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lifeasjanedoe's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
christiana's review against another edition
3.0
I'm just going to leave this here...
This started out really strong and I had high hopes when I saw Spalding was in the Upright Citizens Brigade. However, as the book went on, it lost some momentum for me. Mostly, I find this cover and title a super hard sell to give to teens. The cover has a bit of an identity crisis. It looks so middle school (even a little j) and the content is a book I would probably mostly give to a high schooler. Hopefully something we see changed in the paperback edition? At any rate, I enjoyed this read, but the reader I can give this to is a little more elusive than I hoped.
This started out really strong and I had high hopes when I saw Spalding was in the Upright Citizens Brigade. However, as the book went on, it lost some momentum for me. Mostly, I find this cover and title a super hard sell to give to teens. The cover has a bit of an identity crisis. It looks so middle school (even a little j) and the content is a book I would probably mostly give to a high schooler. Hopefully something we see changed in the paperback edition? At any rate, I enjoyed this read, but the reader I can give this to is a little more elusive than I hoped.
biographybookshelf's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this read because it was a cool flashback to high school relationships and what it was like to have a crush. I also really liked the music themes and going to shows in LA. It was a little unrealistic how much she got to go out on a school night, but oh well.
sarverv's review against another edition
4.0
This book just makes me want to listen to cool music and be a rock star.
franuary's review against another edition
4.0
After discovering that their fellow bandmates have coupled up, sixteen-year-old Riley and Reid decide that their single days are over. They form a plan to help one another find the perfect (or at least perfect for right now) partners by documenting their experiences in a shared notebook called the Passenger Manifest. Riley’s heart belongs to one Ted Callahan, an adorkable quiet boy with obsession-worthy hair. But the closer she gets to getting to really know him, the more attractive she seems to be to other members of the opposite sex.
I cannot overstate how much I loved Riley. She’s supremely confident in some situations and a total mess in others, which is so endearing. She’s hilarious and smart and incredibly hip and totally badass (she’s a drummer in a rock band), but her brain isn’t always connected to her mouth and she’s often super awkward, especially around boys. Compared to her other prospective love interests, I really wasn’t shipping Riley/Ted. Nearly every other boy in her life seemed more interesting (including her adorable best friend Reid, whose neuroses made me love him forever), but thankfully, Riley liked Ted enough for the both of us. The book finished up too neatly to expect a sequel, but if Spalding wrote one, I would be first in line. Clever, hysterical realistic fiction. Recommended to teens who liked Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist or the Georgia Nicolson series.
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and to NetGalley for the advance copy!
I cannot overstate how much I loved Riley. She’s supremely confident in some situations and a total mess in others, which is so endearing. She’s hilarious and smart and incredibly hip and totally badass (she’s a drummer in a rock band), but her brain isn’t always connected to her mouth and she’s often super awkward, especially around boys. Compared to her other prospective love interests, I really wasn’t shipping Riley/Ted. Nearly every other boy in her life seemed more interesting (including her adorable best friend Reid, whose neuroses made me love him forever), but thankfully, Riley liked Ted enough for the both of us. The book finished up too neatly to expect a sequel, but if Spalding wrote one, I would be first in line. Clever, hysterical realistic fiction. Recommended to teens who liked Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist or the Georgia Nicolson series.
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and to NetGalley for the advance copy!
shelbyday's review against another edition
3.0
Cute story! It is not my usual choice of genre, but it was super funny and entertaining.
talya_'s review against another edition
2.0
The main character Riley was somewhat dimwitted and extremely immature. She gives sixteen year olds everywhere a bad name because they do NOT act like this. Not all of them, at least. She handles everything in such an immature fashion, from her friendships to her relationships and everything in between. She ignores one of her best friends for the entire book for no reason besides the fact that she's really immature and doesn't know how to communicate. And she simultaneously unofficially dates three different guys when she knows she shouldn't because she continuously lies to them. Seriously, she'll be on a date with the guy she's supposedly liked forever and she'll text another guy about going on a date later. Really? Ugh. I don't know why these guys liked her. She's also a bit of a bitch, brushing of Reid's problems (as annoying as they might be) but always blabbing her mouth about herself. And she judges people constantly. She'll see someone across the room and decide she doesn't like their face so she doesn't like them. Ugh.
And none of the characters have any depth whatsoever. And there's no character growth. People may say that Riley grew at the end of the novel, but no, she didn't, she was just scared that someone else would call her out for her foolishness so she decided to say it first.
And none of the characters have any depth whatsoever. And there's no character growth. People may say that Riley grew at the end of the novel, but no, she didn't, she was just scared that someone else would call her out for her foolishness so she decided to say it first.
sherleymarie's review against another edition
5.0
[b:Kissing Ted Callahan|18333999|Kissing Ted Callahan (And Other Guys)|Amy Spalding|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418159557s/18333999.jpg|25881636]
****I was gifted with an ARC of this book for my honest review****
I was told by a friend that this was one of their most anticipated releases of 2015. Now I had it on my "To Be Read" list on goodreads but I did now know what his hype was about this book and wow now I am totally in synch with why he has been awaiting the release of this book.
You know you run across books that people say "oh its so funny!" and you just dot know if you totally believe them because well its kinda hard to accomplish that in a book. But seriously this was by far one of the funniest books I have read EVER!
I loved the concept of this book and the back & forth witty banter & sometimes constructive criticism between Riley & Reid. It was exquisite. I laughed and giggled and was looked at by those around me & not telling them my little secret of this amazing book I was reading made me feel like it was a little treasure of mine. I want more books like these.
I also love how they call the book the Passenger Manifest. I mean the whole story is just genius and amazing and I cant help but just want more and more. I love the characters. EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM. It was such a good choice in differences between them. Like they each had such awesome quirky things to them which just makes me love this even more because truth is I am quirky myself and I just relate with them. Thank you for this book. It was an amazing read and I wish I could give it more then 5 stars! Thank you for this read!
****I was gifted with an ARC of this book for my honest review****
I was told by a friend that this was one of their most anticipated releases of 2015. Now I had it on my "To Be Read" list on goodreads but I did now know what his hype was about this book and wow now I am totally in synch with why he has been awaiting the release of this book.
You know you run across books that people say "oh its so funny!" and you just dot know if you totally believe them because well its kinda hard to accomplish that in a book. But seriously this was by far one of the funniest books I have read EVER!
I loved the concept of this book and the back & forth witty banter & sometimes constructive criticism between Riley & Reid. It was exquisite. I laughed and giggled and was looked at by those around me & not telling them my little secret of this amazing book I was reading made me feel like it was a little treasure of mine. I want more books like these.
I also love how they call the book the Passenger Manifest. I mean the whole story is just genius and amazing and I cant help but just want more and more. I love the characters. EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM. It was such a good choice in differences between them. Like they each had such awesome quirky things to them which just makes me love this even more because truth is I am quirky myself and I just relate with them. Thank you for this book. It was an amazing read and I wish I could give it more then 5 stars! Thank you for this read!
brandypainter's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
Having read and loved both of Amy Spalding's previous books, my excitement for Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) was pretty high. I love Spalding's humor, her realistically messy characters, and the way she writes relationships of all sorts. Kissing Ted Callahan delivered in all these areas.
Riley has a pretty good life. She's in a band with her best friends and they are actually pretty good with a potential future in the business. She enjoys good music, attends a great school, and has a car and relative freedom. Then Riley and bandmate Reid discover their other two bandmates are having sex. Everything changes for Riley. She is upset that Lucy hadn't told her this was going on when they'd been best friends forever. She feels like she's missing out on life. Riley and Reid then make a pact to help advise and encourage each other in their search for true love, sex, and all things romantic. Riley focuses in on her longtime crush, Ted Callahan, but soon discovers other boys might be more interested in her. Cute boys. Boys who are skilled in the area of kissing. Soon Riley is juggling quite a hectic social life and trying to navigate more complications than just which boy she should be making out with. Especially once the notebook she and Reid are using for their mutual project goes missing.
Riley is hilarious. The book is told in her first person voice and it is exactly like being in someone else's head and getting to hear every horrified, geeky, amused, panic-stricken thought. I love that Riley isn't searching for some magical true love. She's mostly interested in gaining sexual experience. Reid is the one that is determined to find love (though sex is a definite plus in that for him). And I loved this realistic look at how girls and boys actually see relationships quite similarly and aren't really looking for that different a thing. It's not all about boys wanting sex and girls wanting love. People want sex. People want love. Often times they want both things at once. Sometimes it's one or the other. Everyone has different motivations in relationships, and those motivations change all the time. Riley's adventures in romance demonstrate this so well. They also show how easy it is to hurt the people closest to you when you aren't communicating in the best of ways. Riley does some incredibly immature things, but they are exactly the sort of mistakes a young 16 year old would make. Heck, some adults aren't any better at relationships than she is. But I love that she seems willing to learn and internalize and make things better. And get lots of great kissing in while she's at it.
This is a book all about relationships. Riley has a very different relationship with all three guys she's hanging out with. They all progress differently and at different paces. I was kind of unsure for most of the book about which guy, if any, was going to win her over. That was kind of nice as I felt even more in Riley's head. Friendship is also an important aspect of the book. Riley and Reid are a great example of a girl/boy friendship with no romance at all and how that works. Riley's relationship with Lucy is really well done as well. Riley basically torpedoes their friendship when she finds out about Lucy dating Nathan. It's for purely selfish reasons including jealousy, but she is also hurt and insecure. I felt for Lucy through a lot of this book, but felt both girls behave and react in realistic ways. The resolution to that was really worthwhile too.
As Riley and Reid (particularly Reid) share more of their plans and thoughts in the book it becomes increasingly worrying because OF COURSE the book is going to go missing. And this isn't just a silly dramatic cliche' to move a plot along. Do you know how many times my kids do something that ends up devastating them and I have to say, "How did you expect that to turn out? Of course this would happen"??? Do you know how many times I've said it to myself???? I really appreciated that there was a lot less drama to the book going missing than there could have been though, and I loved how that plot thread resolved. Riley and Reid both did some maturing, growing, and learning, but not in a way that was teaching a LESSON. It was organic to the story and their characters.
This is a great read for people who love lighthearted meaningful YA with a dash of romance and a lot of heart.
For Readers Concerned About Content: some language; underage drinking; making out and sex scenes (not graphically detailed)
I read an ARC provided by the publisher, Little Brown, via Edelweiss. Kissing Ted Callahan is on sale April 7th.
Having read and loved both of Amy Spalding's previous books, my excitement for Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) was pretty high. I love Spalding's humor, her realistically messy characters, and the way she writes relationships of all sorts. Kissing Ted Callahan delivered in all these areas.
Riley has a pretty good life. She's in a band with her best friends and they are actually pretty good with a potential future in the business. She enjoys good music, attends a great school, and has a car and relative freedom. Then Riley and bandmate Reid discover their other two bandmates are having sex. Everything changes for Riley. She is upset that Lucy hadn't told her this was going on when they'd been best friends forever. She feels like she's missing out on life. Riley and Reid then make a pact to help advise and encourage each other in their search for true love, sex, and all things romantic. Riley focuses in on her longtime crush, Ted Callahan, but soon discovers other boys might be more interested in her. Cute boys. Boys who are skilled in the area of kissing. Soon Riley is juggling quite a hectic social life and trying to navigate more complications than just which boy she should be making out with. Especially once the notebook she and Reid are using for their mutual project goes missing.
Riley is hilarious. The book is told in her first person voice and it is exactly like being in someone else's head and getting to hear every horrified, geeky, amused, panic-stricken thought. I love that Riley isn't searching for some magical true love. She's mostly interested in gaining sexual experience. Reid is the one that is determined to find love (though sex is a definite plus in that for him). And I loved this realistic look at how girls and boys actually see relationships quite similarly and aren't really looking for that different a thing. It's not all about boys wanting sex and girls wanting love. People want sex. People want love. Often times they want both things at once. Sometimes it's one or the other. Everyone has different motivations in relationships, and those motivations change all the time. Riley's adventures in romance demonstrate this so well. They also show how easy it is to hurt the people closest to you when you aren't communicating in the best of ways. Riley does some incredibly immature things, but they are exactly the sort of mistakes a young 16 year old would make. Heck, some adults aren't any better at relationships than she is. But I love that she seems willing to learn and internalize and make things better. And get lots of great kissing in while she's at it.
This is a book all about relationships. Riley has a very different relationship with all three guys she's hanging out with. They all progress differently and at different paces. I was kind of unsure for most of the book about which guy, if any, was going to win her over. That was kind of nice as I felt even more in Riley's head. Friendship is also an important aspect of the book. Riley and Reid are a great example of a girl/boy friendship with no romance at all and how that works. Riley's relationship with Lucy is really well done as well. Riley basically torpedoes their friendship when she finds out about Lucy dating Nathan. It's for purely selfish reasons including jealousy, but she is also hurt and insecure. I felt for Lucy through a lot of this book, but felt both girls behave and react in realistic ways. The resolution to that was really worthwhile too.
As Riley and Reid (particularly Reid) share more of their plans and thoughts in the book it becomes increasingly worrying because OF COURSE the book is going to go missing. And this isn't just a silly dramatic cliche' to move a plot along. Do you know how many times my kids do something that ends up devastating them and I have to say, "How did you expect that to turn out? Of course this would happen"??? Do you know how many times I've said it to myself???? I really appreciated that there was a lot less drama to the book going missing than there could have been though, and I loved how that plot thread resolved. Riley and Reid both did some maturing, growing, and learning, but not in a way that was teaching a LESSON. It was organic to the story and their characters.
This is a great read for people who love lighthearted meaningful YA with a dash of romance and a lot of heart.
For Readers Concerned About Content: some language; underage drinking; making out and sex scenes (not graphically detailed)
I read an ARC provided by the publisher, Little Brown, via Edelweiss. Kissing Ted Callahan is on sale April 7th.