Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler ~ Review

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Source: netgalley

From Goodreads:

She Never Thought A Kiss Could Kill. . .

Samantha is new at school and just recently joined the swim team. She’s been flirting with one of her teammates, Zee, who invites her to a party and just as quickly dumps her for another girl. Hurt, but pretending not to care, she turns to his best friend, Alex, and gives him a kiss. And he dies—right in her arms. Alex was allergic to peanuts, and Samantha had eaten a peanut butter sandwich right before the party. She didn’t know. Overnight, Samantha turns into the school pariah and a media sensation explodes. Consumed with guilt, abandoned by her friends, and in jeopardy of losing her swimming scholarship, she will have to find the inner-strength to forgive herself for the tragedy.

My Thoughts:

 

4 stars- Messy and real, this story will stay with you

I needed this book.  Some books I read are crazy with misunderstandings that get figured out and everything just ends up working out perfectly.  Not that I don't love and want the HEA but life just isn't like that.  Even when things work out in life, there are always these pieces parts that are a mess.  I was ready for a book that was more like real life.  Ready to read something where the teens acted like the ones I hang with as a teacher.  Where the pain is real and the HEA isn't perfect but real.  That's what this book brings.

I didn't cry through this book, I flew through it.  Sam is devastated by Alex's death, filled with pain and guilt.  She doesn't pick herself up after a couple of days and say, yeah I'm okay and fall head over heels for some boy trying to help her.  No, her reaction seems real and while it's hard to watch I couldn't tear myself away.  I had to know what happened.  And there's more going on than any one character even knows.  Sam lost her mother at a young age.  Both her and her father have yet to deal with it.  This brings that all to the surface again.  Her dad has a little secret of his own that he's not sure how to tell her.  Zee, Casper, Chole, they're all are not dealing with things but are just surviving.  I think a lot of times that's what people do when there are problems in their lives.  They ignore and cope the best they can until something happens to force it to the surface.  That what this book brings.

The pace of this story was perfect.  You can't survive this kind of thing in a few days or weeks and this story had a solid timeline.  All through that pain, I wasn't waiting for the end but watching the story flow so well.  Real. Messy. Genuine.  That's what this book brings.

If you like the YA scene, then this one needs to be on your list and moved up to the top.

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