Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) by Amy Spalding

When Riley walks in on her best friend getting it on with the guitar player in their band, she feels really left out.  Not only that Lucy didn't share with her this new thing, but also because Riley's love life is non-existent.  She teams up with Reid (the bassist) and they embark on a mission to make something happen with people they are crushing on... and to seal the pact, they will document it in a notebook so they can learn from each other's successes and failings.















THIS BOOK IS ADORABLE!!!  Sure the title and cover art might be embarrassing for a 30-something to be seen reading in public, but so what!  I was LOLing like crazy and people were looking at me like I was a nut.... I didn't care a bit because I was SO happy.  I'm pretty good at hiding my emotions while reading, but I seriously could not hold in all the happiness this book was giving me.

Riley- Riley is my new book BFF.  I found her so entertaining and hilarious and awesome.  I loved the way she talked in her head, it was so funny and cute.  For example:

"I'll be there with bells on," I say for some reason, even though I normally steer clear of old-timey phrases. Ted! Why do you bring out the dorkiest in me?"

And the way she talked out loud:

"No problem, I can meet you by your locker," I say "Not that I know where your locker is.  I mean, it's alphabetical, I sort of know.  Not by heart, not the number, just in general, it's near Mrs. Bullard's room, I think, right, is it?"

HAHAHA!  How can you not love diarrhea of the mouth like that??  It's endearing.


I loved going along with her as she figured out boys and relationships and what SHE really wanted.
It was also really nice to read about sex and it wasn't made out to be this HUGE big deal.  Yeah sex is a major thing, but not everyone obsesses about the first time endlessly like it's made out to be in books and movies.

The only thing I didn't LOVE about this book was that Riley was a tad bit too music snobby for my liking.  It almost felt like she was tabulating points- for or against guys based on their musical selections and knowledge.  I love music, and I love when books feature music, but I don't like it when characters get all high on the music they like, like it's the only thing worth listening to.  There's a lot out there that even Riley couldn't have heard, so calm down girl, just because you're in a band, it doesn't mean you have final say on all that is good music-wise.  Get me?

Reid is also perfectly adorable.  He's super nervous and hard on himself, and I love that we got to see (through his notebook writings) that he was the more romantic one of him and Riley.  It was also nice to see a guy and a girl who could be friends and NOT cross that line into something more.  Although.... part of me almost started wondering if they would be cute together.... but no it was so much better this way.

It's been a while since I read a book that made me smile so big and so many times.  I honestly couldn't get enough of this cute, funny, awesome Contemporary.  If you've read and liked Freshman Yeah and Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin, then I would totally say go for this, they should be cousin companion books or something.

OVERALL: YES!!!!  I loved this adorable, cute, squishy, fun Contemporary.  It made me smile and laugh in public.  That right there says something.  I rec this to anyone who needs something light and happy in their lives.  Riley could very well be your next book BFF... I know she's mine.

This Book Contains:

• Kissing
• Lists
• Rock shows
• Bands with names like Andrew Mothereffing Jackson
• Dogs!!
• Notebook entries
• Friendship
• A female drummer :)
• Embarrassing moments involving underwear and word vomit (but not at the same time).

Add it to your To-Read List!!

My Rating: 4/4

How I got this book: Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for allowing me to read and honestly review this book.
Date Published: 4/7/2015