17 First Kisses by Rachael Allen Review
17 First Kisses
By Rachael Allen
Publication date: June 17, 2014
HarperTeen, 352 pages
Source: Publisher
No matter how many boys Claire kisses, she can’t seem to find a decent boyfriend. Someone who wouldn’t rather date her gorgeous best friend, Megan. Someone who won’t freak out when he learns about the tragedy her family still hasn’t recovered from. Someone whose kisses can carry her away from her backwoods town for one fleeting moment.
Until Claire meets Luke.
But Megan is falling for Luke, too, and if there’s one thing Claire knows for sure, it’s that Megan’s pretty much irresistible.
With true love and best friendship on the line, Claire suddenly has everything to lose. And what she learns—about her crush, her friends, and most of all herself—makes the choices even harder.
In her moving debut, Rachael Allen brilliantly captures the complexities of friendship, the struggles of self-discovery, and the difficulties of trying to find love in high school. Fans of Sarah Ockler, Susane Colasanti, and Stephanie Perkins will fall head over heels for this addictive, heartfelt, and often hilarious modern love story.
— Goodreads.com description
Rachael Allen’s 17 First Kisses is filled with bitter female friendships, player dudes and plenty of backstabbing. Does that happen in high school? Oh yeah. All the time.
So maybe that’s why this was a bit of a rough read for me. I kept thinking of the poor girl out there somewhere who is actually dealing with this, and it made me feel sick to my stomach.
Still, I know a lot of you love this type of story and have much higher tolerance for it than I do. But, hey, I’m a wimp and I don’t deal well with cheating stories.
Yet, I had no problem reading through to the end – and I’m a big ole book quitter so I guess that means something. What do you think? Will you give it a try?
