Blog Tour (Review + Top 10 List + Giveaway): The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise

Welcome on my stop of The Boyfriend App tour hosted by Chyna @ Lite_Rate_Ture! I'm sharing my thoughts about this wonderful book + the gorgeous author, Katie, is here to share to you her top ten app list + Pinoy readers will get a chance to win the book! Excited much? Me too! :D

The Boyfriend App

by Katie Sise

Genre: YA, contemporary

Expected publication: April 30th 2013 by Balzer & Bray

Source: ARC borrowed from Chyna

Purchase: Book Depository * Barnes & Noble * Amazon

Blurb (Goodreads):

In The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, super-smart, somewhat geeky Audrey McCarthy can’t wait to get out of high school. Her father’s death and the transformation of her one-time BFF, Blake Dawkins, into her worst nightmare have her longing for the new start college will bring.

But college takes money. So Audrey decides she has to win the competition for the best app designed by a high schooler—and the $200,000 that comes with it. She develops something she calls the Boyfriend App, and suddenly she’s the talk of the school and getting kissed by the hottest boys around. But can the Boyfriend App bring Audrey true love?


My Thoughts:

*Review based on the advanced reading copy (ARC) I borrowed from Chyna.

This part is really hard. Others think it's easy to write a review especially if you love it--you can put all the good words or if you hate it--you describe how unlikable it is. The Boyfriend App is one of the books I've read this year that surprised me. I loved it. There's a lot I want to say about this but I cannot find the words. I'm not sure I'd give it justice in this review. I'll try my best!

My first impression on this book was it's just another young adult novel who rants about high school. Tell me, when you read the title and see the cover, that would you think, right? But that impression only lasted for a few chapters. I saw that the main character, Audrey, wants to win the app-making competition because she needed the money for her college. Apart from that, she also loves doing anything techie-related, as she was inspired and taught by her dad. Now who wouldn't adore a person like that? She doesn't want that money just because she wants to buy this awesome LV bag or just to show off with her classmates. She had a dream, that every reader could relate and look up to.

I really liked the idea of making an app. Not to mention, making an app to find your match. Or make this guy you're hopelessly in love with be obsessed with you. That is sure fun! But of course, everything has its ups and downs. Like when you drink a medicine, you'll benefit from it but there's also side effects you can't avoid. It will happen eventually.

I loved the story because it's not just another high school-themed novel who deals with hot boys, mean cheerleaders, parties, and being a loser. It is about a teenage girl who worked hard to reach her dreams, making her parents proud and fighting for the truth. It sounds melo-dramatic but you wouldn't see or feel it that way when you read this book. The author put a modern twist to make it more fun and enjoyable. The romance was another thing. It was super cute. I liked the chemistry! There was a time when Audrey made the app and I went nuts when I found out the consequences because duh! What if ____? And then it happened. And I was like, I told you! You shouldn't have made the app! LOL You'll get me when you read it. :P

Chyna told me to read lightning fast because the book was on tour and needed to pass to the next person--we were only given only two days to read. I didn't realized I finished the book less than 24 hours--I wasn't even thinking I should read fast fast fast! I was really surprised with myself because for the past few weeks, I've slowed down reading. I was also surprised with the reaction and everything I felt reading this book. That's when I realized it's because I'm too absorbed reading the book. It made me feel warm inside and I loved every bit of it. The Boyfriend App is really a cute, well-thought and yes, amazing novel. It is a modern fairytale-like story that I loved and I knew you would too. Younger readers would love this too! I love the excitement I felt while reading it and the way I feel like I was in the novel. I can't wait to read more from Katie Sise!

Rating:

Since I really enjoyed this book and the thought of making an app, I asked the author to list her top ten app that she wanted to do if she were in the book. 

Katie Sise: My top ten app list!

• An app that scanned the grocery store check out lines and figured out how many items were in each cart waiting on line, and could tell you which line would be fastest.
• An app that could sense your mood and play the exact song you needed to hear.           
• An app that scanned the contents of your closet, cross-checked the weather, and put together Lindsay-worthy outfits 365 days per year.
• An app that told you the closest place to find a caramel latte.
• An app that could tell you which of your friends were in “bumping into” distance from your location so you could say hello if you wanted to. (This probably already exists, doesn’t it?)
• An app that you could describe your fictional book characters to, and it would create an avatar. (Me: TOTALLY AGREE!)
• An app that planned the perfect vacation. 
• An app that you used while shopping: As soon as you saw an item you loved (but couldn’t afford) you snap a picture, and then the app tells you where to find the look for less.
• An app that finds commonly lost objects: keys, wallet, pacifier. (Me: Not a bad idea. I'm quite fond of losing my things. XD)
• A boyfriend app that could really find true love. Until then, good thing we have fate! (Me: True!!)

Sounds cool, eh? Do you have any apps in mind? :) (This is me talking already. :P)

About the Author:

Katharine “Katie” Sise is a New York City based author, jewelry designer and television host. Years ago, at age twenty-four— after dropping a rare and very expensive bottle of champagne on her way to deliver it to Robert De Niro’s table—she realized she needed a way to fund her acting and writing career that didn’t involve balancing a tray full of cocktails. That fall, she taught herself to make jewelry and launched Katharine Sise Jewelry. Within a few months, Lucky Magazine called her a “Designer to Watch” and her company appeared in every major fashion magazine—including Vogue, W, Elle, Self, Lucky, InStyle, Bazaar, Allure, Us Weekly, People, In Touch, Page Six Magazine, Real Simple, FN, Life and Style, Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Women’s Wear Daily, Marie Claire and Glamour. Before she knew it, her celebrity clientele included Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Kelly Ripa, Ellen Pompeo, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Beyonce Knowles, Anne Hathaway and Drew Barrymore.

Katharine has been profiled on dozens of online fashion and lifestyle outlets including Forbes.com, Elle.com, InStyle.com, People.com, Sweet, The Huffington Post and The New York Post. Her jewelry has appeared on television shows such as The View, Live with Regis and Kelly, E! News, Good Day New York, Full Frontal Fashion, Movie and a Makeover, The O.C., Brothers and Sisters and Gossip Girl. While Katharine was chatting with the ladies from The View, one of her necklaces broke on air and fell from her neck to her lap because she didn’t spend enough time getting the clasp right. That moment is preserved, forever, on a DVD at her parents’ house.

Katharine has designed jewelry for national campaigns like Vera Wang, Gap and Keds. In 2009, Target launched Katharine Sise for Target.

Katharine has worked as a fashion and lifestyle consultant, appearing on-air for networks like HSN, Oxygen, Discovery Channel, CNBC and ABC’s Good Morning America. For eighteen months, Katharine co-hosted a live monthly television show for The Home Shopping Network. She also appeared as The Daily Special’s resident style expert.

Katharine’s first book, Creative Girl: The Ultimate Guide for Turning Talent and Creativity into a Real Career (Perseus/Running Press) hit shelves in September of 2010. Creative Girl is written for every woman who wants to make her living in the creative world, whether in an office job or at the helm of her own business. The book is an encouraging and practical take on how to make a living doing what you love.

Katharine’s first novel, The Boyfriend App, will be published by HarperCollins Balzer + Bray on April 30, 2013. The Boyfriend App tells the story of a girl who, in order to win a scholarship offered by a secretly-evil global computing corporation, invents an app that makes any boy fall madly in love with her, with chaotic results.

Katharine has a BA in Film, Television and Theater from The University of Notre Dame. She lives in New York City with her family.

GIVEAWAY!
- 2 winners
- open to PHILIPPINE residents only.


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