First Kiss (Then Tell): A Collection of True Lip-Locked Moments -- ed. by Cylin Busby
First Kiss (Then Tell) is a collection of first kiss stories by many of the superstars of YA lit, including Cecil Castellucci, Shannon (and Dean!) Hale, Justine Larbalestier, David Levithan, Lauren Myracle, Naomi Shihab Nye and Scott Westerfeld. Interspersed throughout the stories are pages of facts about the history of kissing, some polls and other fun bits.
While it's uneven (as many collections are), the high points are high. My favorites were:
Amy Kim Ganter's "The Third First Kiss", which is in comic format, and is about three first kisses.(Third time's the charm!)
Shannon and Dean Hale's "Our First Kiss (with each other)", which is a she-said he-said story about (duh) their first kiss. Made me happy that I'm not the only lady who gives her husband a hard time about What Came Before.
Nikki Grimes' "Breathless" made me laugh out loud.
Paul Ruditis' "Improvisation" is about two boys rehearsing a scene from Romeo and Juliet, is in play format and it's sweet and funny.
Robin Wasserman's "Public Service Announcement" hurts, but not in a bad way.
Justine Larbaleistier's "Pashin' or The Worst Kiss Ever" was my favorite, hands down. I've read it three times (once aloud to Josh), and it made me gag every single time. No, that's not a typo. I said gag, and I meant it. Literally.
David Levithan and Nick Eliopulos' "A Brief History of First Kisses" is another story in comic format. Loved it, both the words and the pictures.
Happy Valentine's Day, kiddies.
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