Kasie West will be joining us tomorrow night for a Q&A on her most recent book P.S. I Like You. We hope you will join us, too. Until then you can whet your appetite for the awesomeness that is Kasie West with this review of one of her previous YA novels The Fill in Boyfriend.
More information at Hicklebees.com
Gia Montgomery is the kind of girl who cares about prom, so when her college boyfriend dumps her in the parking lot at the dance, emotional turmoil strikes. It seems her choices are limited a) to walking home, or b) arriving at the prom without her super-hot college date she had bragged about to her “friends” for the entire school year. Both outcomes are social suicide (obviously). But someone like Gia Montgomery doesn’t become the queen bee of her school with luck. Her status is built on manipulation and skill, so, naturally, she improvises. Gia spots a cute guy around her age waiting to pick up his sister, and gives him an offer: go to the prom with her acting as Bradley and she’ll pay him. They settle on her owing him “one huge favor”. No other strings attached.
After an abrupt departing with ‘Bradley’, Gia realizes that she had more fun with him than she ever did with her million-miles-away, trophy guy. Gia is ready to do some hardcore stalking to track this new guy down when her favor is called in: make Fill-In Bradley’s ex-girlfriend jealous at her graduation party for a couple of hours. No strings attached, deal sealed, and she gets to meet her (fake) date again. Even though they don’t owe each other any more favors, this is only the beginning. But, if Gia wants to be with her Fill-In for real, then her lie is going to get a whole lot more complicated.
After Gia's masquerade is over, she starts to question what kind of person she really is, and her web of lies being revealed might force her tell everyone else the truth about who she really wants to be.
Gia Montgomery actually reminds me a lot of myself. When you read a book, it’s easy to call out when the main character is conforming, or being shallow, but it’s a lot harder to criticize yourself. As teens, we’re constantly being told that status is success, and to realize what really matters may be the greatest mental challenge I've ever faced. Kasie West translates Gia’s perspective in a way that the reader can empathize with her choices and her train of thought. It was nice to see someone like Gia evolve as a character, to the point where the most popular girl in school can be relatable to a book nerd.
The Fill-In Boyfriend is a very fun fast read. Anyone that likes a romance story with a little more creativity than the average novel will devour all things Kasie West.
by Sasha, Hicklebee's TAB Member
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