Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)'s Reviews > Kissing in America

To me, Kissing in America felt like two completely different stories that didn't quite go together. I loved the opening chapters, which read to me like a quiet contemporary romance in which Eva, a reserved girl with hidden depths, falls for the charismatic Will. I really related to Eva -- to the awkwardness of her adolescent longings and her sadness over her father's sudden death two years prior. I loved this part of the story even though, as an adult reader, I could see that Will, who was dating a teen model, was never going to appreciate a girl like Eva. Of course, Eva doesn't see this at all, and when Will abruptly moves to California, she hatches a plan to get her best friend Annie to try to become a contestant on The Smartest Girl In America (a TV quiz show filmed in California) as a way to get to Will.

This was the point at which the story went off the rails for me. I didn't even mind the outlandishness of Eva's scheme (and I loved Eva's overprotective mother) but I didn't love the way the tone of the book changed completely. The girls' road trip felt didactic and preachy to me -- like a weird, madcap journey meant to teach Eva some Important Life Lessons. I was really looking forward to the scenes with The Smartest Girl in America (yes -- I'm nerdy like that) but then was disappointed when Eva did something that I had a hard time getting past. (view spoiler)[ I found it so upsetting that Eva drags her best friend Annie all the way to California by promising that she'll help her win the show and money that Annie needs for college and then when Annie is on stage and needs help with a question, Eva has left the studio to go meet up with Will. Who, of course, doesn't want to be her boyfriend. What kind of a friend does that? A crappy one, I say.... (hide spoiler)]

Kissing In America featured beautiful writing and some really poignant moments that had to do with Eva's longing for Will and her attempts to deal with her father's death. But I wish the book had just stuck to that, because to me, the addition of the comedic parts -- Eva's obsession with bodice ripper novels and the weird (STD lady??) characters on the road trip -- were jarring and discordant. Other readers may feel completely differently, though. If you like quirky road trips, you might love this...