BLOG TOUR: THE GIRLFRIEND REQUEST by Jodie Andrefski Interview + Review

THE GIRLFRIEND REQUEST

Author: Jodie Andrefski
Source: eARC via the Publisher
Publisher: Entangled Teen Crush 
Publication Date: January 11, 2016
Rating: 3/5 stars

Summary:
Updating best friend to girlfriend is more than a change of status…

Emma has been best friends with Eli since she moved to his neighborhood ten years ago. Tired of being cast in the role of the girl next door, Emma creates a fake Facebook profile in the hopes of starting an online friendship with Eli, which would hopefully lead to more. Like...way more. From friend request to In a Relationship--it all seemed so completely logical when she'd planned it.

Eli can't figure out what Emma is up to. He’s pretty sure she's the one behind the Facebook profile, but then again, why would she do something so drastic instead of just admitting she wants to be more than friends? And who the heck is this new guy he saw her with? Eli starts to think that just maybe...he missed his chance with the girl next door.

Two best friends, one outlandish ruse. Their status is about to become way more than It’s Complicated…

This Entangled Teen Crush book contains one fake Facebook profile, two best friends who secretly crave each other, and a dreaded sex talk with parents…boy crush in the room included. Pushing a relationship beyond the friend zone has never been so crazy…

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters

I was lucky enough to be able to interview the lovely Jodie Andrefski about her book THE GIRLFRIEND REQUEST and find out the answer to some burning questions I had about the book!

What was the inspiration for THE GIRLFRIEND REQUEST? Was there any "truth" behind it?

JA: The inspiration for THE GIRLFRIEND REQUEST had a lot to do with seeing how much time my teen daughter spent on Facebook with her friends, lol. I thought it would be fun to combine one of my favorite tropes of best friends to “lovers” with social media, while making sure it starts as a complete comedy of errors. Because I know when I was a teen, I certainly did those “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time…” sort of things when it came to love. Things that right after I did them I wished I could take back, and then found myself scrambling to figure out how to sort my way through the whole mess. That is exactly what happens to Emma. Love can be fun and exhilarating and crazy in the best way possible…but it can also certainly be messy and nerve-wracking too. We definitely see all of those things throughout Emma and Eli’s journey.

If by “any truth behind it” you mean do I know someone who did this whole little catfishing scheme with a friend…nope, I don’t. Or, if I do…they didn’t admit it to me. =) 

What did you learn while writing THE GIRLFRIEND REQUEST?

JA: I think I actually learned the most after I finished the first draft of THE GIRLFRIEND REQUEST. The entire writing process definitely has so many stages—more than I initially realized. There are the multiple drafts, and revising, and then doing it all again.  But I am so lucky to be able to be doing something I love so much, so definitely no complaints!
 

What do you hope readers love about THE GIRLFRIEND REQUEST?

JA: I hope readers love the fact that at times Emma and Eli are both complete goobers. They are real. They are insecure sometimes. Sometimes you want to shake them, and other times you want to hug them. I hope readers enjoy all the awkward, embarrassing, funny moments they share. I hope readers also love the devoted friendship that Emma and Eli share…how that is even more important to them than any potential romance.
 

Who is your favourite author and what is your favourite work of theirs?

JA: This is such a hard question for me. I really love so many authors in different genres. I can say that my all-time favorite book is probably To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. A few years ago I was given a signed copy of the 50th anniversary edition of the work and it is in a place of honor on top of one of the bookshelves in my room.
 

Do you make an outline before you write a book?

JA: I don’t usually outline before writing a book, although I know many authors who swear by this process. I am a total pantser. I get an idea for my book, then start writing, and let the characters take me where they want to go. I used this method for THE GIRLFRIEND REQUEST as well as my YA Contemporary coming out in May, THE SOCIETY. That said, the one I am working on now is more of a YA thriller, so for this one I am doing a bit of a sketch or outline to make sure I can keep track of where I am going with the twists and turns.
 

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions!

JA: Thank you so much for having me on your blog!

You can find Jodie Andrefski on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and her website! You can also find ELI from #TGR and Emma's alter-ego KELLI SUMMERS on Facebook! 

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

From this summary, I assumed it would be more catfish and less ... everything else that was included in there. It seemed like the author wanted to make all these different stories and plot lines but they got jumbled and none of them were fleshed out enough to make any of them interesting.

I liked the beginning and thought it was pretty good: Emma thought she had it all figured out but really Eli was already onto her. And I liked that Eli came to realize that he actually was in love with Emma. I also liked that their problems stemmed from miscommunication. THIS STORY LINE WAS FINE. It should have been the ONLY story line in the entire novel because once the weird suggestion of a double date and Jake came into play, the whole book went downhill.

I didn't mind that Emma started to realize that maybe she wasn't as in love with Eli as she thought, but I wasn't a fan of how it came up. It was weird that Emma went from head over heels for Eli to "well maybe I like-like Jake more than Eli" after one date. I get that teens are flipflop-y -- I was a flipflop-y teen but not to that extent. It was like 0-100 in both directions. Jake was nice and I liked him but then he turned ... weird? I would have liked it a lot more if she got to know Jake more and started to have feelings for him slowly and then had to really decide between whether she wanted to be with Eli, who just realized he was in love with her, or Jake, who saw her from the "beginning" of their relationship. IDK I am sucker for that kind of shit.

The first 47% of the book was good and the rest could have been better if it weren't for the added plotlines that went nowhere and the other characters serving as sounding boards for the main characters.