The Borrow a Boyfriend Club

July 10, 2023
Powars’s debut, a sensitively wrought enemies-to-lovers romance, stars a teen who joins a secret high school club in which students volunteer to be rent-a-boyfriends for fellow classmates. Transgender 16-year-old former dancer Noah Byrd is determined to “blend in like a normal teenage guy” at his new high school in Ann Arbor, Mich. Hoping to join the most masculine-seeming activity he can find, he signs up for the Football and Lamborghini Club, unaware that it’s a cover for the Borrow a Boyfriend Club, a service that sets students up on dates with participating members for events. After failing the first-round interview of the highly selective membership process, he finagles a second chance from prickly president Asher Price by promising to choreograph a dance that will help the club win a lucrative talent contest. As Noah grapples with the fear of being outed as trans, as well as body dysmorphia amplified by his return to dancing—which he gave up during his transition because “boys don’t dance”—he develops feelings for Asher. In vulnerable first-person prose, Powars renders Noah’s feelings about his gender identity alongside sweet messaging surrounding the power of friendship and connection. Ages 12–up. Agent: Natalie Lakosil, Irene Goodman Literary.

August 15, 2023
In the basement of Heron River High School, a transgender transfer student seeking acceptance stumbles into the school's best and worst kept secret--the ultra-exclusive Borrow a Boyfriend Club. No one at Noah Byrd's new school knows anything about him, and he intends to keep it that way until he can join a club manly enough to prevent the "little mistakes" that followed him at his old school. At the Football and Lamborghini After-School Club, Noah expects to find a group of super-bros, but instead he uncovers FALAC's true identity. Operating under the teachers' radar, the Borrow a Boyfriend Club provides people with temporary dates for social events. As absurd as the concept seems, their members' reputation for being the hottest boys in school is exactly what Noah needs. But the club's insufferably smug (and attractive) president, Asher Price, refuses to admit Noah into their ranks unless he can pass three tests of his dating skills, and help the club win the school's talent show. A sassy enemies-to-lovers romance adds a thrilling allure to the lighthearted drama as Noah tries to prove his worth to Asher. Noah and Asher, who are both white, show meaningful growth, but the wider, diverse roster of characters lack satisfying nuance in their development. Powars veers away from tired plot tropes that involve a scandalous coming out by shifting the focus to internalized transphobia. This coming-of-age romance will have high appeal for fans of manga series like Ouran High School Host Club. Lighthearted and fun. (Romance. 13-18)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2023
Grades 9-11 As he starts junior year, Noah is determined that at this new school, things will be different. His classmates will see him for who he is--just a teenage guy, no asterisk, no fumbling his pronouns, no ""accidentally"" using his deadname. That means joining an after-school activity that is unquestionably masculine, like the oddly titled Football and Lamborghini After-School Club. When he discovers that's just the official name for the Borrow a Boyfriend Club, a secret organization that lets students essentially rent dates, Noah is wary but determined to earn a spot on the club's roster, which means convincing the club's president, Asher, that Noah knows how to be a perfect boyfriend. Even if Noah has no idea how to be a boyfriend (yet). This presents a unique twist on the fake-dating trope, and Noah is an engaging protagonist. The somewhat familiar beats of ""romance research"" become fresh with his unique voice. A story that will delight and surprise even the most well-read rom-com fans.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 3, 2023

Gr 9 Up-Transfer student Noah Byrd is determined to join the most masculine club he can find, hoping the fresh start will enable him to avoid the transphobic microaggressions he suffered at his old high school. He stumbles upon the "Football and Lamborghini Club," only to discover that it's actually an elaborate front for the school's best kept secret: the "Borrow a Boyfriend Club." While he's skeptical of a club run by cocky popular boys that rents out its members as fake dates, Noah realizes the group's notoriety and entourage of fangirls (and boys) could actually be the perfect backdrop for Noah's new beginning. But joining the club isn't as easy as Noah had hoped. The club's hard-headed leader Asher hasn't accepted new members in years, and has implemented a series of impossible-seeming tasks for Noah to complete before he can be inducted. One task is to attempt to romance Asher himself, causing Noah to catch feelings with the person he thought he hated most. Raunchy and lighthearted, this book avoids the clich� of a trans student being outed; instead Powers lets Noah believably grapple with his own internalized transphobia, and his family's acceptance. Ultimately the themes of trans joy, trust, and authenticity are at the heart of this funny and buoyant enemies-to-lovers rom-com. VERDICT Recommended for all libraries serving teens; this is one boyfriend they'll want to borrow again and again.-Allison Staley

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