The Fill-in Boyfriend

Listening to this audiobook is like hearing your teenage sister tell you all about her romantic escapades. Narrator Shannon McManus's characters are cheerfully young and energetic. When Gia's college-age boyfriend dumps her in the parking lot of prom, she convinces a nearby cute guy to be her fill-in boyfriend for the evening. But this brief white lie takes on a life of its own when Gia can't stop thinking about the boy. McManus performs the "mean girl" by speaking slowly, as though she's hatching a plot, while Gia's other friends sound bubbly, and the male characters have charmingly low-pitched tones. McManus has a sibilance to her voice that works well for this book. Her exuberance fits the romance genre perfectly. G.D. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

December 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-High school senior Gia Montgomery is crushed when her dreamy boyfriend, Bradley, a junior in college, dumps her on prom night. Gia's friends have never met Bradley, and she had been looking forward to showing him off, especially since her friends were starting to doubt his existence. Unable to admit defeat, Gia sweet-talks an equally cute guy she meets in the parking lot into pretending to be Bradley for the night. The only problem is that Gia can't get Fake Bradley out of her mind, even when the real Bradley comes back into her life. Although the chemistry between Gia and Fake Bradley is swoon-worthy, Gia is often self-absorbed and manipulative, making her a tough protagonist to root for. A subplot about tensions between Gia and a frenemy presents conflict but is mostly silly and unrealistic. Narrator Shannon McManus provides a convincing voice for a teenage girl. VERDICT Fans of contemporary teen romance may enjoy. ["If sometimes too overt in the "shallow girl finds depth" theme, this sweet romantic tale is still hard not to like": SLJ 3/15 review of the HarperTeen book.]-Julie Judkins, Univ. of North Texas, Denton

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