Plaja, Luisa. 2008. Split by A Kiss.
I am in a cupboard, and I'm snogging the coolest and most gorgeous boy in the whole school. And it's a big school. And really, we're kissing, not snogging. In a closet, not a cupboard. They don't really have snogging or cupboards here--they would laugh and tell me those are dodgy British phases. Except they wouldn't say 'dodgy'. That's just as dodgily British.
Split By A Kiss is both uniquely original and stereotypically typical. I'll probably spend the rest of the review explaining how that's even possible. Split By A Kiss has a very original structure--if they've been others of its kind, I've missed them. Our narrator, Jo (or Josie), 'splits' in two after playing a kissing game with popular guy, Jake Matthews. One personality, Jo, reacts to his wanting to do more than kiss with a slap--and a long list of insults. The second personality, Josie, reacts to his touch just as reluctantly--she does call a halt to things--but she keeps her 'cool' and keeps his interest. The book tells two very different stories. They're told in different fonts. Jo's story is typical--it's been done before; Josie's story is typical as well. Nothing in these individual stories is all that unique. But yet despite the fact that in a way it's all been done before, there is a certain satisfaction that comes from reading these stories. Though they are predictable--you can guess almost from the very beginning just how these two personalities will unite as one again--it's fun too. I liked the stories. I liked the boy that she's meant to be with. I like how it all comes together.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
5 comments:
Haha, interesting review! I'm writing my own now and this helps!
Hey Becky... I've nominated you for a Kreativ Blogger Award! Go here to collect it! :)
I like it when an author can put a new twist on something. Sounds like a good way for a reader to identify with at least "one" of the characters, right? :)
I so want to read this!
Sounds like fun! The quote made me laugh, because it's always such a challenge to write British dialogue in such a way that it titillates Americans, but doesn't torture them. Same's true, by the way, of writing American stuff for Brits...Well, almost true. They understand most American expressions, thanks to the movies. :-)
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