This was a fun YA Contemporary to ease the tension after reading such complex books. I took it more leisurely than an actual book review and finished it in a matter of days. The cover is just so playful; I adore illustrations!
The day I created a boy started out like any other.
Katie didn't mean to create a boy. A boy like a long-lost Hemsworth brother: six-foot tall with floppy hair and eyes like the sky on a clear summer's day; whose lips taste like cookie-dough and whose skin smells like springtime.
A boy who is completely devoted to Katie.
He was meant to be perfect.
But he was never meant to exist.
The book starts out as narrated by our main characters, Katie and Libby (best friends). It’s written as a conversation and they’re telling the story of the boy they created. At first, it was amusing to read, but as it progressed; it took the essence away entirely. From their few add-ins, it became very predictable to a point where I wanted to stop reading because I knew what was going to happen. Even though I said it took a few days to read, it dragged because of their input. I’m not sure if Guillaume wanted to build anticipation for THAT moment to happen, but the character’s input ruined it entirely for me. It would’ve been nice if they had a conversation at the start and end. That way readers could see the character development that wasn’t included in the actual storytelling.
Onto the characters who individually were a hit or miss for me. It took me a while to write this review because I was on the fence about even giving this book a rating! It’s an entertaining book, but the characters really did it for me.
Let’s start with Katie, our main character who’s smart, artistic, and writes! Yet when she created ‘Guy’ all common sense went out the window? From the first few chapters when she explained to her two closest friends (Libby and Theo) that she wanted the ‘perfect’ guy and kiss, I thought ‘oh no, here we go’ because there isn’t such a thing as the perfect person or thing. Which made this book and Katie such a good example to use when trying to get the message across to people that you should be grateful for what’s in front of you.
As the story continued, Katie became naïve to the surrounding people. She became so warped in her own world that it didn’t take arguments with her best friends for her to realize she’s in the wrong but for her crush and his girlfriend to treat her like crap to realize that she misses her friends. The typical trope of an event or person for the MC to realize. I admit it was frustrating to read—especially after all the pain she put Guy through, but I loved the message.
Libby, Theo, and Guy were probably my favorite characters. (Can ‘Guy’ be considered a character? LOL) Libby’s scientist as opposed to Katie and readers unfortunately get a little of her background and thoughts because everything’s about Katie. That’s one argument that divides them. Yet I loved Libby’s support throughout the whole Guy transition. She set aside her problems to be there for her best friend.
Theo was hands down my favorite. Even though it was obvious, he cared about Katie since they’ve known and been there for each other since they were little—like Libby, Theo was also there for Katie in her time of need which presses the message more on who is really there for you from the start. Theo had a lot going on in his life with the passing of his mother, his family grieving, and having to share a room with Guy! Yet, even Theo admits that Guy is hard not to like.
Yes, this review might contain spoilers because I have to get this out: Guy deserved better! Or… received better closure? How could anyone not like Guy? He was, admittedly, perfect. Too perfect for Katie to handle. Guillaume made this book Katie’s story which is fine but I wished readers got more out of Libby, Theo, Declan (Katie’s crush) and so many other characters!
One thing I adored was the friendships in this book. Whether it was between Katie and Libby, Guy and Theo, Katie and Theo, and their other friends. Other than Katie, they all set aside their differences whenever they needed help. This theme contributed to the message even more. If Katie opened her eyes to who and what was in front of her, she could’ve had everything she wanted without Guy ever existing. At one point I wanted them to follow Libby’s idea and do science experiments on him! That would’ve defiantly spiced up the book. Lol.
Overall, this was an entertaining book that made me laugh and pull my hair at how frustrated Katie made me feel whenever she acted in a certain way. Though, how else would she have learned? Hopefully, there’ll be more YA Aussie books that are as fun as this was! Happy enough to have given this three out of five stars and recommendation to those looking for something quick and time-consuming.
Comments