My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours by Kristina Springer

Rating:

Characters: 18/20

Plot: 17/20

Originality: 17/20

Writing: 17/20

Recommendation: 18/20

Overall: 87/100 or B

Source: Publisher

Seventh grade was supposed to be fun, but Tori is having major drama with her BFF, Sienna. Sienna changed a lot over the summer on the first day of school she’s tan, confident, and full of stories about her new dreamy boyfriend. Tori knows that she’s totally making this guy up. So Tori invents her own fake boyfriend, who is better than Sienna’s in every way. Things are going great unless you count the whole lying-to-your-best-friend thing until everyone insists Tori and Sienna bring their boyfriends to the back-to-school dance.

My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours was so cute and such a quick read. Tori hasn't talk to her BFF in a few weeks and is worried that their friendship will be over. That is until she comes up with a new idea. I think that is reasonable to what happened in middle school. The plot surprised me with a few twist and turns, but was mostly what I expected from this book. If the book was longer, I would have expected a bit more suspense. It was pretty authentic for a middle grade book. I also like Springer's sweet, yet realistic voice that Tori had. I would recommend this book to fans of The Espressologist or realistic Middle Grade fiction.

Interview with Kristina Springer

Kristina Springer has a Bachelor of Arts in English Education from Illinois State University and a Master of Arts in Writing from DePaul University. Her first novel, The Espressologist will be published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux in the fall of 2009. She lives in a suburb of Chicago, IL with her husband Athens and their four small children Teegan, Maya, London, and Gavin. She is also a regular contributer for Author2Author.

1. Where did you get the idea for The Espressologist?
At a coffee shop! My local Starbucks to be specific. I was sitting there having drinks with my husband and watching people come in and out and it sorta hit me that I could tell what they were going to order. Then the book idea started to come to me.
2. For those that don't know what The Espressologist is about, can you give them a brief summary? Also, What other books can we look forward to you in the future?
THE ESPRESSOLOGIST is about a 17-yr old coffee barista at a Chicago coffee shop who discovers she has this talent for matchmaking people based on their favorite coffee drinks.
And coming next fall is MY FAKE BOYFRIEND IS BETTER THAN YOURS. It's about these two 7th grade BFFs who both suspect the other's boyfriend is a fake and keep trying to one up each other with who has the better guy. It becomes competitive and hilarious.
3. You are a contributor to Author2Author. How do you think that it has helped you? What is your favorite part about being a part of the group?
We (me, Deena, Emily, Kate, and Lisa) started Author2Author almost two years ago now and I love it! We're all at different stages of the writing process and we talk a lot about what we're going through at the time and also offer lots of tips/advice/experience. It's helped me a lot personally because I'm with four super smart ladies and they're always coming up with great topics for things I haven't tried yet or haven't heard of. I'm always learning from them. My favorite part about the group? Their advice. I can e-mail them anytime with an OMG, what do I do?! situation and one or all of them will have an answer.
4. What are some of your favorite books from this last year?
Oh, there have been so many!! Let's see, Prada & Prejudice, Wings, Hate List, Being Nikki, Paper Towns, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Secrets of Truth and Beauty, Stupid Cupid, and A Match Made in High School (though that comes out in Feb 2010-- I read the arc.)
5. What is a normal writing day for you?
Fit it in whenever I can! Generally this is a couple of nights a week, maybe a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, for a couple of hours at a time.
6.What are hobbies that you like to do other then writing and reading?
My kids! Seriously, my days are jam packed with kid stuff (their activities, appts, schools, playdates etc. There are four of them between the ages of one and seven). Other than that I try to exercise everyday. And drink coffee. Is that a hobby? And visit/chat with friends and family as often as possible. Oh, and I like movies! And hanging out with my husband!
7. Is there anything else would you like to add?
Thanks for having me! :)

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

Rating:
Characters: 16/20
Plot: 16/20
Originality: 20/20
Writing: 17/20
Recommendation: 17/20
Overall: 86/100 or B
The Expressologist is one of those cute books that you can't put down. Jane Turner has a theory that you can tell a lot about a person by what is your regular coffee drink. She keeps a notebook with she calls Espressology. It is not a totally crazy idea, so she starts hooking up friends based by their coffee order. Like she set up her best friend, Emma(medium hot chocolate) with Cam(toffee nut latte). Soon, her boss, Derek gets wind of Jane's espressology. He decides that it needs be an in-store holiday promotion, promising Customers that will have their perfect match for the cost of a their favorite cup of coffee. Things are going so really, but why is Jane so nervous? Maybe it has something to do with a match that she made, but she is the one that set them up. So, she should be happy so them, right?
I found this book to be so cute. Jane's notebook was hilarious and made me laugh so hard. I could relate to Jane's personality. She was a sweet and tried to do the best actions for everyone, but sometimes she had to listen to her heart. The other character could have been developed a lot more and the subplots could have had more detail. The plot was original. I mean I have never seen a book with a similar plot like this. It did seem that it was a bit rushed, especially with the relationship between Cam and Jane and a few other plot points. Though, I was so excited for the match ups of couples, because they were perfect for each other. This is a cute and fun book, that I wish had quite a bit more length.