Kissing Kate

During a party one night, Lissa is surprised when her best friend Kate leans in to kiss, but even more surprised by Kate's reaction when Lissa kisses her back. Now abandoned by her best friend, Lissa has to try to figure out what that kiss meant and what it means about who she is now.

Kissing Kate is a simple and sweet story. Lissa is kind of lost, without really realizing just how lost she is, because she doesn't wallow in it. She doesn't rage or become rebellious; she doesn't turn to drinking or to over-dramatic displays of emotion. Rather, she goes about the business of her life, school, work, and along the way she puts the pieces of herself together. This simple and personal act of self-searching is what drives the story.

There are show more layers to the story, of course, side characters who present new friendships and their own life challenges. Each character is in their own journey of self discovery, or figuring out what it means to be themselves in the world. It's not an easy journey and the answers are subtle and subdued. Figuring out the answers result in new questions, which really just proves that self-discovery is an ongoing process that can be enjoyable as it is challenging. show less

I suppose this is one of the very few LGBT young adult books I've read, and like any other book, it had its strengths and weaknesses. The thing that definitely stuck out with this book was the vital element of realism. The moments described in the book are very down-to-earth, honest moments that teenagers experience, no matter their orientation. One of the things I didn't really like about Lauren Myracle's Internet Girls series was that, while funny and good reads, they were nothing like what I experienced during my teenage years. Moments of that series were extremely overdone and overdramatic. Kissing Kate was more down-to-earth and, in my opinion, a more genuine portrayal of the average teen's life. On the other hand, while being show more honest and down-to-earth, this was definitely a unique book in terms of content. It was one of the earlier mainstream LGBT YA books out there, and it goes more in depth covering the full length of a relationship, from beginning to end, as well as the oft-forgotten fallout from the end. My one real complaint with the novel was the introduction of lucid dreaming. I understand the significance of it, the reason Myracle decided to include it in her book, but the whole metaphor felt awkward and forced. My favorite thing about the book was the lack of labels. The main character, Lissa, has typical teenage emotions, but her orientation is never explicitly stated, something I found really great. Everything seems to be about labels nowadays, everyone has to be all gay, all straight, whatever, and sometimes, it feels like there's no room for anything in between. This was a great portrayal of a questioning teen who doesn't quite know what to label themselves as, which is what most teens are, when they're first figuring themselves out.

Rating: 4/5 show less

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Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

Obviously, I’ve heard the buzz about Lauren Myracle, but this is actually the first of her books I’ve ever read. Maybe I should have started with her most popular and lauded book, Shine, but hype and I really aren’t friends right now. Sometimes it’s nice to start with a less well-known book by an author. Even if Kissing Kate was terrible, I wouldn’t write her off, but, if I liked it, then I could be even more excited to get to her better stuff. Thankfully, the latter was the case. In general, I find that any LGBT fiction tends to be quite good, since it’s less likely to get published anyway, and Kissing Kate isn’t an show more exception.

Kissing Kate isn’t a perfect book by any means, but, honestly, what book is? The important thing is that it’s a really thoughtful consideration of teen sexuality. I especially love that Myracle doesn’t close the door on Lissa’s sexuality. All that the reader knows or Lissa knows is her feelings for one particular girl, her best friend Kate. All that really says is that she’s attracted to Kate, but it really doesn’t nail down her sexuality. Kissing Kate isn’t really a romance; it’s an investigation of Lissa’s identity.

Kate got drunk at a party and initiated a kiss with Lissa. Ever since, things haven’t been the same between them. Kate has a boyfriend, and really doesn’t want to risk her popularity. Lissa, on the other hand, refuses to ignore the spark that was between them. It’s a really heartbreaking situation, and I like the way that Myracle resolves everything.

Myracle has a really good hand on the high school dynamics. At least, I recognize some of the poisonous social dynamics from my own past. Most noticeably, the friends who treat you one way when you’re alone and another way when you’re in a group. Basically, this broke my heart for Lissa, because things like that seriously destroy your self-confidence. Insults from anyone hurt, but you know better than to believe some random jerk; insults from your friends wriggle their way down into your thoughts in a horrifically unhealthy way.

Kissing Kate takes place in my home town (Atlanta). I loved picking up on references to things from my area, even though she lives in the actual city and I’m in the burbs. The book is a bit dated, however, because a lot of the restaurants and chain stores referenced are gone by now. Still, the streets and places remain!

The characterization could use a bit of work, honestly. I’d especially have liked to know more about how Lissa and Kate were before that party. In general, I just don’t feel like I have a great handle on the different characters. I like the focus on getting to really know people, like how Lissa realized that Ariel was actually a good person she’d judged unfairly. I also loved that Finn, who has a disability, got a love interest, and also he was just delightfully sarcastic and cynical. He was probably my favorite person. In generally, actually, Kissing Kate was a really nice break from a lot of the current YA where everyone’s gorgeous. The teens here felt very true to life. Aside from that, there are a lot of family issues that are raised but don’t really go anywhere. What’s here is good, but the book would have benefited from more.

So yay! My free read turned out to be a delightful back list find. I was a bit concerned about how LGBT fiction from 2003 might be, but it’s totally fine. show less

Damn. ?áAre ppl who are gay *still* made to feel like outcasts? ?áNobody I know would be uncomfortable to admit that they're gay, or to learn that a friend is. ?áAnd yet, this book isn't all that old....

Well, anyway, if a teen still needs assurance/ support, they could do worse than to read this. ?áI particularly liked it because Lissa is not particularly *adorable* - instead of fitting the stereotype found in all the other YA queer books I've read, she is 'normal' in the sense that her realization that she is gay is only one of the things she's thinking about & dealing with. ?áIn fact, at first I didn't esp. like her, and almost stopped reading. ?áBut as she figures herself out, and matures, and as we get to know her show more better, she becomes more appealing.

I like that the theme of knowing, and being true to, oneself is present in many characters. ?áLissa's little sister is a bit of a construct to fit a role, but I still like her a lot. ?áThe adults are even more cardboard, but at least they're not cliches. ?áAnd there are interesting details I've not seen done in other stories. ?áThere's a fair bit of discussion of lucid dreaming, from a scientific pov, and a little bit of spirituality, too. ?áAlso, the Matisse cover is a much better one than the candy one, because the reader is given a good little bit of help understanding/appreciating Matisse's style.

There is some drinking and a little bit of cruelty, but these kids aren't 14, and so it doesn't seem egregious to me. show less

This book relates to many young girls who are confused with who they like. It is a story between two girls who kissed when they were drunk and had been avoiding each other ever since. I loved this book because it was about friendship, and how it should be saved over such petty things.

Booktalk: Life used to be a little less complicated for Lissa. She had her best friend Kate, a job as a delivery driver for Entrees on Trays, and was about to start her junior year of high school. Everything made sense, until one night at a party when Kate kissed Lissa, REALLY kissed Lissa, and Lissa kissed Kate back. Now Kate, who was Lissa's everything, refuses to talk to her because of what that kiss might mean for them both and Lissa doesn't quite understand why. Not only is she confused by her feelings for Kate but Lissa now has Ariel in her life, a bubbly hippie who doesn't seem to care what anyone thinks of her, the total opposite of image obsessed Kate. To help her gain a little perspective, Lissa begins to read up on lucid show more dreaming and tries to take control of this one aspect of her life.

Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle is a book about about a young woman beginning to understand who she might truly be, and accepting that you can't run away from your feelings forever. In losing Kate, who she relied on for acceptance, and becoming ever closer friends with Ariel, who seems to accept everyone for who they are, Lissa starts to understand that maybe being something other than "normal" isn't really all that bad, and in fact, is much better than not being true to herself. Is she straight? Gay? Bi? Katesexual? In the end, does the label really matter? show less

A little slow at times but still a compelling and interesting story about a teenage girl working to figure out who she is and where she belongs. I feel like this is a bit of a hidden gem of queer YA fiction. I read it way back at the beginning of high school but I hardly ever hear it talked about. Some of the plot points are outdated (the food delivery service that functions via walkie talkies for example) but

To be continued i have to get off this bus and go to work...