The Fill-In Boyfriend
by: Kasie West
Publication Date: May 5, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: Borrowed from Nick!
Page Count: 352 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars
When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend— two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.
The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party — three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.
Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.
Kasie West could write a 700 page book and I would still think it wasn't enough. Really. Her writing is THAT addicting. The storyline, the characters, the romance... all are so well crafted and will leave you wanting more and more. The Fill-In Boyfriend is no exception. I thought it was cute, fun, sweet, and had a few serious undertones that I really appreciated.
I never disliked Gia, but I did find myself really liking her MORE once she realizes that she doesn't really know herself at all. She is the popular student body president, has her circle of friends, and uses social media to project that popularity. When her boyfriend ditches her on prom night, she's desperate to find someone to take his place all in order to prove to her friends that he was real. (He was a college guy at UCLA). I felt bad for Gia. She has one friend that basically questions her every move and is trying to one up her at every turn. Even though Jules is the newer addition to the group, Gia's friends, Laney and Claire really like her, so Gia can either risk losing her friends or try to be one big happy family. I could not stand Jules. She was awful. Even after Gia genuinely tries with her, that girl has her own plan and it's just sad. While I felt for Gia, she should have come clean with her friends from the beginning instead of creating this elaborate lie that she's inevitably going to get caught up in.
I felt for Gia. I was in her place during middle school, hanging out with the popular crowd. During 8th grade, my eyes were really opened and I decided I didn't just have to be friends with the popular kids. I could hang out with some of the other kids who flew under the radar because they were a lot of fun. It was a hard decision to make but at the same time, I didn't want to constantly have to be 'on' and fake who I was to fit into the popular crowd. Once I did, I never felt better. I could be friends with who I wanted and be my goofy self without judgment. I understand Gia's desire to stay friends with those girls because it's all she's known, but I was rooting for her to take flight on her own because she's realizing her life and theirs don't really match up anymore.
The romance! I'm not going to tell you this particular boy's name because it's fun watching Gia try to figure it out, so I'll let you do the same. Fill-In Bradley as Gia calls him was just the kind of guy she needed in her life. You can tell he's got a bit of a geeky vibe going on what with his graphic tees, floppy hair, and oh yeah he's totally reading a book when she first sees him. Yeah, that would be my trifecta of perfection. I liked him a lot and I liked him even more for coming to Gia's rescue on Prom night. I was having trouble with getting a clear read on him at times though. He helps Gia out on prom night, but then has her help him with making his ex girlfriend jealous. I kept wondering what was real and what was pretend. Is he having feelings for her is or is it all an act? We know Gia starts falling for Fill-in Bradley because the book is from her POV, but I could never tell with him.
I really enjoyed the family storyline in this one. We get to see how drastically different Gia's family life is from Fill-in Bradley and his sister Bec's. Gia's family may projection perfection on the outside, but inside this family is deteriorating because of their lack of communication and honesty with one another. Fill-in Bradley's family might seem a bit eccentric, but they are really close and I liked seeing that. Gia's brother Drew really angered me with his actions, especially the last one because it seemed to be done out of spite and just to be superior. I don't think I would have forgiven him anytime soon after that.
So, yes. You need this book in your life. Fill-in Bradley will make you swoon, angry Bec will make you laugh and root for her, and Gia's character development is one that I really understood and connected with. Definitely a perfect start of summer read!
*
A huge thank you to Nick for letting me borrow this one!*
6 comments
I CAN'T WAAAAIIIIIT!!!! Omygosh "Kasie West could write a 700 page book and I would still think it wasn't enough." RIGHT? I'm excited to meet Fill-In Bradley who I'm pretty sure is going to be an incredible book boyfriend.
ReplyDeleteHaraiah @ Random Things In Action
One of these days I will read a Kasie West book! They all sound so adorable! Great review!
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for this one and I cannot wait till it downloads to my Kindle! Will be reading it tomorrow itself in all probability! So happy to hear you loved it, Jess!
ReplyDeleteAs always, I love Kasie West and her books and her book boys. Loved this one!
ReplyDeleteI've been really looking forward to this book! Sounds like such a fun read!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I'm so glad you loved it!! I love Kasie West and this sounds just adorable, especially for a summery read! :)
ReplyDeleteLeave me some comment love! And I will get around to commenting back!
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