Hello, dear readers! Today I'm back with a really cute story by Alisha Sevigny -Kissing Frogs! If you love cutesy romance, you might want to check out this book. Read on to see what I thought of Kissing Frogs by Alisha Sevigny!
(clicking on the cover will take you to Goodreads!) | Title: Kissing Frogs Author: Alisha Sevigny Published on: November 18th 2014 Publisher: Swoon Romance Genre: Contemporary Romance (YA) Author's Blog Part of a series?: Stand-alone (I received a review copy of Kissing Frogs -thank you!- in exchange for an honest review. My review is written in my own opinion and is uninfluenced by anyone.) |
Popular party girl and high school senior Jessica Scott has a secret: she used to be a nerd — a big one; a goody two-shoes, grade-skipping, all-state spelling bee champ. But she lost the braces, put on some contacts, and applied all her academic genius to studying and imitating the social elite. Now she rules the school from the upper echelon of the high school realm. With her cool new friends and hottest-guy-in-school boyfriend, life’s a beach — and that’s where she’s headed for Spring Break. That is, until her teacher breaks the bad news that she’s failing Biology — and her only chance to make up the grade is to throw away the culminating trip of her hard-earned popularity and join the Conservation Club in Panama to save the Golden Frog.
Unable to let go of her faded college dreams, Jess finds herself in a foreign country with a new social crew, and one handsome face that stands out as a blast from the past, threatening to ruin her queen bee reputation. Travis Henley may have grown up, but he still likes to play childish games and as payment for retrieving Jess’ lost ring from the bottom of a jungle pool, he wants three dates. While Jess does battle with spiders, snakes, wildfires and smart mean girls, she desperately tries to hang on to the last vestiges of her popular existence like the Golden Frog from its webbed toe. But as she starts to care about something more than tanning and texting – a species on the verge of disappearing forever – she may realize the worth of her inner nerd, and the one frog in particular that could be her prince in disguise.
Set in the lush and tropical El Valle de Anton, this modern fairytale re-imagining of “The Frog Prince” is toe-curling contemporary romance with an environmentalist heartbeat, in the tradition of Stephanie Perkins.
Unable to let go of her faded college dreams, Jess finds herself in a foreign country with a new social crew, and one handsome face that stands out as a blast from the past, threatening to ruin her queen bee reputation. Travis Henley may have grown up, but he still likes to play childish games and as payment for retrieving Jess’ lost ring from the bottom of a jungle pool, he wants three dates. While Jess does battle with spiders, snakes, wildfires and smart mean girls, she desperately tries to hang on to the last vestiges of her popular existence like the Golden Frog from its webbed toe. But as she starts to care about something more than tanning and texting – a species on the verge of disappearing forever – she may realize the worth of her inner nerd, and the one frog in particular that could be her prince in disguise.
Set in the lush and tropical El Valle de Anton, this modern fairytale re-imagining of “The Frog Prince” is toe-curling contemporary romance with an environmentalist heartbeat, in the tradition of Stephanie Perkins.
I'm not sure the title could've been any more weirder or creative -Who wants to kiss a frog? A few pages into the story and everything made sense. Jess, a popular high school senior who's failing Biology, has to join the Conservation Club to save the Golden Frog in Panama -if she still wants to pass her Biology and attend the college of her dreams. Thing is, Jess has done a lot to loose her nerdiness and put on a facade at high school. Nerdy Jess -the one who wins spelling bees and wears nerdy glasses- is gone. Poof. Now the new high school Jess has glamorous new friends, a boyfriend to die for, and plans for South Beach -until her Biology grade ruined the trip. She's not going to throw it all away just because of Biology! ...or is she?
Kissing Frogs is an easy and light read with teen angst, friendship, and self-discoverance. When Jess's so-called "friends" and her hot boyfriend leave for South Beach while she's at Panama saving "some dumb frogs!" ,Jess worries that her boyfriend will find someone else. Why wouldn't he? He's off partying at the beach while she's, well...saving frogs. It's bound to happen. Disgruntled and troubled, Jess doesn't feel like saving the frogs at all. But later, she's even more horrified to discover that an enemy from the past -Travis- has come along with the trip too! What if he tells everyone about her past-self and ruins her reputation that she worked so hard to maintain? Suddenly, Jess finds herself in a constant cycle of having to worry after one boy to the other.
When I say that Kissing Frogs is an easy read, I mean "don't-take-the-story-too-seriously" easy. While the story has its faults, all in all it proved to be a fun read and I truly enjoyed how the story ended and how things turned out for Jess. The frienship in Kissing Frogs is one that I loved. Upon reaching the campsite, Jess quickly learns who to become friends with and who to stay away from. I am particularly fond of Harp, a sweet and quiet girl whom Jess shares a room with. Unlike Jess, she has a good head on her shoulders. Harp is sensible and really down-to-earth. She's clear about who she likes and helps Jess to discover what she really wants and who she really is. On the other hand, Jess brings out the best in Harp. I feel like Jess is always encouraging Harp to get out of her shell without realizing it, and their friendship is one thing that I really loved in the story.
Ultimately, I think the two things that made Kissing Frogs all the more interesting were the tension between Jess and Travis, the boy that used to tease her continuously, back when she was nerdy, and the two bitchy girls, Chrissy and Kiki -horrible names for horrible people. However, Jess comes to realize that there is a reason for the hate that she received from the pair, and that was what made the story all the more interesting for me. I'm glad that the two of them weren't just being malicious for no reason!
Travis, that boy. I was so intrigued by him at the beginning, because the thoughts that Jess had of him made him sound awfully unpleasant and nasty. When he showed up on the bus, all cheerful and willing to interact with Jess, I was quite skeptical of him. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect at first, but his feelings for Jess were easily perceived because of his actions. Jess was so unaware of his motions that at times, I wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her -hard. That girl could be so clueless sometimes!
The frogs were a bonus. The Conservation Club really did a good job of saving the frogs and carrying out their research. Like Jess, I came to care about frogs as the story progressed and learned a few things about them -information that I, quite honestly, couldn't have been bothered with if not for this book.
Travis, that boy. I was so intrigued by him at the beginning, because the thoughts that Jess had of him made him sound awfully unpleasant and nasty. When he showed up on the bus, all cheerful and willing to interact with Jess, I was quite skeptical of him. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect at first, but his feelings for Jess were easily perceived because of his actions. Jess was so unaware of his motions that at times, I wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her -hard. That girl could be so clueless sometimes!
The frogs were a bonus. The Conservation Club really did a good job of saving the frogs and carrying out their research. Like Jess, I came to care about frogs as the story progressed and learned a few things about them -information that I, quite honestly, couldn't have been bothered with if not for this book.
- Readers who loved Anna and the French Kiss and would like another easy read! They aren't entirely the same but Kissing Frogs still has some cutesy romance but with an environmental twist!
- Readers who'd love to read a slightly different take on contemporary. I actually learned quite a few things from this book!
my rating for Kissing Frogs:
*Disclaimer: This book did not lack substance. That's just the fixed remark for any 3.5 star rating. Kissing Frogs was quite fun to read and the romance was cute -although exasperating sometimes.
a b o u t t h e a u t h o r
Alisha Sevigny holds a degree in Sociology and Professional Writing from the University of Victoria, is a film school graduate, former literary agent and current Social Media and Communications Director for an award-winning English school. A shameless romantic, Alisha and her husband have travelled the world together. On a recent trip to Panama with their new daughter, Alisha fell in love with the country, culture, and their national emblem, the Golden Frog. She was inspired to write her first Young Adult novel, Kissing Frogs. Born and raised in Kitimat, British Columbia, Alisha has always had a strong connection to the environment and conservationist spirit. She now lives in Toronto with her family.
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