But when Kate and Andy's latest long-distance crush shows up at their school, everything goes off-script.
Enter Stage Left: Matt Olsson
He is talented and sweet, and Kate likes him. She really likes him. The only problem? So does Anderson.
Turns out, communal crushes aren't so fun when real feelings are involved. This one might even bring the curtains down on Kate and Anderson's friendship...
Becky Albertalli's latest YA offering is just what you would expect from the blurb - full of theatre, drama, and high school relationships, which are always the most complicated. Kate and Anderson are best friends, inseparable and ready for a new year at school, filled with the promise of potential leading roles in the school musical. However, what they don't plan on is their communal crush, Matt Olsson, appearing on their first day back, a senior, ready to audition for Once Upon A Mattress and set hearts racing. At first Kate and Anderson agree to admire from afar, to befriend Matt but keep their distance, but when Kate is cast as his love interest in the musical, it soon becomes difficult to ignore matters of the heart. Meanwhile Anderson is also growing closer to Matt, enjoying senior drama together and secretly meeting behind Kate's back. Before they know it a love triangle is forming and jealousy is raging, but will their friendship survive?
Albertalli portrays teenage Kate and Anderson in a perfect manner, and reading this brought back all the drama of secondary school - and not just from the drama class! Both characters are believable, their friendship strong and realistic, with constant quips at each other, loud singing on their commute to school and a consistent dislike yet fascination with other social groups in school. Equally their friendship with the larger friendship group is just like I recall - simple, full of teasing and taunting and text messages that everyone reads into way too much.
The plot is a slow burner, but that is the reality of a high-school romance I guess, and it was nice to find out more about characters' backgrounds and personalities before we were fully submerged into the romance and friendship issues which are the book's main focus. I also loved that despite focusing mainly on the theatre clique at school, Albertalli still portrayed the other social groups with insights given by certain characters that Kate befriends as they enter the world of drama together. For me, this is what made it a believable high-school story. Nobody can avoid other groups at school, in the corridor, at parties and in lessons and it was this effortless combination of teenagers that reminded me of my own secondary experiences and helped make the story more realistic.
Overall, Kate in Waiting is a brilliant YA novel and would make a perfect summer read. It provides a perfect balance of realism and romance and whether you're still at secondary or wish you could return to those happy days will guarantee to leave you smiling and reminiscing about the good times!
Wonderful review!
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