17 First Kisses by Rachael Allen Review

17 First Kisses by Rachael Allen
Release Date: June 17, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen; 352 pages
Rating: 

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.

17 First Kisses is a book that I wanted to like.  I found the title of the book to be extremely catchy.  I read the back cover and was interested right away.  Two best friends who fall for the same guy.  I assumed from the get go that it would be more about the friendship between these two girls, but now I was wrong.

Instead what I read was a book about girls who wouldn't know the true meaning of friendship if it bopped them on the head.  I don't think I'd ever read a book with so much backstabbing as this one.  This book had the potential to be so much more than it actually was.  The minor characters such as the main character's parents and siblings could have saved this book.  But the focus was more about the so called friendship between the two girls Claire and Megan.

17 First Kisses is told from multiple timelines.  Each chapter includes a brief snippet of Claire's kisses.  From her first kiss, to her current kiss.  I actually liked the flashbacks in the beginning.  But as the story went on, it was clear that Claire has learned absolutely nothing from her past mistakes.  And it showed what a horrible person Megan is.  I wanted a story about a strong friendship.  But all this shows is that you have to lose yourself to become popular.

I was able to predict the ending from the first few chapters.  And I found myself sighing a lot at the actions of everyone in this book.  I honestly feel like I cannot recommend this book to anyone.  It's a poor representation of high school and unrealistic.  The things that these characters do to each other, are just downright horrible.  I wouldn't want a teen reading this and assuming that this is what high school is like.