The basic message here is you shouldn't be afraid to follow your dreams and your heart, to admit when you're on the wrong path and have the courage to change. Only really it's encouraging our adrenaline-powered generation to drop what has lost the power to excite and move onto something else. What's wrong with steadily content and comfortable? I'm all for getting out of a rut, but there is a line between making life better and just making it different. I liked Graham and for all Kate's annoyance at his quirks it was just the natural pitfalls of any relationship overtime. You don't throw away the nice steady guy for the uncatchable one. His pursuit may be exciting, but his quirks will bother you too and soon enough he'll be on to the next chase. At least Graham whimmed through hobbies, not women. What is it with girls that nice guys bother them and the jerks they can't live without? How could you consider a guy who aims to hurt?I'm not saying which, if any, of the guys she ended up with. Because you don't know until she knows. The book doesn't follow a predictable romantic pattern. I'm just saying she never should have considered upgrading her love life. I didn't mind her change in career, I just didn't buy into the romantic fizzle of her relationship.But for all her flaws, I liked Kate, even found her lovable in her uncertainty. And she wasn't by far the most flawed character. Jen was annoyingly meddlesome and flimsy I didn't like her nor did I feel bad for her self-created problems. Lexi was self-centered but insecure and shallow. Now that I think of it, most of the characters were shallow and didn't deeply care for each other. Maybe I just didn't relate to these chain-smoking, gossipy, competitive, immoral, never remorseful only self-pitying characters. But they are the backdrop and the Kate you could sympathize with.This is not your typical chick lit (other than the seeming requirement of sex and f words in modern lit). The writing was fairly good and I enjoyed the story. The "yeah right" plot twist of many novels were avoided (even if Hoffman's second blunder was a risk no intelligent law professor would make). The end doesn't seem an obvious course and you let Kate discover the path she thinks is right for her through all her mistakes. A good quick read better than much light reading out there.
It's been a long time since I last read a chicklit. I was just looking for a quick and delightful read. 'Testing Kate' surpassed my expectations.Kate Bennett is a first-year law student at Tulane Law School. After splitting up with her boyfriend Graham, she decides to take this chance and enroll to university again, where she meets Nick - her neighbor -, Lexi, Jen, Addison, and Dana.At her first school day, she makes the mistake of coming unprepared to class: because of the moving to her new apartment, she didn't provide textbooks and did not prepare for the reading. Even worse, the evil professor everyone talks about was the one teaching for that class. Kate is a total jink, and she gets called on by Professor Hoffman, it just turns out in disaster.Kate was a funny and lovable character, she had me rooting for her at all times. She was trying to figure out what she wanted, and most importantly, what she needed.(view spoiler)[PS: I know many people wanted it to happen, but I didn't like the fact that Kate and Nick got together. I never really liked Nick, because he was a womanizer... (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about Testing Kate (2006)?
Another god-awful chick lit book. This book came my way as part of the detritus of a swap meet and I can see why the original owner passed it on. I, too, will be shuffling it out the door (though not to anyone I know or like).Gaskell has only the most rudimentary of writing skills; her book is a prime example of why I usually cringe when I see the first person POV. Even when I was skimming, the story seemed to plod along very slowly. The dialogue is generally unconvincing as speech and the author frequently has characters reciting their background information to each other instead of finding subtler ways of introducing them.The final death blow is the subject matter: main character Kate is a 1L at Tulane. Anyone who has been to law school will find the depiction of the law school experience about as accurate as in Legally Blonde.
—Rachel C.
I didnt enjoy this one as much as Whitney Gaskell's other books. It's about law students, & they mostly act like high school students, & it seems like they'd rather go out drinking than study & get good grades. I didnt like the alcoholic, gay boss, he was weird & didnt really need to be in the story, I wasnt sure how he fit into the plot. I really hated the evil professor, & I was glad he got what was coming to him. The rest of the ending wasnt that good. It was kind of disappointing because her other books were so good.
—Marnie
i have to admit, i kept having tiny law school nightmares as i was reading this book. some of it hit kind of close to home (like the time a certain crimlaw prof shoved a mic in my face b/c he didn't think i was speaking loud enough in class).i also kept waiting for some of these characters to redeem themselves (which never happened).but it was an enjoyable read.rather predictable, but entertaining nonetheless.
—Sara
