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betweendotsandletters's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I needed some time to gather my thoughts on “Kate in Waiting” and I’m still not completely sure if I’ll say everything I want to say but here’s a try:
Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. It was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, I love how Becky Albertalli writes and the Simonverse, in particular Leah on the Offbeat, have a very soft and special place in my heart.
However, this left me kind of disappointed.
Still, let’s start with the good stuff, shall we?
Becky Albertalli can write and I like how she does that. I think she captures the ways of talking and thinking of high schoolers/teens in a way that feels truly authentic and like this scene or that encounter could play out the same in real life without being strange or stilted. It’s been three years since I last read a solo book by her and in that time I got older, so I’m not in the target audience of ‘teenager’ anymore. Even so, I immediately recognized this and remembered how much I had liked that in her previous books. It was the same with Kate in Waiting.
I loved the theater-kid atmosphere and the focus on theater/musical ensemble dynamics. It feels nostalgic for many of the afternoons i spend singing and rehearsing as a kid and teen and wish I would have had an active theater club at my school instead of just outside of it, so I love to vicariously live through fictional characters experiencing this.
I loved the theater-kid atmosphere and the focus on theater/musical ensemble dynamics. It feels nostalgic for many of the afternoons i spend singing and rehearsing as a kid and teen and wish I would have had an active theater club at my school instead of just outside of it, so I love to vicariously live through fictional characters experiencing this.
I liked the queer friend group and the casual rep that came with it. It’s great to see that and have it be totally normal and unquestioned. We need to see this, teenagers need to see this.
I liked how Kate and her brother started to rekindle their relationship towards the end. That was an arc well done.
But, and that’s where we reach the parts that I didn’t like, the ones that didn’t resonate with me and those, that I frowned at.
Let’s stay at the characters for a moment. I felt like they weren’t as fleshed out or thoroughly developed as we’ve seen it from Becky before.
(At this point, it is worth mentioning, that yes, this is a standalone and solo book which Becky hasn’t written since the Simonverse. It also deserves to be viewed detached from previous work. However, I couldn’t not compare it to what I’ve read before. Not on a content-level, more so on the basis of writing, plot and character development. Maybe this is in part because it disappointed me so I went looking for it more than someone who really loved it maybe would have. But I think it’s a valid way of reading and analyzing.)
After I finished, I didn’t feel like I got to know all that much about the cast of characters. I said it like this to a friend a while ago and I think that captures the essence of what I mean: “I felt as if the characters weren't that well-rounded...for example I feel like I know much more about, say Taylor Metternich from the Simonverse than Kate's friends (apart from Andy) and Taylor wasn't really a big character...”
And, as we’re already on the topic of Kate and Anderson: I felt like their friendship was very co-dependent (which Kate does kinda admit to in the book) and had toxicity laced into how it worked in the story. And it didn’t develop much. I didn’t feel like we got a good resolution to their friendship and the struggles they faced over the course of the story. Kate thought about it a little but there was never a real conversation that tackled these issues. It was just kind of brushed over ‘because they both have boyfriends now so all is well’. I would have liked to see such a conversation, as well as a bit more backstory to their friendship.
A few tinier things that irked me:
- The whole f-boy/f-squad thing ( that’s mostly personal I think. I know that these dynamics and labelings constantly happen in school settings and I did like how they started to rethink it towards the end. I also recognize that I read this from a pov of a 21-year old. It was more a case of, my eyes stumbled about it every time and I wished that the characters wouldn’t objectify others like this)
- The way the communal crushes thing was carried out. I don’t question that best friends can crush on similar people, they absolutely can and do.
But some of it went a bit too far… it came off a bit obsessive at times (like, Kate saying that crushes without Andy we’re pointless or boring?!) And overall I also simply think that most of their friendship issues lie in the communal crushes and then they didn’t really talk about it, even after they made up…that was strange
- I think the ending didn’t exactly work the best for the story. For a story essentially focused on the friendship dynamics of two best friends who grapple with having a communal crush turn up in their real life, it didn’t made all that much sense to me that they both just ended up in romantic relationships. And that that had somehow solved their conflict without ever actually addressing the fact that their friendship might need to be talked about a little more fundamentally.
- I sometimes got the feeling like this was a first book. It read like that sometimes, the way some character arcs, conflicts and plotlines were handled seemed debut-ish to me and knowing this is, while being the first solo book in a while, her seventh book in total, made me pause.
To conclude, I was underwhelmed by this. i liked parts of it and it was easy and fast to read.
But there where also elements that didn’t work for me and/or didn’t live up to my expectations. Maybe this is because my expectations were aimed too high or in the wrong direction or it’s because I’m in a different age group now than I was when I read the Simonverse-books. Ultimately, it didn't work that well for me.
But there where also elements that didn’t work for me and/or didn’t live up to my expectations. Maybe this is because my expectations were aimed too high or in the wrong direction or it’s because I’m in a different age group now than I was when I read the Simonverse-books. Ultimately, it didn't work that well for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship
stillreadingat4am's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a real feel-good book!
While it definitely tackles important and heavier topics like bullying, the overall vibe of theater kids just doing their thing was amazing!
As a former theater kid myself, every description of rehearsals and the performance itself was a big ball of nostalgic hugs.
The closeness you feel by being part of a theater group is something I don't often see displayed in books but here it was so well done!
At first I struggled a bit with the characters, not gonna lie. Kate and Andy are very imperfect teenagers and Matt is just some kind of saint we don't learn a lot about. But as the story progressed, I got to know and love them all better. My favourite characters are definitely Ryan, Noah and the both theater teachers but the whole squad has won my heart.
Oh, and did I mention that it's incredibly funny?
While it definitely tackles important and heavier topics like bullying, the overall vibe of theater kids just doing their thing was amazing!
As a former theater kid myself, every description of rehearsals and the performance itself was a big ball of nostalgic hugs.
The closeness you feel by being part of a theater group is something I don't often see displayed in books but here it was so well done!
At first I struggled a bit with the characters, not gonna lie. Kate and Andy are very imperfect teenagers and Matt is just some kind of saint we don't learn a lot about. But as the story progressed, I got to know and love them all better. My favourite characters are definitely Ryan, Noah and the both theater teachers but the whole squad has won my heart.
Oh, and did I mention that it's incredibly funny?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Alcohol
Minor: Toxic friendship
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