Kissing Kate

What happens when you realize you are in love with your best friend?

I actually picked up this story because I thought it had a really unattractive cover. How awful is that? I totally judge books by their covers. Artwork and typography. But it turns out this book is much better than its cover hints.

Synopsis:

Kissing Kate is a short, well written story about Lissa who discovers that she is a lesbian after her best friend Kate kisses her. Then Kate stops speaking to her and wants to pretend that the kiss never happened. But Lissa can’t forget.

The story was compelling. Lissa’s difficulties with Kate refusing to accept that she too is gay, not having any parents to talk to, and no longer having any friends, made her a complex, yet loveable character. The way she deals with her little sister in particular, though her own world is falling apart, was touching.

I did not really understand the importance of the lucid dreams which played such a huge role in the novel. There was no real concrete reason to drive the story forward, and they were brought up again and again. The ending as well...Not in love with it. I'm glad she didn't go down the obvious road, but the ending wasn't satisfying for me. It just kinda...ended.

While I did really enjoy Kissing Kate, I wasn’t riveted to the spot when reading. It was good, but not chocolate cake kinda good. And the ending docks it another half point, so I’ll give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.