Customer Reviews

Fake Boyfriend

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fake Boyfriend was actually a pretty decent book. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't what I got. Which could be both a good thing and a bad thing.

Good aspects: This book held my attention from beginning to end. The writing was interesting and funny, the story was somewhat original, and I liked the characters.

Bad aspects: You can only go so far with interesting and funny. The story has to be realistic and believeable, to some extent. While it seemed mostly plausable, I highly doubt that if these girls actually existed, they would react in quite the same way as they do in the book. The characters were believeable, but the things they did just didn't seem realistic. I know from experience what it's like to make a fake MySpace and try to trick someone with it (not my fondest memory, however, and it didn't last long) and I know that most people would be a bit more resistant if some guy just started talking to you one day. And someone as smart as Izzy wouldn't be willing to meet a guy she met online, even if she did think there was something there. Especially not without seeing a picture of him first.

But that doesn't make it a bad book... not at all. It was clever and unique, written by one of my favorite authors who I believe pulled off the realistic aspect of it fairly well, although she could have done better. Even so, I'm sure that some authors would completely fail at writing a book with this level of drama, so I give her props for that.

Still, if you're looking for a good Kate Brian book, I'd point you in the direction of Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys or the Private series.

Harmless and a little dull high school comedy, that you could explain as a soap opera mixed with Cyrano de Berguerac. The beginning is bad, just plain bad, and though it gets better through the middle part (better as in funnier, which is something basic in a comedy), the ending goes down a little. The result: a lot of trouble, too little substance, to shape just an average book.

Everything goes perfectly for Isabelle Hunter. It always has. Until the day her on-again/off-again boyfriend, Shawn "Sluttig" Littig, breaks up with her. And just a few months away from her prom. Isabelle has been dreaming of the prom for years. She's so obsessed with the prom she's created a notebook that has every last detail of the dream night planned out.

Her friends Lane and Vivi have never approved of Shawn and decide to do whatever they can to keep him out of Isabelle's life permanently. They hatch a plan to create a fake boy on MySpace to divert Isabelle's thoughts from Shawn. Isabelle shows interest in the fictitious Brandon, and so Vivi convinces her younger brother, Marshall, to start chatting with Isabelle on-line.

Soon Isabelle thinks Brandon would be ideal to go to the prom with. The only problem is she doesn't know he doesn't exist! So Vivi and Lane have to come up with a real guy, and quick! The two girls go everywhere to meet the right guy, but to no avail. Only after joining Vivi's mom for some play auditions do they spy the perfect guy, Jonathan. After much coercing, they get Jonathan to join forces with them to be the "real" Brandon. The only catch is that soon Jonathan is showing interest in someone else.

Of course the reader can figure out that there are going to be complications with the story. Only the twists aren't what one would expect! Isabelle thinks about taking Shawn back, Vivi gets confused when her younger brother starts to get cool, Vivi is crushing on someone she shouldn't, and Lane can't get the nerve to tell her friend Curtis she wants to be more than friends.

FAKE BOYFRIEND is another fun read by Ms. Brian. She has hit on another popular topic, using MySpace as the basis for creating a mysterious new boyfriend. The story will not disappoint current fans of Ms. Brian, and should create new ones at the same time!

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Fake Boyfriend, by Kate Brian is an awesome romance/sceeme book! Two friends try to save thier best friend from going to the prom with this boy who cheated on her and is a chain Smoker. This book has a plot where one girl tries to find a hot guy to have thier friend go to the prom with him. So from then on they are auditioning High School Seniors who would be good for thier friend. They find the guy and the teach them how to be the perfect male for thier friend. I don't want to give away the ending so you should really sit down, and take a rest to read this book! Trust me you will love it. I read it in six hours!!


Alicia Ziff

I was really attracted to the premise of this book, two friends make online fake romantic interest for third friend to get her away from her sleazy ex-boyfriend. It could have played out in a number of ways and I wanted to find out how it would.

For the most part this was a fun book! I really liked the character of Lane, who was in love with her best guy friend but couldn't tell him! I also liked the conflict that Vivi goes through in the book. I didn't really care for the character of Isabelle though, we are told she's basically perfect except when it comes to her boyfriend (when it comes to him she gets rather annoying). Maybe it was because the story was never told through her voice so as a reader all you knew was what you learned from her friends.

I would have liked to be in on a lot more of the instant message conversations between Isabelle and the fake love interest, typed by Vivi's brother Marshall. We only got a taste, but I was ready for some full conversations! I think that also would have helped develop Marshall's character a bit more and Isabelle's as well. I also wanted to see the character of Isabelle's ex-boyfriend Shawn a bit more, I believed he was bad news but I wanted to see him show it at least a few more times throughout the book!

These girls get themselves into some pretty funny situations and it's fun to see how they wiggle their way out of them! I definitely knew where the book was going but had a great time getting there. Just wish the characters were developed a bit more!

i just finished reading this book and i cant even begin to describe how much i enjoyed it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! normally in books, you sort of know whats gonna happen next because its so typical. but this book kept me extremley surprised the whole time. everytime i thought i new what was gonna happen next, i was wrong. its soos exciting reading a book like that because it keeps you sososos intrested adn you never want to put it down! i alredy have a list of ppl who want to borrow my book, after the amazing review i gave it! it was seriously so great and i am going to buy all of kate brians other books bc im sure they will be just as great!!!!!! MUST READDD! (:

Fake Boyfriend by Kate Brian is not a highly believable book. The scenarios and happy ending at the end are not true to real life, but the book stays true to the rules it makes. I was looking for a fun, funny, and cute read, and Fake Boyfriend delivered on all accounts.

The two main characters (Lane and Vivi) are each different from one another and have their own flaws and good points. Each of the supporting characters in the book have distinct personalities. The dialogue between them flows well, and the described actions are well suited with each.

There is nothing too original or unpredictable in the story. I could see where the ending was going mostly from the back description, and figured out the rest within the first couple of chapters. I did not want a serious book when I picked up this one(I could even tell by the cover it would be fun and silly). Kate Brian's writing is not so much what the plot is, but how she delivers it. There were a few moments were I found myself laughing at situations and dialogue, as well as getting tense. I could not wait to turn the page to see what would happen next on the journey to the end, and read it in one quick sitting.

If you're looking for a light, fun, and cute read, I would definitely recommend this book. Though predictable, it is quite satisfying and wonderful.

I've bought other books written by this author for my 15yr old daughter and she loves it! She has passed them onto her niece (a couple years younger) who will pass on to another family member who wants to read it too!

FAKE BOYFRIEND
KATE BRIAN
Contemporary Young Adult

Rating: 4 Enchantments


Deciding that their best friend Isabelle needs someone better than Shawn Littig aka "Sluttig", Vivi and Lane concoct a plan to keep Isabelle from rebounding back into Shawn's arms just in time for prom. But where to find a guy great enough to distract her? Look no further then a fake boyfriend. After scheming up a myspace page for 'Brandon', Vivi quickly recruits her younger and extremely annoying brother Marshall to fill in on IM while the girls go out in search of someone to play 'Brandon' for real.

I thought FAKE BOYFRIEND was a fairly entertaining read. There were some parts of the book I figured would just never happen, like Isabelle falling for a perfect stranger so fast after being so hung up on Shawn. I have to admit Isabelle seemed more of a background character at times, even though the plot evolved around Vivi and Lane securing their best friend a brand new boyfriend, all to keep her from falling back into the arms of her cheating on-again, off-again ex. Things picked up once Vivi and Lane really got into the search for the perfect real life 'Brandon' and Marshall's evolution from a preppy geek to possible hottie.

My favorite scene from the book is when Vivi, Lane and Curtis head to the local prep school which is supposed to be hottie central to find a real-life 'Brandon' to take Isabelle to prom. The scene is truly laugh out loud and had one of the best lines in the book.

Kate Brian is the author of the popular The Princess & the Pauper, The V Club (available in paperback as The Virginity Club), Lucky T, and Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys. She will always be sweet sixteen at heart.

Lisa
YA Director
Enchanting Reviews
June 2008

I do like Kate Brian's "Private" series, so I was hoping this book would be engrossing as well. Granted, the "Private" books are fairly implausible in themselves, but this book went beyond implausible into ridiculous territory. You can predict the ending by the end of the first two chapters, but along the way it's hard to suspend your sense of disbelief and buy into any part of the plot.

Probably the biggest disappointment was that the characters were SO unrealistic; I kept expecting Lane and Isabelle to tell Vivi to get lost, because the character of Vivi was so thoroughly unlikable. The only reason the reader should belief that Vivi is their best friend is because the reader's told to think so; nothing in Vivi's actions or words indicates that she cares at all about anyone but herself. Lane is one-dimensional - we know nothing except that she's Vivi's doormat and has a crush on Curtis - and Isabelle is even less well-rounded, as all we know is that she's perfect and wants a perfect boyfriend.

I can appreciate a good, light, fluffy read - which is why I like "Private" - but this was eye-roll-worthy and not entertaining.