Product Description

Jo has just moved to America with her mum. She's always been a fairly average girl - not a nerd but certainly never one of the popular kids. But on her first day in her new school, she seems to be adopted by the It girls - and is invited to one of their parties. There, she meets Jake Matthews, officially the hottest boy in school, and when they begin to play the kissing-in-the-closet game, Seven Minutes in Heaven, amazingly Jake picks Jo join him in the closet! She can't believe her luck. But the reality of being kissed and groped by Jake is not quite as great as the fantasy...Jo has a choice to make: should she carry on, kiss Jake and secure her position in the It crowd - or should she tell him where to get off and risk relegation back to the land of the ordinary ...? At this moment - Jo splits. She's Josie the Cool - girlfriend of Jake, member of the It crowd. She's also Jo the Nerd - rejected by the It crowd, single ...Will her two halves ever come back together again? Is Jake the guy she's meant to be with or could some of the other people she meets along her journey - Rachel the scary goth, David the misfit or Albie the rocker - be the answer? A fabulously inventive, heartwarming and funny take on the Sliding Doors idea, for teen readers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #91392 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Luisa Plaja lives in Devon with her husband and two young children. She is a huge fan of teenage chick-lit. This is her first novel.

Customer Reviews

UK Teen Fiction at its Best!
Firstly, any author who mentions Buffy the Vampire Slayer in their book will immediately get my attention. And Snow Patrol too, for that matter. Thumbs up for that, Luisa!

Split by a Kiss is like a cross between the movies Sliding Doors and Mean Girls. It's fun, original and very hard to put down.

Jo/Josie has a brilliant voice, and reminded me of Georgia Nicolson from the Angus, Thongs... series. She's funny, honest and is your typical sixteen year old girl. I laughed out loud quite a few times, especially at some of her UK to US vocabulary mistakes. Speaking of US to UK, this aspect of the book is one of the things I liked most. It's interesting to learn about the different phrases and words that each country uses to describe the same thing: for example, 'closet' and 'cupboard'.

All the characters are likeable and realistic, especially Tori (the nice mean girl), Albie (Tori's lovely brother) and Chelsea (rich bitch clique leader). I won't spoil the plot, but I was very happy to see who Jo ended up with. I think I may have clapped at the end, or something along those lines. That's how much I wanted her to end up with the character-that-can't-be-named.

I like how the story has been left open, and I would love to know what happens to the characters in the future. I also liked the sneaky hint about the voodoo doll, and the possibility that it could have been the cause of Jo's split. Very clever.

If you're a fan of Louise Rennison or Liz Rettig, then you should enjoy reading this book. Split by a Kiss has reminded me why I love UK teen fiction, and I am now eagerly awaiting Luisa's next novel, Extreme Kissing, which is being published this April. It sounds great!

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
How cool would it be to move to another country and be able to reinvent yourself? When Josephine's mom first tells her that they're moving from England to the USA for a year for a job contract, Josephine thinks she doesn't want to go. But the more she thinks about it, she figures, what does she have to lose? She and her friend, Hailey, aren't part of the popular crowd. Her father is remarried. Why not go for it?

So Josephine (or Josie or Jo...) and her mom pack up and move to a Boston suburb. On the first day of school, Josie asks this Goth-looking girl where the principal's office is. She runs into the same girl at lunch and asks if she can join her. The girl tells her to get lost. Upon hearing the rejection, Josie turns around and notices that a group of popular girls are headed straight towards her. They inform Josie that she best avoid Rachel the Freak and join them at their table. There begins a fragile friendship.

After the first week of school, one of Josie's new friends, Tori, invites her to a party. The party changes everything for Josie. During a game of Seven Minutes in Heaven, Josie is selected by the IT guy, Jake Matthews. While in the closet, Jake gets a little too friendly. At this point, the story splits in two...literally.

Two different girls come out of the closet. The first storyline follows Josie after accepting Jake's advances, and ultimately being welcomed into the popular group. The second storyline makes Jo out to be a loser for not realizing how lucky she would've been had she accepted Jake.

The story unfolds, alternating between the Cool Josie and the Nerdy Jo. The book spirals to a conclusion that brings the two halves back to one whole. But which personality will win out?

Ms. Plaja creates a unique story based on the age old "What If" dilemma. If Josephine becomes Jake's girlfriend, will she be popular and happy? If she tells off Jake for his roaming hands, will she be left out in the cold and end up miserable? Josephine doesn't realize that she can be happy if she just accepts who she is and is happy with the life she has. The story is surprisingly easy to follow, even with the two concurrent storylines. The print changes for each personality of Josephine. And if that's not clear enough to the reader, the author designates the cool Josie with lips and the nerdy Jo with eye glasses.

I adore the movie Sliding Doors, which is based on the same concept. So it was a treat to read a story that uses the same idea. There are some strong characters through both storylines and the reader is rooting for them as well as Josephine for the right conclusion.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Fun Fun Fun!
The best thing about the book is that it looks at the good and bad about any teen's life - whether you're popular or not, whether you're British, American...male, female...

There's really something everyone can identify in this - as well as the fact it's a warm, fantastic read, full of teen-fun, teen-angst and everything else you need in a perfect young adult book....

I can totally recommend it.