Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli

 

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin Random House Children’s UK in exchange for an honest review.

This book was an absolute delight from start to finish. Kate in Waiting is the story of Kate and her best friend Anderson. For years they have joked about their communal crushes, each of them never liking someone unless the other one does. When their summer camp crush starts attending their school though, things become a little more complicated as both Kate and Anderson fall hard for him. Is it possible to salvage a friendship when both you and your best friend want the same person? And will Matt fall for either of them?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have actually been in a very similar situation in my real life as described by the plot of this book, and I am deeply impressed by the nuance captured here. I feel like a lot YA books write about friendships and jealousy but they tend to take rather a dramatic or antagonistic view of it. Here, you really believe that Kate and Anderson are best friends and that their friendship has the closeness that means they don't just instantly start fighting with each other. It's that weird blend of friendship, loyalty, jealousy and competition which is perfectly captured here, and it makes for a really interesting and insightful book.

Speaking of the characters, I adored them all. Kate and her friends tend to overuse the term 'f-boys' and there are a few too many pop culture references near the start of this book, but both of those things stopped bothering me as I got into the story. Kate herself is very likeable and relatable, Anderson is a pure joy to read about and I similarly liked Noah and Ryan. Everyone felt like a real person and they were people I wanted to read about and spend time with.

Overall, Kate in Waiting is a perfect example of how to write a YA contemporary book in my eyes. The plot is kept simple but is interesting enough to carry the book, and the characters help drive that plot and are what makes it really stand out. The pacing was spot-on and if you're looking for a cute, fun book which also explores some complex emotions not usually discussed in YA, you can't go wrong here.

Overall Rating:

.5