So last night I stayed up really late and read The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise. I probably should have slept some more considering the fact that I had to teach today, but an intriguing premise, quirky protagonist, and swoon-worthy boy had me hooked. There was no chance I was going to sleep until I finished.

In The Boyfriend App, protagonist Audrey McCarthy is a former popular girl who’s now all techie and geeky in a way that makes you root for her to gain her self-confidence back. She’s also getting bullied by her old popular best friend, trying to figure out a way to pay for college, and still mourning the death of her father, all of which further make you want to see her succeed.

So when an app building contest is announced, with the winner receiving a $200,000 scholarship to a college of their choice as a prize, Audrey is ALL over it. She’s a super talented hacker and code-writer, and comes up with the perfect idea: an app that helps you find a match and alerts you when you’re around them. It’s cool. It takes off quickly and gets her in the running for the scholarship… until it backfires. After an accident that leads to her discovering a huge secret contained within the buyPhones sold to teenagers, she works furiously to release The Boyfriend App 2.0, which is successful. Too successful.

And, of course, all along her friendship with the techno-hottie Aidan is turning into a real, satisfying romance that adds the sweet in with the suspense of what’s going to happen with the contest, the app, and the secret Audrey accidentally uncovers during her app research. (I also must mention that Aidan’s nickname for Audrey – “Auds” – was so cute I could hardly contain myself every single time I read it.)

As I read, I was definitely captivated by the storyline, which was actually pretty exciting. I will state up front that I had a few problems with the book. One, the whole buyPhone thing is clearly actually as iPhone. I have a strange irritation with things that aren’t just outright NAMED what they obviously ARE. As Public ends up being painted in a negative light, I understand why they wouldn’t just call it Apple in the book, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying every time I have to read “buyPhone” and all the other “buy” things. Also, as much as every girl would like the power to make guys instantly desire her and kiss her, that doesn’t really make it morally correct. So that was an issue for me… though still enjoyable. Weird.

Overall, this was fun and unusual and intriguing. I recommend it (high school and up). Enjoy!