4 sweet frosted brownies.Cove Love: I love this cover, and think it is very eye catching. However, it makes it look older than it really is. The main characters are freshman in high school and I think this makes them look more like juniors. I still love it though!Why I Wanted to Read This:I just loved the synopsis!Romance?: Yes! First love, first crush type romance.My Thoughts:I love a book that is not afraid to tell kids a truth and let them know that it is totally normal. Case in point, here is Charlie at the start of chapter seven:"When people say "Tell me the truth" I usually lie." Everyone knows that sometimes lying to spare someone's feeling is totally fine but sometimes when you are young and have been taught that you aren't supposed to lie, this is a hard thing to accept. It's always nice when a book says, "It's ok."Although the characters are freshmen, there is still a lot of innocence to them, which I know is true to life for a lot of kids that age. I love that! It's not about sex or how far you've gone, it's all about kissing. In a few years that might change for all of these kids, but for now, it's about kissing. And I love how Charlie analyzes and over-analyzes her first kiss--I think that is normal for many young girls.The thing I love about this book is that it's not afraid to say, see, you can be 15 and just on your first kiss. It doesn't have to be sex, you can just be kissing. I think this would be a relief to read for many, many girls.There are a few times when I was thinking, why is Charlie so wrapped up in Kevin, he's kind of a jerk. But she even acknowledges that she just can't stop thinking about him! For a lot of girls there is always "that guy," and Kevin is that guy for Charlie.So far they've been able to keep it from their parents but it will be interesting if it comes out in the second book.I did want to punch Tess a bit. She whined so much when she found out something that Charlie didn't share with her, but whenever Charlie tried to bring something important up Tess would interrupt her with something about her own life. She wasn't taking the time to listen.To Sum Up: This is a book I would feel good about giving to many of my middle grade readers. It's a book that says "It's okay to be inexperienced, it's even normal!" I can't wait to read the sequel!Book bought for my library.
