Hello, reader!

It’s time for another blog tour with one of my favorite blog tour companies: The Write Reads! This time, I’ll be reviewing a book that is not in my usual wheelhouse. It’s a contemporary YA romance written by one of the more well-known writers of that genre. It’s called Kate In Waiting by Becky Albertalli and, I have to say, it caught me by surprise!

Before I continue on, though, I want to thank Dave @ The Write Reads, Penguin, and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my participation with this tour and an honest review. It is, as always, very much appreciated.

And now, let’s get to the main event!

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“From bestselling YA rom-com queen Becky Albertalli (author of Love, Simon) comes a new novel about daring to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight in love, life and theatre.

[PRINCIPAL CAST LIST]
Kate Garfield
Anderson Walker

Best friends, and contrary to popular belief, not co-dependent. Examples:

Carpooling to and from theatre rehearsals? Environmentally sound and efficient.
Consulting each other on every single life decision? Basic good judgment.
Pining for the same guys from afar? Shared crushes are more fun anyway.

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…”

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As I’ve mentioned before, young adult contemporary romances aren’t exactly my go-to genre. I have nothing against them, they just aren’t what’s on my mind when I’m looking for a new book to read. That being said, the premise of this one caught my interest so much that I had to sign up for the tour. And it helps that I’ve been wanting to try out Becky Albertalli’s writing to see what I may be missing. FOMO is real in this household. I have to say, I’m glad I gave this a chance!

We’re following the story of two best friends, Kate and Anderson. Kate and Anderson share pretty much everything: their love of musicals, their hatred of fuckboys, and their crushes. These “communal crushes” have always been something that brought them together… until they both develop a crush on the new kid, Matt. Soon, real feelings are involved that might drive these two best friends apart.

Y’all, this was such a fun read! And I will fully admit right now that it’s partly because it’s centered around theater nerds. These were my people when I was in high school and it made the whole experience of reading this feel so nostalgic. I loved the friendships, the code words, and how this had the perfect tone to make me remember my high school days. And all the theater! Give me more musical theater in books pleeeeeease! All the backstage banter and the way Becky Albertalli manages to capture the comradery, the drama, and the work that goes into putting on a performance. It really resonated with me and was probably my favorite aspect of this book.

But we mustn’t forget our two stars, Kate and Anderson. I adore Kate and Anderson so much! They are such well-developed characters, with nuance and depth that makes them come to life. I just wanted to hug both of them throughout this book, but it was also wonderful to be able to watch them grow. I also appreciate that this book focused a lot on their friendship and how tough those can be. Friendship breakups can hurt as much as (if not more than) romantic breakups and I think this book does an excellent job of giving us a taste of that. I also enjoyed how diverse the cast was and really appreciated all the rep that was included. I, of course, can’t speak to the accuracy of all of the representation as there were a lot of marginalized groups with which I don’t identify, so take me saying I thought the rep was well done with a grain of salt! I do appreciate that she never compared Anderson’s (who is Black) skin tone to food, though 😂

My one tiny gripe with this book is the constant and repeated use of the word “fuckboy”. Not because of the word itself. Yes, call them fuckboys out! But the word is almost literally on every page and it was a tad overwhelming, lol. Still, the writing overall was great and kept me engaged throughout. I mean, I read this book in one day and, as a pretty slow reader, that’s saying something!

Final thoughts: This was a fun, quick, and engaging story! The fact that there’s a strong musical theater thread throughout the story certainly upped my enjoyment, as well. I thought our two main characters were fantastically crafted. I connected to them immediately, which made the book that much more captivating. Though the word ‘fuckboy’ in all it’s possible iterations was prevelant throughout, I still thought the writing was great and raced through this one. If you’re a fan of YA contemporaries, musical theater, and a look at the harder sides of friendship, I think you would love Kate In Waiting!

Star rating: