Product Description

Sylvie and Carl have been friends since they were tiny children. They've always played together, eaten with each other's families, called each other boyfriend and girlfriend and deep down, Sylvie has always believed that they'd end up married to each other. They even have a magical fantasy world that belongs to them alone - and the glass hut where it's all created, at the bottom of Carl's garden. But as they become teenagers, things are starting to change. They each have different friends. Sylvie would still rather spend all her time with Carl. But Carl has a new friend, Paul, who is taking all his attention. And he seems much less happy to be called Sylvie's boyfriend. And in a game of spin the bottle, he avoids having to kiss her. Sylvie can tell his feelings have changed and that her plans for the future may be affected. But can she guess at the true reasons behind it all? A moving, compelling and delicately handled treatment of sexuality from the Children's Laureate.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9041 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

From the Back Cover
Sylvie and Carl have been friends since they were tiny. They've always played together and called each other boyfriend and girlfriend. They even have a magical fantasy world that belongs to them alone.

But as they become teenagers, things begin to change. Carl has a new friend, Paul, who is taking all his attention. Sylvie can tell his feelings have changed. But can she guess at the true reasons behind it all?

A moving and delicately handled treatment of first love and first heartbreak from the best-selling, award-winning Jacqueline Wilson.

'Literary Superstar' Independent
FOR TEENAGE READERS

About the Author
JACQUELINE WILSON is an extremely well-known and hugely popular author. THE ILLUSTRATED MUM was chosen as British Children's Book of the Year in 1999 and was winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Award 2000. Jacqueline has won the prestigious Smarties Prize and the Children's Book Award for DOUBLE ACT, which was also highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. Jacqueline was awarded an OBE in 2002. * 'A brilliant young writer of wit and subtlety' THE TIMES * 'Hugely popular with seven to ten year olds: she should be prescribed for all cases of reading reluctance' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY * 'Has a rare gift for writing lightly and amusingly about emtional issues' BOOKSELLER

Customer Reviews

Lovely Teen Fiction
The great thing about studying for teacher training is that I get to read children's books and not feel guilty. So, being a hard core Jacqueline Wilson fan, I jumped at the chance to read her latest book, Kiss, as part of my course research. Let me make this plain from the start - this one is most definitely for 13 year olds and over. While many of Jacky's books for 'older readers' (such as Lola Rose and Love Lessons) could be quite happily and acceptably read by 11 year olds and over, Ms Wilson takes a more definite teenage stance in this novel. The themes of sexuality and more outrageous teen behaviour have been explored in several of her books before, but these have always been with a moral undertone. In the 'Girls in Love' series, for example, her trio of heroines encountered these elements several times, but always explicitly learned from their experiences. Not so with Kiss, which for once takes a surprisingly amoral and distanced approach to these issues. In some ways, this book's main theme, homosexuality (or same-sex crush, to be more accurate in the case of Kiss) takes a slightly overwhelming precedent, which is unusual for Wilson who has a brilliant gift of weaving several issues together without ever complicating things. In consequence of this, the other themes the book brings forward (underage sex and underage drinking) seem surprisingly and uncharacteristically vapid, occurring almost as cheeky asides to hold the reader's attention before we get back to the main element. One almost dares to wonder whether the popularity of cult teen shows such as Skins and Sugar Rush has caused Wilson to 'up her game' in the 'naughty behaviour' stakes. Aside from this, we are presented with a trio of highly likable and believable main characters, from the introverted, misunderstood Sylvie, to artistic pretty-boy Carl and finally to the cheeky, irrepressible Miranda who has become my favourite Wilson character of recent times. Kudos should also go to Wilson for making a plump girl sexy and popular - while her past books have generally only portrayed slim or skinny girls as being attractive and charismatic (Magda, Jasmine, Rochelle) Jacky does her bit for those 'carrying a little bit of weight girls' with the curvaceous, plumptious Miranda, the pin-up of Year 9. It should be noted as well that, unlike her other books, Kiss does have a fair spattering of coarse language. A funny, saucy and moving read for 13 year olds and over.

Achingly sad
This book really touched me.

Sylvie is a 13 year old girl with few friends. Her best friend in all the world is boy next door Carl. They've been best friends since they were tiny. But now Carl is at a different school and both are struggling. Their friendship is being tested by all sorts of new problems - not least love. Sylvie has always thought that she and Carl would marry, but all of a sudden, things aren't so simple. Carl is acting strange, and won't talk to her.

Both are in love - but it's not the right sort of love for Sylvie.

I actually cried while reading this book, it was heartbreaking, I wanted to hold both characters and make it all better for them. I don't want to give any endings away, because it was totally unexpected. Very sensitively handled too - you'll see what I mean when you read it.

The heartbreak of first love
Sylvie and Carl have been friends and neighbours since they were tiny children. They both went to the same school but recently Carl has gone to a grammar school. The two of them remain close and see each other daily. Carl is artistic, and has a hobby collecting glass. Sylvie's friendship for Carl has developed into love and she is convinced they will eventually marry. Life isn't so simple and this book goes into the heartache they both suffer because of first love.

Brilliant book and highly recommended.