Review by Booklist Review
Guillaume (What I Like about Me, 2020) packs her sophomore novel with plenty of early 2000s rom-com vibes and lighthearted mishaps as Katie imagines a Hemsworth-perfect boyfriend who comes to life. Katie may not be able to hook popular and flawless Declan, but when Guy appears out of thin air, her romantic troubles are just beginning. Is an impeccable boyfriend really worth all the trouble? Guillaume's cinematic story weaves together beloved romantic comedy tropes touched with magic--or is it science?--and drops them into a fresh, contemporary setting. Despite the playful tone, this isn't without nuance, taking on serious topics such as male body image, friendship, and asexuality. Katie's sometimes-naive approach to life easily endears her to readers, while her friends and loved ones earn their spots in her life with support and tough love. Uniquely delivered with interjections from Katie's best friend, this is a prose version of Kristen Gudsnuk's Making Friends (2018) met with the layered froth of an Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka novel.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up--One night, Katie and her best friend, Libby, are dreaming up her perfect boyfriend when something truly unexplainable happens--the boy they have sculpted out of clay comes to life. Suddenly, Katie, who has never been kissed, finds herself the sole object of affection for the hottest boy she's ever seen. But when her classmates start bullying her and Katie starts to feel smothered by her new beau's affections, what will she do? This story feels like a Disney movie gone slightly awry. Katie is a self-absorbed narrator, but her friendship with Libby is heartwarming and relatable, and her character grows throughout the story. At times utterly ridiculous, this is nevertheless a quick escape of a story that emphasizes the lesson that our idea of "perfection" isn't always what we're looking for. Katie is white and Libby is Filipina. VERDICT Younger teens will likely enjoy Katie's shenanigans.--Chelsey Masterson, New York P.L., Bronx
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
After creating a perfect boyfriend, Katie should be happy…shouldn't she? Disappointed that she hasn't yet experienced her first kiss, 16-year-old Katie sculpts a clay figurine that represents her perfect man: He's tall and well built, with blue eyes and floppy hair. Her best friend, Libby, mixes up a special potion to give him a soul. But after Katie falls asleep, voilà--the sculpture's gone and there's a naked teenage boy with no belly button in her bed. After overcoming her surprise, she realizes her parents won't be happy with her keeping a boy in her room, so she enlists Theo, her next-door neighbor and longtime friend, to help hide this 6-foot-tall Adonis whom she's named Guy. Eagerly claiming his role as her boyfriend, Guy wants nothing more than to adore her. His sweet attention is wonderful at first, but why is she still crushing on Declan, a popular soccer player at school? Interjections from Katie and Libby break the fourth wall and comment on the narrative, but their exchanges become wearisome and fail to elevate the otherwise predictable tale. Katie faces doubters who question her relationship with as attractive a person as Guy, but the story only dips a toe into interrogating beauty standards and the idea that everyone is deserving of love and respect. Most main characters are White; Libby is cued as Filipina, and the story includes queer representation. An enjoyable rom-com. (Romance. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
