Kissing Ted Callahan (And Other Guys)

by Amy Spalding

After catching their bandmates in a compromising position, sixteen-year-old Los Angelenos Riley and Reid become painfully aware of the romance missing from their own lives. And so a pact is formed: they'll both try to make something happen with their respective crushes and document the experiences in a shared notebook.

While Reid struggles with the moral dilemma of adopting a dog to win over someone's heart, Riley tries to make progress with Ted Callahan, who she's been obsessed with forever-His floppy hair! His undeniable intelligence! But suddenly cute guys are popping up everywhere. How did she never notice them before?! With their love lives going from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye, Riley and Reid realize the results of their pact may be more than they bargained for.

• ISBN10: 0316371521
• ISBN13: 9780316371520
• Publish Date: 30 July 2015 (first published 10 March 2015)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 5 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
• Imprint: Poppy
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

The description for Kissing Ted Callahan had me at "shared notebook." Nothing good can come from sharing a secret notebook with a friend! Nothing! Well, sadly, the notebook drama is just the last 30ish pages, and it wasn't very interesting or dramatic. I suppose, in a way I'm glad that it didn't become some huge blowout, but I did wish it had played a larger role in the story so chaos and hijinks could ensue. As it was, it was just two very annoying characters documenting their dating trials and successes, and being crappy friends.

I was immediately annoyed by Riley. Kissing Ted Callahan alternates between her narration and then excerpts from her and Reid's notebook. Riley's narration is so rambly and all over the place. I think this was meant to make her more personable, since I'm sure most of us don't think in nice, proper, calm sentences all the time. But I just didn't like it. It was like she was yelling at me all the time, and OMG THE SHOUTY CAPS!!!! Sometimes the type would be normal and she'll say that she shouted or yelled or whatever, but then other times it was BRING ON THE SHOUTY CAPS!!! Stop!

Riley is also a really terrible friend. Lucy is her best friend and band-mate, but she spends most of the book avoiding her for no reason. She also lies to her (and others) about things that don't even matter. Not that lying about things that do matter is okay, especially when it's to something who does matter to you. For example, Lucy asks to hang out, and Riley lies by saying she's hanging out with Reid, when in fact she has family night. Wouldn't your bestest friend understand that you have family night? Later Riley wishes she had someone to talk to about everything that was going on, but that she and Lucy don't have that kind of friendship anymore. That's because she's ignoring her phone calls and at one point wishes they went to a larger school so she could more easily avoid her. What is your problem?!

Then there's the romances. Kissing Ted Callahan, of course, has Riley and her crush Ted, but there's also Riley and Garrick, and Riley and Milo. I actually really liked how Riley dating around was handled. There's nothing wrong with seeing multiple people as long as you're not committed to someone and going behind their back. Garrick and Milo are quite understanding about not being the one when Riley comes clean at the end, which I thought was great! No judgement! Ted on the other hand, is the one who gets hurt by this. He is such a sweetie and I really enjoyed him and Riley coming together. Except for when she's SHOUTY CAPPING at me about him.

Kissing Ted Callahan was just kind of okay for me. I liked how the romantic aspects were handled, but the friendships were an epic failure. Riley was just an annoying and frustrating person. It can't even be said that she was getting too caught up in dating for the first time, which is why she pushed her friend aside. She literally is avoiding her because. Reid was also very annoying, and I absolutely hated how one of his tips for getting a guy to like a girl is "Don't be ugly." Real nice.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.