The ABC's Of Kissing Boys (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
I don't know about this one. Maybe it's the fact that I come from Australia and the emphasis on popularity in high school is nowhere near as intense as it is in the U.S., but I thought that this book focused too much on this idea. Don't get me wrong, I do love a good easy chick-lit book and the cliched romance between a 'have' and a 'have-not' (in the school social ladder) and seeing how the characters deal with the troubles, but I just got a bit over JUST HOW BIG an effect the JV team and even dating a younger guy had on Parker's view of herself and everyone else's view of her. On more than one occasion I found myself thinking Just get over it. You'll have one - admittedly annoying - year on JV but you'll be captain and perhaps you'll find you even enjoy it, and then next year it will pay off and you will get to be captain of the senior team. Ugh. But still, a nice read. When high school junior Parker doesn't make the varsity soccer team and her former teammates shun her, she devises a plan to pay her older brother's friend to kiss her and this regain her popularity and spot on the team (huh?). The only problem: Parker doesn't know how to kiss. Enter neighbor Tristan, a freshman and kissing expert. Despite the extremely weak premise for THE ABCs OF KISSING BOYS, this is a cleverly written and at times humorous young adult novel. I had trouble relating to Parker and her reaction to not being promoted to varsity soccer. Rather than working hard to prove her coach wrong, she concocts a plan more fitting for a ten-year-old than a girl of sixteen. No amount of engaging prose could save this predictable plot.
What do You think about The ABC's Of Kissing Boys (2009)?
Skimmed more than read. I enjoyed the soccer/friendship plot, not so much the romance.
—Betsy
3. 5 :DLoved it! Cute, quick and lotsa fun :D
—Jess
