Review: Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) by Amy Spalding

 

Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys)
by Amy Spalding

April 7, 2015

320 pages

Goodreads  Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist meets Easy A in this hilariously realistic story of sneaking out, making out, and playing in a band.

After catching their bandmates in a compromising position, sixteen-year-old Los Angelenos Riley and Reid become painfully aware of the romance missing from their own lives. And so a pact is formed: they'll both try to make something happen with their respective crushes and document the experiences in a shared notebook.

While Reid struggles with the moral dilemma of adopting a dog to win over someone's heart, Riley tries to make progress with Ted Callahan, who she's been obsessed with forever-His floppy hair! His undeniable intelligence! But suddenly cute guys are popping up everywhere. How did she never notice them before?! With their love lives going from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye, Riley and Reid realize the results of their pact may be more than they bargained for.

Review

I had a big internal struggle with how I felt about Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys). This book was bordering on DNF until about half way through. The main reason being I wasn't particularly a fan of the writing style. The sentences seemed short and choppy so it was awkward to read at first. The story did turn around and become more engaging in the later half. I wanted to see where it would go and the honest turnout ultimately solidified my rating.

 

The synopsis sums up the book really well so I won't reiterate it. Riley and Reid's road to love was nothing short of bumpy. Obviously they have had no experience with love whatsoever so everything was based on their ideals. What they were detailing in their Passenger Manifest (their journal) felt wrong on some level but I overlooked it as I considered the story purely for fun. The handwritten chapters were a very adorable personal touch. It was entertaining to read their advices for each other. Some of those were just plain silly. Their plans eventually backfire but I appreciated how maturely the situation was handled. It made me smile along with the cute and quirky moments.

 

I admit, at first, Riley annoyed me to no end. She was forever wailing and flailing around guys and it was very uncool. She also talked to herself too much. Way too much for my liking. However, she did grow on me as the story went on. Her interactions with Ted was the reason. He was so honest and adorable it reflected well on Riley. Their relationship progressed quickly (a bit too quickly in all honesty) but it had its fair share of "aww" moments. Although I didn't approve of Riley's multiple relationships, I could understand  her confusion with trying to define and label boy-girl relationships. I still want to point out she was stupid to continue her relationship with Milo when she's already snatched up Ted, the guy of her dreams.

 

Friendship was a big theme in this book. Riley and Reid's is a great example. They trusted each other enough to create the Passenger Manifest. They gave each other their most honest opinions and advices. They disagreed and fought about things but most importantly, they always worked things out. Whether it was Riley and Lucy's friendship or even the relationship within their band, they were always able to put aside their differences and work together. I loved that!

Even though I didn't start off the book enjoying it, I'm happy to report that by the end, I really did. There were sweet and awkward moments that were hard to miss. Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) is a book I would recommend to a younger audience looking for a simple and fun story to enjoy~

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinion are my own and not affected in any way.