A review by bethanymiller415
Kiss by Jacqueline Wilson

2.0

Carl and Sylvie have lived next door to each other and been friends forever, and Sylvie had always believed that one day they would get married, but lately something seems different about Carl. Carl has earned a scholarship to Kingsmere Grammar, an exclusive all boys’ high school, and Sylvie misses having Carl around at school. After school, he seems to want to spend less and less time with Sylvie and doesn’t seem interested in playing Glassworld an elaborate fantasy the world that the two of them had created together. Miranda, a popular girl at Sylvie’s school, suddenly befriends her and begins taking an interest in Carl. Sylvie and Carl go to a party at Miranda’s and Sylvie finds out that Carl has developed a close friendship with Paul, a boy from his school that he has never mentioned to Sylvie before. Sylvie feels jealous of both Paul and Miranda and doesn’t understand why her lifelong friend seems to be slipping away from her. Eventually, Sylvie must come to terms with the fact that Carl’s feelings for her will never be the same as the feelings she has for him.

The plot of Kiss is pretty predictable. Most readers will figure out what is causing the change in Carl long before Sylvie does, which makes the climax and resolution fall flat. The characters are somewhat realistic, but they are not always likable. Sylvie, for example, is so easily manipulated and seems so clueless about what is going on around her that she is more pitiable than likable. The themes of tolerance and acceptance are commendable, but they are developed in a heavy-handed and unrealistic way.