Fake Boyfriend
By Kate Pavao,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Girls create the perfect guy. Cute but contrived.
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What's the Story?
Isabelle is obsessed with prom, so when her boyfriend dumps her right before the big dance she's devastated. Her best friends Vivi and Lane want to make her feel better, so they create a fake MySpace profile for Isabelle's dream guy. They don't expect that Isabelle will actually fall for him -- or that they'll soon be searching for a guy willing to impersonate \"Brandon,\" and take Isabelle to the prom. And that's just the beginning of the mayhem.
Is It Any Good?
The premise feels like an '80s romantic comedy, and even if you cast the over-the-top wackiness aside, you still have a pretty predictable book with scripted and not-very-likable characters. Instead of Vivi, Lane, and Isabelle, the characters could be named The Pushy One, The Mousy One, and The Romantic. Readers will have the most trouble finding anything likable about obnoxious and controlling Vivi -- rather than the fact that she really is trying to do something nice for Isabelle when she comes up with her silly scheme.
The author does throw in a few twists at the end, but even then, readers will know that the three protagonists will find their true loves -- and remember what they love about each other -- before the book's conclusion.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the fake profile that Vivi and Lane create for "Brandon." How easy is it to fake information on a social networking site? Do you believe most of what you read on sites like MySpace?
Book Details
- Author: Kate Brian
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster
- Publication date: December 26, 2007
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 14 - 14
- Number of pages: 272
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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