September 24, 2012

Review: Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler

Who I Kissed

Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler
AmazonBarnes & Noble
Expected publication:
October 1st 2012
By Sourcebooks Fire

She never thought a kiss could kill…
Samantha didn’t mean to hurt anyone. She was just trying to fit in...and she wanted to make Zee a little jealous after he completely ditched her for a prettier girl. So she kissed Alex. And then he died—right in her arms.
Was she really the only person in the entire school who didn’t know about his peanut allergy? Or that eating a peanut butter sandwich and then kissing him would be deadly? Overnight Sam 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’ll have to find a way to forgive herself before anyone else will.


          My Review: 

     This book wasn't at all what I expected. I expected a YA about a bunch of high school kids making out and just being irresponsible kids. But it wasn't like that all. Can you envision yourself kissing a guy. Now picture that he dies right before your eyes because of an allergy reaction? Well this is the exactly scenario that happened in this book. What happens during the rest of the book made me so sad.

     Each character was a written perfectly. The author didn't just write a book just for the sake of writing, she wrote a story with so much meaning to it. She invested in each character. They all had a perfect role. Sam is a young girl who just doesn't know better. She kissed a boy she hardly knew and paid for it in the harshest way possible. Sam became known for killing a boy and Alex became a poster child for peanut allergy. The exposure made Sam even guiltier to the point that she basically died with Alex. Her guilt consumed her and killed her identity.

     There are so many characters that were written in this novel that brought so much to the story. Sam was pretty lucky to have her father there for her. He stuck by her giving her support. Then she had eccentric aunt with her little dog. Since Sam's mom died when Sam was a little girl, her aunt loves her like she was her own. She's there, pushing Sam to forgive herself and not to give up on life. Then you have Zee, the boy Sam likes. When he's not dealing with the loss of his best friend, he's actually someone Sam needs. He's a good guy who feels a little lost after losing his best friend. There are more characters that are just as good but I don't want this review to keep going.

      Overall, this story brings a lot to the table but mostly it brings nut allergy awareness to the table and the severity of it and what a person and their family go through because of it. Who I kissed was written with a personal meaning behind it. Ms. Gurtler's son has a peanut allergy so this story is very personal to her. I think she did a good job with the story and the meaning behind it. I give this book a 4 stars and a definite Good Choice for Reading.



   

   

9 comments:

  1. Everyone who has read it has said how deep this book has been and how different it was. I love when authors write about themes that are personal to them

    - Juhina @ Maji Bookshelf

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    1. Yeah, she made her characters believable. I really enjoyed this book and the meaning behind it.

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  2. This book is on my schedule to be read this week and I was looking forward to it because I thought it would be a fluffy contemp romance, I didn't realize it was going to be so dramatic! Now I'm even more excited to read it this week.

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    1. Its a little fluffy. But this story has a lot more to it though.

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  3. I definitely wasn't thinking that was what the book was about either. I have a son with food allergies and I would never think about something like that being an issue. Thanks for the review.

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    1. You're welcome. She definitely shined a light on food allergy. I'm so good that my son does not have any food allergy.

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  4. Wow, it sounds so sad! I'm glad that there are some allergy awareness books, though. Both my brother and I have severe food allergies and not many people actually understand how serious they can be. I'm going to add it to my list!

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    1. My sister in law is allergic to shellfish. And her face blows up when she eats something that even touches a shellfish. It's crazy. Keep your epi pen around.

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  5. I have this and I can't wait to read it! This sounds so good!

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