My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours

by Kristina Springer

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312641597
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	12/31/2013
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	680L (what's this?)
Age Range:	11 - 14 Years

About the Author

KRISTINA SPRINGER holds a master's degree in writing from DePaul University. She is the author of The Espressologist, which Publishers Weekly called "a cheerful, breezy romance." She lives with her family outside Chicago, Illinois.

Editorial Reviews

Irresistible as a fluffy kitten. I laughed out loud and so will you!” —Meg Cabot, author of the Airhead and Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls series

“Tori is an appealing, engaging protagonist whose peppy first-person narrative includes some introspective moments and incorporates issues that readers will appreciate, especially the importance of honesty, trust, and self-appreciation. An enjoyable, entertaining read.” —Booklist

“Friendship versus one-upmanship in seventh grade is the subject of Springer's very funny and strongly realistic novel.” —Publishers Weekly

“The sheer exhaustion of a fake-boyfriend arms race, with the need to create fake email accounts and to come up with competing romantic gestures on the fly, is cleverly depicted.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“The themes will resonate with any girl who's ever gone through the hardships of middle school: friendship, boys, popularity, and, most importantly, choosing to do the right, but often more difficult, thing. A fun read.” —School Library Journal

“The dialogue is realistic, and Springer brings refreshing personalities to standard character types; Tori's parents are divorced, but both parents are active in her life, for instance, and the popular girls aren't mean.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Friendship versus one-upmanship in seventh grade is the subject of Springer’s very funny and strongly realistic novel. When Tori’s longtime best friend, Sienna, returns from a summer vacation in Florida with a glamorous new look and rhapsodic reports of her perfect new boyfriend, accompanied by the quirk of pulling on her right earlobe, past experience convinces Tori that Sienna is lying. Without completely meaning to, Tori makes up her own perfect boyfriend, and the competition is on. Lying doesn’t sit well with Tori, however, and Springer (The Espressologist) believably renders her inner conflicts about handling her friendship with Sienna and her growing uneasiness about both of their lies, as well as the up-and-down swings in her relationships with her amicably divorced parents. A secondary plot involving a science teacher with a drinking problem further enlivens the story, but seems irrelevant to Tori’s deeper dilemma, which will ring true to many readers. For much of the book the suspense is low key, but Springer builds just enough minor drama into the final chapters to hold readers’ interest until the credible resolution. Ages 11–14. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 5–7—For Tori Barnes, choosing the perfect outfit for the first day of school is essential and has always required the help of her friend Sierra for weeks beforehand. But now everything is different. Sierra's family recently became rich, and when they spent the entire summer on the beach relaxing, Sierra didn't stay in touch. When Tori arrives for the first day of seventh grade, she can hardly believe it. With her new hair extensions, clothes, and tan, Sierra has reached celebrity status. She even claims to have a boyfriend, Antonio, whom she met on vacation. Tori suspects that Sierra may be making him up, however, and she decides to invent a boyfriend for herself, sparking a competition between the girls as to who has the best (fake) relationship. Soon the lies begin to spiral out of control and Tori longs to have her old friend back. Springer writes in authentic tween language. The story takes place in a suburb of Chicago, but could easily be transported to any school in the United States. Tori is a well-rounded character, both likable and relatable. The themes will resonate with any girl who's ever gone through the hardships of middle school: friendship, boys, popularity, and, most importantly, choosing to do the right, but often more difficult, thing. A fun read.—Kimberly Castle, Medina County District Library, OH

School Library Journal