Kate in Waiting

I absolutely adore Becky Albertalli as she somehow makes her stories so ridiculously adorable that I can't just help giggling and blushing no matter where I am! I should stop reading her books in public.The plot was simple and the execution was quite good. A funny life hearted low stakes read perfect for getting over a dark read

Kate in Waiting is a charming, hilarious, and fun read. When I sat down on a Sunday to read this book, I never expected to laugh so much while reading it. This book grew on me as I kept flipping its pages. If there’s something I look for in YA fiction, it’s a combination of a good plot, characters, representation, and development. This book was a mix of everything I was looking for. As far as teen romances go, this had its charm splashed with witty characters and strong friendship goals. I mean, Anderson and Kate have a portmanteau. If that’s not adorable, I don’t know what else is! To all those dying to read a YA romance this summer with an animated plot and characters, Kate in Waiting is the perfect book.[Thanks to Peguin, TheWriteReads tours, author, and NetGalley for this eARC.]

Kate in Waiting is one of those YA contemporary books, that wins your heart with its sweet charm and wit. There’s a very thin line between being cool and obnoxious. Sometimes you see narrators go overboard and condescending with their humor and hate the character for it. But Kate narrates the story with such an ease and self deprecating manner that it is hard not to smile. If you want to lift your spirits , go for it.The plot is not overtly complicated even if it handles delicate issues and all that awkwardness of the teenage days. You can see where it is going but that doesn’t stop you from turning the pages.

Kate in waiting was my most anticipated book of the year, and let me tell you all it didn’t disappoint me. Now that the summer is upon us and you just want to read something cozy then go for this book. Also I love reading Books written by Becky AlbertalliWe follow two best friends Kate and Andy both of whom always end up having a crush on the same guy, which they like to call communal crush. Talk about best friends goals or not. Anywho the main focus of this story is Kate and Andy friendship now that guy they have a crush on is in the same school and they both like a lot so how are they going to navigate that also, we have Noah who is hands down my favourite. There were so many aspects of the story that I couldn’t put the book down. The characters were well developed; the only part is that this book got over way too fast. I just wanted more of the story just for the cozy feeling i got while reading this book.

There's something really magical about a Becky Albertalli book.Open it, and you'll be sucked into this charming world of intimate friendships, amazing siblings, badass teachers, adorable love interests, heartfelt moments, and just the right amount of angst and heartbreak.Kate In Waiting is no different.The story revolves around Kate and her crush over a guy (a crush she shares with her gay best friend Andy) and how Kate navigates her school year - balancing the thin line between pursuing her crush and not hurting her best friend's feelings.It is a pretty simple storyline, but it's written with Becky's signature humor and charm - every single bit of which I enjoyed.One particular moment in the book stood out to me the most:There's this scene where Andy and Kate discuss secrets and how a person can still be considered close even if they don't tell each other every single secret/detail in their lives.There was this heartfelt nuance to that entire conversation that I loved immensely.Personally, my taste in books have (imperceptibly) changed in the past 2 years, so Kate In Waiting didn't hit me as hard as I expected it to - BUT,if you're looking for cute fluff, fleshed out characters, adorkable conversations, and genuine character chemistry: PICK UP KATE IN WAITING RIGHT AWAY!

If you like Becky Albertalli you will not be disappointed. Just as cute, but well-written as her other books.

I have enjoyed everything I've read by Becky Albertalli, but Kate in Waiting may be my new favorite! Her characters just seem to come alive on the page, like I knew that group - I could have been friends with that squad - 30 years ago. I enjoyed the story, the characters and their relationships and to be honest - the play (I mean musical). I couldn't wait to get it into the hands of a student whom I know will love it too. Thanks so much to #NetGalley for the opportunity to preview #KateinWaiting by Becky Albertalli.

It's been a hot minute since I last read a Becky Albertalli book (about 2 years or so? I think?), and I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. Nobody hates it, per se, but some people loved it while some others were pretty "meh" about the entire thing. And... I'm not sure where I fall in that spectrum. I'm not totally "meh" about it, as some parts made me "awww" and "ohhh" and "JAJAJA" out loud, but I didn't love it either? Weird sensation This is a solid 3.5 stars for me.Let's start with the good stuff: this story is a quick, entertaining read. Although the opening chapters were a little harder to get through, mainly because I was tired of reading the "f-boy/f-girl" slurs at least three times per page (and yes, that WAS an issue for me), I soon enough grew interested enough. The premise itself isn't bad, even if it may be a little cliché. By introducing the queer twist, and making the characters dramatic theatre kids, Becky did manage to de-cliché the story, and write a fun book that's easy to get hooked by. There's also the casual diversity, and all the rep. My heart was SO HAPPY every time we got a new non-whiteallocishet character, with whom the fuss wasn't all about their identity! Besides, I really liked Noah Kaplan, who has become my latest book boyfriend of sorts. What a sweet boyyyy.Besides, the book went in crescendo. As the story progressed, I slowly started to be more and more invested, and the final chapters did manage to make me smile and clutch my chest in awe. Some scenes were almost unbearably cute, and I really loved the main ship involving Kate. It was so sweet! Same with the musical the theatre kids are preparing. I know the kind of feelings you get when you're preparing a big production like they were, and this book gave me those in generous amounts.There are also several issues that "Kate In Waiting" addresses in a very nice way. I really loved the way Becky showed the hassles that come with the inability to have an open, honest communication, no matter how much you love the other person. Kate and Andy's problems were 85% caused by a lack of good communication, and pretty much the same applies to Kate and her brother. Throughout the book, though, Kate starts to do a little better. She doesn't undergo a massive change, which would've been unrealistic, but she does start to handle things better. Then there's a very good, much-needed issue that's brought up: the stereotypes that still surround friendships between men and women. Kate summarizes the issue pretty well: for some reason, we as a society gatekeep closeness, thinking that there's a maximum closeness friends can achieve without becoming a couple. Any closer than Z, and you must be a couple, or at least one of you must be gay. Although Kate and Andy do have codependency issues, which they refuse to acknowledge, I really loved the point Kate (and, by extension, Becky) makes here. Indeed, men and women can be very close friends without moving onto a romantic relationship. Romantic bonds aren't the only ones in which there can be deep closeness, and couples aren't the only people who can be tightly knit. With all the amatonormativity going around every day, this was a much-needed conversation.But then... Some other things made it difficult for me to enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. First, and as I've already mentioned, the "f-person" slurs. I totally get their purpose, and obviously, teens nowadays do use them. It was still pretty uncomfortable to get them so often, and to see the main characters judge other people and never be called out on it. I'm sorry, but I'm not okay with mocking others that way. I'm okay with calling out people who go around breaking others' hearts, I'm okay with calling out people who are total jerks (see: the video fiasco people), but I'm not okay with constantly insulting people you don't even know all too well (see: Noah Kaplan), and generalizing the way Kate constantly does. I wished for her to be challenged on that by someone, anyone, but that didn't come. For a book that was lowkey preachy on some issues, I missed one or two scenes of "You shouldn't go around calling people this, to be honest, because it's as awful as when they do it to you theatre kids". IDK. Maybe I'm alone in this crusade, but I still got pretty riled up by that.Then there was the issue of Kate and Andy's rough patches. During a part of the novel, Andy behaves in a very weird way, which is later on somehow understood when certain events and truths are exposed. What does Kate immediately do? Feel guilty as heck, and run to apologize and pinky-promise to never be separated from Andy that way. Okay. I get why she'd want to apologize, considering the dependent nature of their friendship. What I don't get is why Andy's wrong behaviours aren't equally accounted for, or even explained. I got the feeling that Kate was way more invested in their friendship than Andy was, after a certain point, and although things are talked through, Andy's attitude wasn't ever addressed. If anything, it was something Kate apologised for. Again, I may be alone in this thought, but I personally think that both should've recognized where they went wrong and tried to work on it. Not just Kate.All in all... "Kate In Waiting" isn't a bad book. Not at all. It's entertaining, it's fun, it makes you laugh out loud at some parts, it makes some very interesting points regarding friendships, and it's the epitome of summer reads. I don't regret reading it. But it did leave me feeling a little "meh"-ish, which, together with the few issues I've mentioned, is why I decided to lower the rating to 3 stars. Still, I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a nice and diverse summer read!CWs: Bullying, Codependence issues, Divorce, Homophobia, Online shaming (mentioned), Slut-shaming slurs (f-people)

If you have read past Becky Albertalli books, you’ll like this one. It is cute and has typical suburban high school drama events which is always interesting to read. Has a great love triangle mystery (maybe more complicated lol).

Ohhh Kate 😍 I love her so much. easily one of the most relatable characters for me! Also something I love is the talk of being a divorce kid. I feel like in a lot of books/tv shows kids always long for their parents to get back together, she says it “just is” which is super relatable for me! Anderson the sweet and sour cinnamon we all love in a BFF. Please can we get a spin off with maybe reina or brandie 😭😭