The Boyfriend Bracket, Kate Evangelista: Guest Post

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Welcome to my guest post with author Kate Evangelista for The Boyfriend Bracket blog tour! This is one unique contemporary that I have been excited to read for quite some time. Keep reading to learn more about the book and read about Kate’s teen experiences.

Title: The Boyfriend Bracket
Author: Kate Evangelista
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Publication Date: June 19, 2018

Summary (from Goodreads):

Stella has had a hopeless crush on Will, her older brother's best friend FOREVER, but now that Cam and Will have graduated and are going off to college, this year is her chance to really strike out on her own. Without her overprotective brother and his sidekick around to distract her, she can focus on having all the typical high school experiences that she's always dreamed of—starting with finding a boyfriend! With the help of her best friend Franklin, she comes up with the perfect plan to have a boyfriend by Christmas: The Boyfriend Bracket.

Or it seems like the perfect plan...right up until Will starts showing up again. How is she supposed to find the perfect boyfriend when none of her dates measure up to the one boy she can never have?

Guest Post: Kate Evanglelista, The Boyfriend Bracket

Is there a story from your teen years that is similar to Stella’s experiences?

Writing The Boyfriend Bracket was such fun because I was able to put tiny pieces of myself in the book. I think this is the closest I’ve gone to putting all of me in a story. My other books have tiny touches from my experiences, but for the most part the stories are separate from my real life.

First, I want to clarify, I am not Stella. Not by a long shot. Stella is actually an amalgamation of my eleven creative writing students who I dedicated the book to. The me of the book are the touches of Filipino life.

There’s the food. Adobo is mentioned prominently in the book. In fact, the reason Stella’s father fell in love with her mother was because she cooked him adobo. This simple dish of soy sauce, vinegar, and pork or chicken or both, is also a Thanksgiving staple at the Patterson household. Of which Will waits the entire year for.

In the Philippines, every family has their own recipe for adobo. The main ingredients stay the same, but the preparations can differ. Some like their adobo dry while others love theirs with lots of sauce. They even sprinkle the sauce on white rice. Others put hardboiled eggs in their adobo. Some, like my mother and I, love eating the dish with a banana. The mix of salty and sweet is divine.

Then there’s the language. There are some Filipino words in the book. Stella’s mom uses the word kuya, which means brother, in reference to Camron. And when Camron gets really mad? His inner Pinoy comes out.

This book is the story of my heart. Now, all I really want is to share Stella, Will, Camron, and Franklin with the world. The Boyfriend Bracket is a great summer read filled with all the swoons you’ll need. Pick up a copy at your favorite bookstore, sit at your favorite café with your favorite drink, and spend the afternoon reading. You’ll finish the book in one sitting.

About Kate Evangelista

When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did the next best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn’t going to be the next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department of her university and never looked back. Today, she is a graduate of De La Salle University – Manila with an Bachelor of Arts in Literature. She taught high school English for three years and was an essay consultant for two. Currently she writes full time and is based in the Philippines.