Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Kissing Kate--"Short with memorable characters"

Title: Kissing Kate



Author: Lauren Myracle

What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer):  Kate and Lissa have been best friends for years, but ever since a drunk Kate kissed Lissa at a party, Kate has been completely ignoring Lissa.  Lissa is sad and confused and is struggling with the feelings she has for Kate.  Her estrangement from Kate causes Lissa to make some new friends (the eccentric Ariel and the sarcastic Finn) and reevaluate her life.

What I think (in 250 words or fewer):  I feel kind of lazy admitting this, but I am in the middle of reading yet another science fiction book that is causing me to pose philosophical questions about life to myself.  Kissing Kate was short, easy-to-read, and a nice break from the other books I'm currently reading.



At first, I was not too fond of Lissa, even though I knew that her behavior was due to the situation with Kate.  Ariel, a girl that Lissa had dismissed as super weird, had started working with Lissa at her part-time job.  Lissa is miserable and without Kate, friendless.

Ariel is eccentric and artistic, and I liked her right away and would had a blast working with her.  Lissa is incredibly rude to her, but eventually accepts her offers of friendship.  I don't think I have as thick of skin as Ariel because I would have given up befriending Lissa.

But Ariel is more awesome than I am because not only does she not give up on Lissa, she is incredibly supportive when Lissa confesses that she is questioning her sexuality.  Ariel hugs Lissa, and takes Lissa to meet her cousin, who is a lesbian who offers to talk to Lissa if Lissa has any questions.

Lissa reads a book about lucid dreaming and controlling your dreams, and I found this fascinating enough to do some Google research.  However, I'm not quite ready to take the e-course because it involves a lot of meditating, which I am horrible at. 😏

My final takeaway (in 75 words or fewer): Worth reading if you want a short, uncomplicated story with memorable characters.  Lissa's character development goes through a full arc, but Kate, not so much.  I hope that in the future these two characters find their way.  Lissa will be fine, but Kate has some feelings to confront in order to move on.

Ariel is my favorite character.  She needs her own book.

My favorite quotes/passages:
  • "You think you would notice something like that.  If someone were that different, you'd think everyone would know" (paperback edition, pg. 82).
  • "And no, I didn't think there was anything wrong with a woman loving another woman, or a man loving another man.  Deep down, I knew I didn't.  but it was one thing for someone else to be gay.  It was something else entirely if that person was me" (pg. 84-85).
  • "Your shoes resist Satan" (pg. 144).
  • "I remembered all the judgments I made about her, and I felt bad, because wasn't that exactly what was so messed up about Kate?  The way she focused only on how things looked on the surface, instead of pushing deeper and figuring out things for herself?" (pg. 164).

Other reviews: Fluttering Butterflies and Lesbrary.

This book is available in the Greensboro Public Library.

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