Elise Storton is praying she’ll get her first kiss before turning sixteen in a few weeks. The problem is, new home, new school, and no friends—not counting Stacie, the little ninth grader she met that summer. Still, she manages to meet Asher, one of the cool guys who invites her to lunch with the elites on the first day at school. They seem nice, and Asher seems to be into her, but because of his jealous girlfriend, they begin corresponding on the sly. It’s all too good to be true . . .
In Never Been Kissed, Elise, the protagonist, an immature believer from a broken home is obsessed with obtaining that first kiss. In the first part of the book, she makes a series of selfish and naïve decisions that border on tedious. However, at the halfway mark, the action and intrigue picked up and I actually couldn’t put the book down from that point. Melody Carlson reveals nuances of today’s bullying, and the pitfalls of high school crushing while providing a light out of some dark tunnels.
Age Range: 11 and up
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Revell 2011
Available: Amazon, Christianbooks.com Also ask for this title from your local library
