The ABC's of Kissing Boys by Tina Ferraro Grades 7+ 224 pages Delacorte January 2009 Paperback     Parker Stanhope’s life of popularity in high school is over. A junior, she didn’t make the varsity soccer team, though all her friends did. Now they’ve turned their backs on her, but she has the ultimate plan to get back on their good sides - all it’ll take is a little mischief at the charity kissing booth that the varsity soccer team is going to host. Parker is going to have her older brother’s extremely hot friend insist on kissing her at the booth – the coach will have to temporarily promote her to varsity because the amount of money on offer will be more than they can refuse. And after she’s temporarily promoted, they won’t just demote her back to JV, right? The only catch is that Parker doesn’t have a lot of kissing experience, and she wants the kiss to look convincing. But Tristan, the lowly freshman living across the street, does have a lot of experience. He agrees to give her lessons, and Parker is set on her course to reclaim her popularity. But as she gets closer to her goal, she begins to wonder whether she actually wants her old life back. The ABC's of Kissing Boys is a wonderful teenage novel about betrayal and what you think you want. Parker is a great character. At the beginning, she’s desperate to get her popularity back. She thinks that her life is over because her former best friends are tormenting her. But, as the novel progresses, Parker begins to realize what friendship really means. She understands that friendship means sticking by people, not shunning them, and she begins to reflect on her own behavior towards others. She really grows as a character as this novel progresses, and it’s great to be along for the ride. Parker’s plan to get on the varsity soccer team is…well, let’s just say it isn’t smart. To be fair, it’s her brother’s plan, but still, it’s difficult to believe it ever could work. It isn’t clear why it struck Parker as a gold mine – couldn’t the coach just demote her back to JV after it was over? What would stop her? Luckily, though it seems like the plan is the basis of the entire novel, the book quickly develops into something more. The ABC's of Kissing Boys is a sweet YA novel with a wonderful message for teens and adults alike. It’s short, which means it’s a very quick read, but every page is packed with a lot of fun.     web reviews   Swapna Krishna/2010 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)