t want to sabotage Audrey’s app.
Aidan and Nigit joined up to created Philanthrapp, to help people who want to help find opportunities for philanthropy in their area. I didn’t think it sounded that impressive, but I didn’t think any of the apps in the story sounded that impressive.
Soon the matched couples start breaking up, and the girls that get rejected by their matches are upset and blame Audrey, and then Mindy gets matched with a popular guy and the foreign exchange student meanly announces and records it as he rejects Mindy, who didn’t even want to acknowledge the match. This causes Audrey’s app to get dumped by most of the users, and all the attention and approval she gained for it is lost, along with her chance at the scholarship.
Lindsay takes her to the psychic who guided her to start her fashion blog to help Audrey, but she seems like a quack and Audrey throws her phone and it hits a car battery and sparks. After that it starts making this buzzing sound, and when she looks at Lindsay she suddenly loves her a lot. When Lindsay holds the phone, she suddenly loves Audrey a lot, and they both apologize. Audrey realizes something is weird and takes apart the phone when she gets home to discover buyware implanted in that the makers didn’t figure would ever survive a phone dismantle. The circumstances caused it to make audible the inaudible sound the phone usually gives off.
After studying it, tracing the programming, and visiting Nigit’s neuroscientist dad at the local college, Audrey figures out Public made him research whether sound frequencies can affect neurotransmitters in the brain to simulate the feeling of love, then paid him off to keep quiet. They added the frequencies to the phones to target teenagers whenever they’re logged onto their Public shopping accounts or in a Public store, making it urge them to buy more more more, specifically targeting the most susceptible customers.
She thinks this is corrupt but can’t do anything since she hacked Nigit’s dad’s computer to get the research information and hacked Public to trace the trajectory of the manipulation, all illegal things. Her dad told her to never use her skills to harm others, which she hasn’t, but she decides to use Public’s methods to her advantage and adds it to her App, making it so girls-only can point their phones at a guy of their choosing to activate his phone, which will emit a continuous frequency rather than the every-thirty-second bursts Public uses on shoppers, making the guys truly feel like they’re deeply in love.
We do not worry about the accuracy of this scientific information.
She tests it mildly on a few guys at school and tells Lindsay to be ready to repost the 2.0 version. She plans to target a popular and single guy, until she sees Blake bullying her mom, who is a lunch lady, and instead she targets Xander to hurt her. It works in front of everyone, and Blake freaks out on him and reveals he’s poor. Audrey had thought she’d seen him in the psychic’s derelict neighborhood but figured she was wrong. All the girls start downloading and snatching up guys, and the foreign exchange student even uses it on Blake when she’s trying to hurt Audrey by devastating Lindsay by using it on Nigit, and possibly aiming for Aidan too. A teacher tries to berate Audrey and leave Blake alone, but the 80-year-old librarian comes and proves the app works on adults too. The sprinklers are turned on, dowsing the app by wettening the phones.
With time almost out, Audrey uses her app again at Danny Beaton’s concert. I don’t know how they got tickets, but it was probably explained. The twin bullies in Audrey’s class have a younger sister who’s a bully in Lindsay’s sister’s class, and she’s really upset she’s there. So Audrey gets Danny to sing directly to her cousin, then he kisses Audrey on camera and spreads awareness of her app again, which launches her to the most popular spot.
Nigit and Aidan win the most innovative app spot, and so both get to go to Public headquarters, as does the lacrosse team for some reason. Audrey hacks again to discover Dawkins had told Nigit’s dad he would pay special attention to his son’s app, which his dad wanted no part of, so his victory might have been unreliable too.
Audrey feels nervous about their intentions, because they know she used their technology for her app, which was removed under the claim that all apps will be removed from the free store to better negotiations with the winners. She is taken up first to meet Alec, who threatens her to sign a paper saying she’ll stop using the buyware and will reveal nothing. Suddenly feeling sure, and that her life is already miserable so he can’t make it worse, she refuses. Then she thinks he’s going to do something to her and activates the entire lacrosse team to come save her, and Aidan kisses her. I remembered this scene, and thought it was the climax that helped reveal the truth and solve everything, but it was not.
Alec told her she’d regret it, and he does so by getting Dawkins to make Blake claim Audrey had stolen her intellectual property by stealing the Boyfriend App idea, with altered texts as proof and a Public report of Audrey’s cheating, which also dooms any future coding career. The buyphones are taken back and everyone’s mad at Audrey, and her mom gets fired and Nigit breaks up with Lindsay because Audrey won’t explain herself and he doesn’t want to be around untrustworthy people in a creative space, thinking she broke the first role of coding.
Audrey is called to the guidance counselors office. She keeps texting Aidan, but he won’t answer and she worries he blames her too. Xander walks her to the office and explains how good Blake was to him, getting him into lacrosse and paying for things and showing him he could have a future, even if she’s been weird lately and they’re not together, he still cares. He was talking to her the other night on the phone when her dad came in and she faked hanging up, so he heard her dad demand she make the claim of ownership over the Boyfriend App. Blake argued, but her dad is persuasive, so Xander knows that truth. He recalls how Audrey once protected him when they were younger, and she was braver and people wanted to believe her, and he regrets everyone’s changes and wishes she could go back to how strong she used to be. He kisses her and she pushes him away just as Aidan and Mindy round the corner. Aidan runs off.
Audrey hugs Xander in gratitude and goes into the office, where her coding teacher is also present, and Nigit’s dad shows up. It’s an intervention, where the teacher was sure Audrey wouldn’t steal the idea, and then the dad showed up and explained more things. They get Audrey to explain the whole story, and then the teacher says they should meet the founder of Infinitum, as she’s Alec’s main competition and she’ll want to know and can help. So they take Audrey’s mom and all go for a drive (maybe the guidance counselor doesn’t come).
Audrey thinks she’s just meeting the founder, but the meeting room is full of people and she explains what she discovered and how she altered it and they’re all impressed and cheer and she starts cheering too, and I couldn’t realistically imagine it. Just like how I thought it was weird when the cheerleader would randomly be doing flips for no reason, and this all made me realize I’m not supposed to take everything seriously, some of it is comical and outrageous and a joke.
The founder offers to pay for Audrey’s college of her choice as long as she does 15 hours of coding for them a week, and they get to snatch her after she graduates. She agrees, then later visits Blake to meet with her dad, tells him the sound frequency research will be released, but whether he gets exposed or not depends on his honesty: he needs to make a public apology rescinding his claim that her dad’s death was his own fault, and he needs to tell Blake the truth that Audrey didn’t share her secrets with him. He’s clearly mad and afraid and she says this will be hard for him since honesty isn’t his strong suit.
Her school is sick of paying any attention to her. Blake comes and talks to her, saying she knows how the app works, and she thought Audrey was getting cocky about it. Audrey argues she had nothing good for all these years and is allowed a little attention, but Blake said she had all those genuine friends. She apologizes for what she said at the bowling alley, but nothing else. Audrey doesn’t think any of this excuses Blake’s behavior all this time, and it doesn’t directly say Blake’s dad confessed to her. Audrey still recognizes all Blake’s tells and has to fight her protective urges toward her, hating Dawkins more for how tense Blake gets when he appears.
Audrey gathers everyone to watch the news where Dawkins, unhappy to be there, offers his apology and admits it was an equipment error and their family will be compensated in a settlement. Audrey didn’t expect that part, but her and her mom are ecstatic because his previous behavior about the issue had broken them. Audrey feels confident for the first time since her dad died (she threw the rabbit’s foot on stage at Danny to gain his attention for the app since so many people were trying to use the app on him, so it’s been lost).
Afterward, she talks to Aidan, revealing she likes him. He left his phone on the plane to Public, making her realize he wasn’t apped when he kissed her like she thought, so he really does like her and they get together. I don’t know if Audrey’s name was cleared or not. It was unclear which truths got revealed.
I read reviews for this when I first read the book and saw people talking about how messed up it was to force guys to fall in love and kiss them when they’re not in their right minds, and I don’t remember if I registered that at the time of reading. I definitely registered it now, and it seemed relevant to why she only allowed girls to activate 2.0. Some of the guys seemed upset or unhappy after they weren’t activated because it wasn’t what they wanted, while some were fine with it and some ended up dating the girls who apped them. It was case by case on how I felt about this violation toward the guys, but for the most part I was prepared and knew not to take it seriously and put that realistic aspect out of my head.
It’s a fun book. Stuff written at the end gives the impression this isn’t a standalone. I still don’t know if her name was cleared and didn’t feel satisfied with all the Blake stuff, so hopefully the sequel covers that, though I don’t know if I’ll read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2013
***This review will post to Ashley Loves Books closer to the release date!***
I wanted to love this book so much, guys. It seemed like such a fun concept, and I loved the idea of an app that would match you with your perfect guy/person. I mean, I was also super glad it didn't actually exist when I was in high school because there was already enough drama without that technological enhancement, but in my reading? Love it. Thought it would be fantastic and funny and playful.
I think you can seen an "unfortunately" coming, right?
This book was surprising, in both a good and bad way. It's a bit weird to me, actually - it went in a direction I did not expect, and while I get it, I thought it was a strange direction to go in. I would never have even thought to take on a more scientific route, and I kind of question it. At the same time, it wasn't done poorly or anything - in fact, it was pretty interesting and I kind of liked getting to see the intelligence behind these nerds (or Trogs, as they are called in the novel). Just unexpected, and a little weird.
And I have to mention that there were some scenes that were so...awkwardly violent. I mean, it begins with Audrey getting her head shoved so hard into a trash bin she passes out. And with a cover like that? So out of place. There were a few other scenes where girls were throwing punches, and it was just...I didn't like it. I'm not adverse to some violence, but only when it makes sense. I feel like this book could still have had the action at the core, but perhaps different word choices to make it less cruel. I definitely cringed whenever these scenes came up, no matter how few they were.
Despite all this, I actually enjoyed The Boyfriend App. I loved going through the process of creating this app with Audrey and seeing it through, and I really appreciated that it wasn't an immediate success. There was an element of reality and truth throughout this entire story that I really appreciated, and really made me like it. Audrey is actually a pretty good character herself, well rounded and quirky, with her own unique brand of endearing. She's a lot like me, and a lot like many people I know - a great character to really connect with.
In fact, probably the best thing about this book were the characters and the relationships. There are a few villains in it, and even though they are pretty stereotypical, they are still great characters to hate and the reader completely feels towards them. The friendships Audrey had were also fantastic. I loved her fellow nerds, especially Mindy - who is brilliant because you learn to love her when she doesn't even talk for 85% of the book! I was surprised to figure out that Lindsay was definitely my favourite female character - she's nothing like me, but I still loved her all the same. She's a bit flighty and a fashion blogger who appears so vain it hurts...but as you get to know her, you discover she is smart, and loyal, and funny and open an a real friend.
Of course, I have to mention the boys in this novel, who are all fine in their own way. I wasn't a fan of Xander, even though I felt like he was trying to be painted as a decent guy. I wanted to cry every time Briggs Lick appeared on the pages, because that name is so ridiculous I can't even. And of course, I loved Aiden - he's amazing and perfect and a little too perfect but I'll take him anyway. A fantastic friend, super cute love interest, and great character to want and love.
There are two books this one reminded me of: Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Clair in that I was so surprised by all the science and intelligence in the book. It's unexpected and a little odd, but I really appreciate that the authors are trying to put this in books that could be simple contemporary romances. And the book Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer, in that it's about strong, smart girl characters who find something lacking in their life and go after making it better. The Boyfriend App is missing the heart that I loved so much in Smart Girls Get..., but it's still a good attempt, and I don't regret reading it.
The Boyfriend App is a bit weird, in a way I'm not certain it should have been - but it's got some fantastic characters, an interesting storyline, and surprising intelligence to it.
I wanted to love this book so much, guys. It seemed like such a fun concept, and I loved the idea of an app that would match you with your perfect guy/person. I mean, I was also super glad it didn't actually exist when I was in high school because there was already enough drama without that technological enhancement, but in my reading? Love it. Thought it would be fantastic and funny and playful.
I think you can seen an "unfortunately" coming, right?
This book was surprising, in both a good and bad way. It's a bit weird to me, actually - it went in a direction I did not expect, and while I get it, I thought it was a strange direction to go in. I would never have even thought to take on a more scientific route, and I kind of question it. At the same time, it wasn't done poorly or anything - in fact, it was pretty interesting and I kind of liked getting to see the intelligence behind these nerds (or Trogs, as they are called in the novel). Just unexpected, and a little weird.
And I have to mention that there were some scenes that were so...awkwardly violent. I mean, it begins with Audrey getting her head shoved so hard into a trash bin she passes out. And with a cover like that? So out of place. There were a few other scenes where girls were throwing punches, and it was just...I didn't like it. I'm not adverse to some violence, but only when it makes sense. I feel like this book could still have had the action at the core, but perhaps different word choices to make it less cruel. I definitely cringed whenever these scenes came up, no matter how few they were.
Despite all this, I actually enjoyed The Boyfriend App. I loved going through the process of creating this app with Audrey and seeing it through, and I really appreciated that it wasn't an immediate success. There was an element of reality and truth throughout this entire story that I really appreciated, and really made me like it. Audrey is actually a pretty good character herself, well rounded and quirky, with her own unique brand of endearing. She's a lot like me, and a lot like many people I know - a great character to really connect with.
In fact, probably the best thing about this book were the characters and the relationships. There are a few villains in it, and even though they are pretty stereotypical, they are still great characters to hate and the reader completely feels towards them. The friendships Audrey had were also fantastic. I loved her fellow nerds, especially Mindy - who is brilliant because you learn to love her when she doesn't even talk for 85% of the book! I was surprised to figure out that Lindsay was definitely my favourite female character - she's nothing like me, but I still loved her all the same. She's a bit flighty and a fashion blogger who appears so vain it hurts...but as you get to know her, you discover she is smart, and loyal, and funny and open an a real friend.
Of course, I have to mention the boys in this novel, who are all fine in their own way. I wasn't a fan of Xander, even though I felt like he was trying to be painted as a decent guy. I wanted to cry every time Briggs Lick appeared on the pages, because that name is so ridiculous I can't even. And of course, I loved Aiden - he's amazing and perfect and a little too perfect but I'll take him anyway. A fantastic friend, super cute love interest, and great character to want and love.
There are two books this one reminded me of: Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Clair in that I was so surprised by all the science and intelligence in the book. It's unexpected and a little odd, but I really appreciate that the authors are trying to put this in books that could be simple contemporary romances. And the book Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer, in that it's about strong, smart girl characters who find something lacking in their life and go after making it better. The Boyfriend App is missing the heart that I loved so much in Smart Girls Get..., but it's still a good attempt, and I don't regret reading it.
The Boyfriend App is a bit weird, in a way I'm not certain it should have been - but it's got some fantastic characters, an interesting storyline, and surprising intelligence to it.
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