Customer Reviews

Confessions of a Serial Kisser

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In Confessions of a Serial Kisser, Evangeline has always been a "good girl," receiving good grades, hanging out with "good friends." She now lives with her mother in a tiny apartment having moved out of her childhood home after her parents' separation. One day she's cleaning in her mother's room and finds a box of romance novels under her mother's bed. One of these books, A Crimson Kiss, draws her in, and she sets upon a mission to get her own crimson kiss. This mission soon becomes an obsession as she kisses nearly every boy who crosses her path, including her best friend's boyfriend. As her reputation and relationship with her friend are damaged, she's coming to terms with her father's betrayal and his attempt at reconciliation with both her and her mother. Her life seems to be spiraling out of control as she searches for her crimson kiss.

While it's a good idea to expose teenagers to classic, thought-provoking literature, to truly make them lifelong readers, they need to have fun with reading. Give them the opportunity to read fun books that interest them because if reading always seems like homework, they will quickly get turned off. Confessions of a Serial Kisser is a light-hearted book whose title and pink cover with the big red lip print will beg girls to pull it off the shelf. Though it is funny at times and a fast read, its flaws will prevent it from becoming as well loved as Van Draanen's Flipped.

Many readers will find Evangeline annoying. She kisses boys without thinking of the repercussions, and she's super quick to judge others when she herself is not a model of good behavior. Robbie Marshall is a "dumb jock," Eddie Pasco is a "stoner," and she's downright cruel to poor Roper Harding who has obvious personal hygiene issues. Speaking of Eddie Pasco, there's this weird, overwhelming and forced anti-drug messaging in book. Eddie is one of Evangeline's "victims," and when she realizes he's a stoner, he becomes the scum of the earth while, Izzy, the creepy record store owner seems like a likely stoner himself. It almost felt like a cheesy PSA at times.

There were also some awkward passages that didn't really seem to fit. Evangeline is a rock 'n roll girl, and it's rock 'n roll that helps heal her relationship with her father in the end. She identifies with music and listens to it constantly, which is a truly believable characteristic. However, there are times in the book when Evangeline is listening to music, and she throws out the name of the band, the album, and all of the songs. It interrupts the flow and seems more like Van Draanen's, (a professed fan of rock 'n roll as indicated in the jacket flap) homage to her favorite bands. Also, the fact that Evangeline seems to be a self-taught master hair stylist is also a little unbelievable, and that she has to "babe herself up" to get guys is also a disappointing.

To be a truly good book, the reader really has to identify with the main character, and many girls won't be able to do this with Evangeline. While the concept is entertaining, the execution of a believable, likable character is not there.

in this book, evangeline bianca logan is cleaning the house when she finds her mom's stash of drug store romance novels. out of curiosity she flips through them, calling them trash except for one, a crimson kiss. her mom has been recently divorced so she found a self help book lying on the counter. it says to see and then live her fantasy.evangeline then sets outs on a wacky journey to get her crimson kiss. there are many twists and turns and unforgetable characters tha truelly make this novel great and i suggest it as an excellent read. it is very delightful and entertaining

Evangeline Bianca Logan wants her crimson kiss after reading a book she found in her mom's room called The Crimson Kiss. She thinks this will be easy, so she basically starts kissing random boys, hoping they'll be her crimson kiss. What Evangeline didn't expect was all the drama that comes with kissing and boys.

Confessions of a Serial Kisser is a seriously fast read, and it's really enjoyable. All Evangeline wants is to feel the passion from a kiss. Like a lot of people, she doesn't think things through and doesn't realize bad things can happen even when you have good intentions.

Sixteen-year-old Evangeline Logan is a serial kisser. She kisses jocks, nerds, even strangers in line at Starbucks, hoping that one of them will be the possessor of a "crimson kiss." But kissing real boys is nothing like the descriptions she reads in romance novels. After tongue-thrusters, sloppy ear-lickers, and kissers who miss her mouth entirely, Evangeline wonders if she will ever find the perfect kiss.

It all starts with a romance novel she finds hidden beneath her mother's bed. Reading about the intense relationship between the characters in the novel and the spine-tingling, knee-weakening kisses they share, Evangeline is determined to make her fantasy of the perfect kiss come true.

Her first kiss is with high school hottie Robbie Marshall. Evangeline gives herself a makeover to catch his attention. It works too well. Robbie shoves his tongue down her throat, making her the target of his ex-girlfriend's ire. Evangeline is disgusted. "Mouth to mouth with a mackerel" is not her idea of the perfect kiss.

Realizing that "extreme hotness" does not necessarily guarantee a good kiss, Evangeline adjusts her approach and sets her targets on Justin Rodriguez. He's nice, cute, and the kind of guy who's so romantic he spent a year pining over another girl. She arranges for a rendezvous at the gazebo in the park. Unfortunately, Justin brings his friends. He also is allergic to the flowers in the park and the musky scent of the perfume Evangeline has borrowed from her mother.

Evangeline quickly develops a reputation for her kissing antics. Her name and phone number are markered over the urinals in the boys' bathroom. Girls threaten to beat her up at school. But she stands to lose more than her reputation. When she accidentally kisses her best friend's crush, her serial kissing puts her in danger of losing her best friend.

Behind the encyclopedic descriptions of bad kissing, CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL KISSER is a subtle portrayal of the ways kissing is not always about kissing. Evangeline's experiments to redefine and empower herself through her sexuality are a reaction to her parents' divorce. Her escape into the fantasy world of romance novels threatens her ability to have real relationships with real boys.

Fortunately, Evangeline's world is filled with people who care about her and offer her safe havens amidst the turmoil of her serial kissing. Her best friend gives her a home to go to when her own family is falling apart. The owner of a music shop she frequents introduces her to the women of rock 'n roll and lets her explore alternate modes of expression with her arms wrapped around a Fender Stratocaster guitar. She even ends up with her own knight errant who is willing to let himself get suspended from school in order to protect her reputation.

Author Wendelin Van Draanen brings her trademark honesty and humor to CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL KISSER. She weaves mature themes throughout her book without moralizing, violating a PG rating, or losing any of the book's pink-covered appeal. The result is a hilarious and satisfying read complete with a messily-ever-after ending.

--- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood

Evangeline is a 16 year old in search of the perfect kiss. Her efforts to renew her self image are fueled by a self help book found among her mother's things and a romance novel filled with unrealistic goals. Like most of us, Evangeline falls in love with the idea from the romance novel that one perfect kiss is what she needs to start new.

The chemistry in this book seems just about right for teens. The descriptions of each kiss encounter were a delight to read. I was disappointed with the lack of development between Evangeline and Brody. I felt that there was a missed opportunity to further that relationship between characters and convey to the reader the importance of really getting to know someone, and not just through email. I enjoyed the character's self discovery at the end of this extremely quick read. This was the most important lesson of the book.

This book was lighthearted and fun to read. It was also, if you look a little deeper, very true to form about a teen acting out due to her father's affair and separation from her mother. Her anger was justifiable and the author did a great job of little by little getting to acceptance and forgiveness, based on events that happened in Evangeline's life. I really liked it and would definitely recommend it.

Imagine how life might change if you were cleaning under your mother's bed and discovered her stash of steamy romance novels and her latest self-help book. That is just what happens to Evangeline Logan.

Evangeline can sort of understand the presence of this collection of reading material since her father recently divorced her mother in favor of another love interest. Forgiving her father is something Evangeline has not even considered. She has watched the hell her mother has gone through and wants nothing more than to move on.

Normally, Evangeline wouldn't be interested in reading trashy novels, but one caught her eye and promptly changed her life. Now Evangeline is in search of "the crimson kiss." The way it is so romantically described, she knows her life will not be complete until she experiences it.

The problem starts when Evangeline begins feeling the need to kiss everyone. The fascination with finding this wonderful kiss leads her into some pretty horrible kissing situations. There are kisses with way too much pressure, kisses with more than enough moisture, and kisses that totally miss their mark. For Evangeline, this kissing experiment seems like a bit of fun, but when she mistakenly kisses her best friend's crush, she realizes that things have gotten terribly out of control.

Wendelin Van Draanen, author of SWEAR TO HOWDY and FLIPPED, will have readers laughing aloud when they read about Evangeline. But CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL KISSER goes farther than kissing and telling; it offers a serious side as Evangeline learns how to handle what life has thrown at her.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"