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The Kid Table
Ingrid Bell and her five teenage cousins are such a close-knit group that they don't really mind sitting at the kid table―even if they have to share it with a four-year-old. But then Brianne, the oldest cousin, lands a seat at the adult table and leaves her cousins shocked and confused. What does it take to graduate from the kid table?
Over the course of five family events, Ingrid chronicles the coming-of-age of her generation. Her cousins each grapple with growing pains, but it is Ingrid who truly struggles as she considers what it means to grow up. When first love comes in the form of first betrayal (he's Brianne's boyfriend), Ingrid is forced to question her own personality and how she fits into her family. The cousins each take their own path toward graduating into adulthood―only to realize that maybe the kid table was where they wanted to be all along.
Almost a reverse coming-of-age, this touching and hilariously funny novel will appeal to any reader who has sat at the kid table . . . or is still sitting there!
Over the course of five family events, Ingrid chronicles the coming-of-age of her generation. Her cousins each grapple with growing pains, but it is Ingrid who truly struggles as she considers what it means to grow up. When first love comes in the form of first betrayal (he's Brianne's boyfriend), Ingrid is forced to question her own personality and how she fits into her family. The cousins each take their own path toward graduating into adulthood―only to realize that maybe the kid table was where they wanted to be all along.
Almost a reverse coming-of-age, this touching and hilariously funny novel will appeal to any reader who has sat at the kid table . . . or is still sitting there!
320 pages, Hardcover
First published August 2, 2010
15 people are currently reading
560 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Seigel
9 books98 followersANDREA SEIGEL is the author of two novels for adults, Like the Red Panda and To Feel Stuff, as well as the YA novel, The Kid Table, and the forthcoming YA novel, Everybody Knows Your Name, co-written with Brent Bradshaw. In September 2014 A24 will release the film Laggies, written by Seigel, directed by Lynn Shelton, and starring Keira Knightley, Chloe Moretz, and Sam Rockwell.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
October 7, 2010
Meh-- great premise, haphazard execution.
7 only children, cousins & 2nd cousins to one another, are followed over the course of a year at various family events. It read like she was checking items off a list: anorexia introduced, anorexia solved; alcoholism introduced, alcoholism solved; coming out issues introduced, coming out issues solved.
Reading other reviews, folks seem to be quite fond of this author. Perhaps if I had started with something else, I would have felt differently about this. But I don't.
7 only children, cousins & 2nd cousins to one another, are followed over the course of a year at various family events. It read like she was checking items off a list: anorexia introduced, anorexia solved; alcoholism introduced, alcoholism solved; coming out issues introduced, coming out issues solved.
Reading other reviews, folks seem to be quite fond of this author. Perhaps if I had started with something else, I would have felt differently about this. But I don't.
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October 25, 2018The premise was appealing; a teenage girl and her five cousins, members of a HUGE family, want to figure out a way to quit being stuck at the Kid Table during family events. I did not get past chapter two after beginning to read. By that point, the F-word had already been used, and two teenage girls were discussing their sexual experiences as casually as they might discuss shopping. I know this is labeled a Y.A. book, but there are plenty of other books for teen readers that are far better quality. I will not be recommending this one.
January 18, 2011
This is a very unusual and quirky coming of age novel. Ingrid Bell and her 5 teenage cousins are always stuck at the kid table during family events. Framing this story are 5 family events that bring Ingrid and her cousins together. Ingrid tells the story in first person narrative and she is quite a unique character, to say the least. Ingrid tends to see things from a very detached perspective, not wearing her emotions on her sleeve. She also is quite good at manipulating others to get what she wants or to deflect them from getting too close. She makes reference to what she calls a “terrible grin” inside her; a response that is an automatic way of pretending that everything will be ok, when, in fact, it is not. Her detachment has not gone unobserved by her oldest cousin, Brianne, who is taking psychology in college and has branded Ingrid as a “psychopath” in the making. Although Brianne is often ridiculous in her “assessment” of Ingrid, there is truth at the core of what she says. There is something really disturbing about Ingrid. Her detachment is disturbing and very disquieting. Even when she becomes involved with Brianne’s boyfriend, there is something cold at the center of her relationship. She protests that she does have emotions, but I think she is an unreliable narrator most of the time in that regard. But who knows what she is really thinking? We only know what she cares to reveal. And that isn’t much.
This novel reminds me of an indie film. It is clever, sophisticated and witty, but I am really bothered by Ingrid. She seems to have no core. The other characters seem to come from an quirky indie movie too: there is Dom, the gay character who is waiting for the right moment to come out; Trevor, the indie boyfriend who vacillates between Brianne and Ingrid; and Cricket, the cousin with an eating disorder.
There are many things that I enjoyed about this novel. I enjoyed the flip in the novel, bringing the teens to adulthood and the adults back to behaving like kids. I liked how the story was framed around the family events. It was very funny in places, with lots of black humor. But I keep coming back to Ingrid and to a lesser extent, the other characters. Are they true? Or are they manufactured to tell a very funny oddball kind of story.
This novel reminds me of an indie film. It is clever, sophisticated and witty, but I am really bothered by Ingrid. She seems to have no core. The other characters seem to come from an quirky indie movie too: there is Dom, the gay character who is waiting for the right moment to come out; Trevor, the indie boyfriend who vacillates between Brianne and Ingrid; and Cricket, the cousin with an eating disorder.
There are many things that I enjoyed about this novel. I enjoyed the flip in the novel, bringing the teens to adulthood and the adults back to behaving like kids. I liked how the story was framed around the family events. It was very funny in places, with lots of black humor. But I keep coming back to Ingrid and to a lesser extent, the other characters. Are they true? Or are they manufactured to tell a very funny oddball kind of story.
September 26, 2010
I'm not sure what qualifies as "young adult" these days, since some of my favorite traditionally adult writers can now be found embracing this genre (e.g. Sherman Alexie), and forty-year-olds now await the release of the next Harry Potter or Twilight book as eagerly as their very own children. Whatever the case, Seigel's third novel is her best yet. You won't find any vampires or Quidditch rulebooks here, just Ingrid, a wise-beyond-her-years teenager who is grappling with the usual growing pains of becoming a young adult in contemporary Los Angeles. Seigel cleverly frames Ingrid's story over the course of a year at five family celebrations, and central to each is the Kid Table, where she and her cousins have been exiled since early childhood. If you've ever sat there, wondering what separated you from the adults, you'll cherish this novel. Although the conventional teenage issues are served up here (dysfunctional families, alcoholism, eating disorders, homosexuality), Ingrid's point of view are fresh and engaging. Dorothy Parker had her own round table, and Ingrid rules her as well with a voice that never seems heavy or precocious like some coming-of-age narrators. I'm not a typical reader of young adult fiction (and Seigel's two previous novels were marketed as adult) but this is her most mature and appealing work yet. I'm not sure what it says about our culture that the line between adult/young adult continues to blur--perhaps adolescents are now being forced to grow up now faster than ever and adults are becoming increasingly nostalgic for what we never really got to experience the first time. At any rate, this book is a must for any fan of her previous novels. If you like movies by Noah Baumbach (Squid and the Whale, etc) you'll love this.
January 3, 2011
I liked this book a lot. A LOT! I read it in two sittings...about 2/3 of it in one night, and the rest the next. Normally, I don't write a lot of reviews, but I feel like I have something to say about this one.
First off, the whole time I was reading it, it seemed like an adult book to me, not young adult, so I wasn't too surprised to find out at the end that the author writes for adults and this was her first YA. I actually think maybe it was mis-marketed as a YA. Using that tried and true convention of having an older character look back in time at the very beginning of the book, it could've probably been an adult novel. And I think adults would identify with it much more than teens. I have a few adults I'll recommend it to, but I can't imagine any of my teen reader friends really getting into it.
That said, if you're an adult, and you ever sat at the kids table, you will probably like this book a lot! It's funny, and surprising, and the structure is quite inventive. It made me think about my cousins and our relationships and how I kind of wished I'd thought of writing a book about the kids table.
I probably would've given it five stars, but I found the writing a bit uneven at times...had to go back and reread things to follow what was going on. This could be simply because it was an ARC too though, I don't know. Also, there was a character named Brit and one named Brianne and I kept getting them mixed up because of the similarity of their names (there are a LOT of characters though, and for the most part, they're fairly easy to keep track of). Anyway, I do recommend it. The characters are well drawn and interesting, it's funny, and a bit unusual.
First off, the whole time I was reading it, it seemed like an adult book to me, not young adult, so I wasn't too surprised to find out at the end that the author writes for adults and this was her first YA. I actually think maybe it was mis-marketed as a YA. Using that tried and true convention of having an older character look back in time at the very beginning of the book, it could've probably been an adult novel. And I think adults would identify with it much more than teens. I have a few adults I'll recommend it to, but I can't imagine any of my teen reader friends really getting into it.
That said, if you're an adult, and you ever sat at the kids table, you will probably like this book a lot! It's funny, and surprising, and the structure is quite inventive. It made me think about my cousins and our relationships and how I kind of wished I'd thought of writing a book about the kids table.
I probably would've given it five stars, but I found the writing a bit uneven at times...had to go back and reread things to follow what was going on. This could be simply because it was an ARC too though, I don't know. Also, there was a character named Brit and one named Brianne and I kept getting them mixed up because of the similarity of their names (there are a LOT of characters though, and for the most part, they're fairly easy to keep track of). Anyway, I do recommend it. The characters are well drawn and interesting, it's funny, and a bit unusual.
September 26, 2010
Andrea Seigel has a way of writing from the perspective of young women that is refreshingly real and like no one else I've read before. Her characters are flawed, but oh-so-likable. I relate to them in ways that actually make me feel a little uncomfortable. More uncomfortable still, her characters are far wittier than I am, quick on their feet, , wry, intelligent, and uniquely themselves. Ingrid Bell, the protagonist of The Kid Table, is no exception. Her relationship with her cousins and the rest of her family is heartwarming, and - without giving too much away - her relationship with Trevor, the love interest in the book, made my heart squeeze. The story was deftly plotted; it was remarkable to see all the different elements of the story come together. Flat out, it was a highly satisfying read.
June 19, 2010
I saved it for the plane to DC. Can't wait to devour it today!
.... later, after finishing: Hooray! Andrea has done it again. Smart, funny characters who take you along for their ride without worrying you aren't keeping up. Pop culture fun with a teenaged cast of family members who know each other so well they have no choice but to almost destroy each other's lives. I can't wait to send a copy to my favorite 15-year old.
.... later, after finishing: Hooray! Andrea has done it again. Smart, funny characters who take you along for their ride without worrying you aren't keeping up. Pop culture fun with a teenaged cast of family members who know each other so well they have no choice but to almost destroy each other's lives. I can't wait to send a copy to my favorite 15-year old.
April 1, 2021
I don't really know what to make of this book. I checked it out from the library because the cover was one I passed over a bunch of times over the years and various trips but never picked it up. After reading the blurb, it sounded pretty similar to a movie I really enjoy, This Is Where I Leave You . However, the large family element was the only similarity. While the film is thoughtful and makes you care about the characters, this novel pretty much did the opposite of that.
I found Ingrid to be incredibly detached from every situation and even her own emotions, which made it hard to care about anything that was happening in the novel. I would have massively preferred if the novel had multiple viewpoints rather than just Ingrid's as that may have fleshed out everybody else. It was hard to care about anything or anyone because the narrative was quite matter-of-fact. I think this was due in part to the age of the novel and Ingrid's characterization.
I wouldn't recommend this title at the end of the day, but who is really looking for books published in 2010 11 years later? Very cool premise, lackluster execution. 2/5
I found Ingrid to be incredibly detached from every situation and even her own emotions, which made it hard to care about anything that was happening in the novel. I would have massively preferred if the novel had multiple viewpoints rather than just Ingrid's as that may have fleshed out everybody else. It was hard to care about anything or anyone because the narrative was quite matter-of-fact. I think this was due in part to the age of the novel and Ingrid's characterization.
I wouldn't recommend this title at the end of the day, but who is really looking for books published in 2010 11 years later? Very cool premise, lackluster execution. 2/5
October 26, 2012
I’ve always loved reading Andrea Seigel’s work for her style and worldview, one which recognizes life’s absurdities and longs for connection in spite of it all. Reading this book, I realized she also has a habit of writing farcical situations in wryly observed, realistic detail. It’s like David Copperfield suddenly deciding to do close-up magic, maybe.
For example, there’s a scene in The Kid Table in which narrator Ingrid’s cousin Dom recounts what he may need to do to a hot bartender dressed as Baby New Year in order to finally out himself to the extended family: “‘Shake a bottle, pop it open, spray it all over his bare chest, then lick—-’” Then Ingrid’s love interest makes a surprise entrance and, she tells us, “The pause was so abrupt, it was like the k in his last word lost a leg.’”
The story of a charming high school senior who keeps people at arm’s length—-nothing personal, she just gets through difficult moments by mentally transporting herself to a less difficult future—-The Kid Table is full of interruptions, pratfalls and puns. But it reads like a book that would hate all of those things. And the combination kind of works. Does that make sense?
The structure is a series of five family gatherings, which serves Seigel’s style perfectly. Holidays are the times when traditions are hyperbolic and expectations are high, and, accordingly, disappointments are big. But real emotions squeeze through, in spite of or because of all the ridiculousness. In other words, holidays are a lot like the experience of being a teenager.
I didn’t always think this book was crafted as well as it could be. Ingrid and her cousins’ coming-of-age arcs sometimes feel forced, although I admire Seigel for writing a protagonist other than some mousy-but-beautiful nerd who blossoms in the arms of a mysterious, brooding boy (Ingrid’s problem is that she’s too charming, if anything). For all Ingrid’s complexity, the rest of the characters are fairly one-dimensional, if expertly described: the scrapbooking mom, the anorexic cousin, the gay cousin (who’s also into vintage sci fi, just so we know that he’s not a gay stereotype). Nevertheless, the book is a different and welcome addition to the YA genre, and I couldn’t put it down.
For example, there’s a scene in The Kid Table in which narrator Ingrid’s cousin Dom recounts what he may need to do to a hot bartender dressed as Baby New Year in order to finally out himself to the extended family: “‘Shake a bottle, pop it open, spray it all over his bare chest, then lick—-’” Then Ingrid’s love interest makes a surprise entrance and, she tells us, “The pause was so abrupt, it was like the k in his last word lost a leg.’”
The story of a charming high school senior who keeps people at arm’s length—-nothing personal, she just gets through difficult moments by mentally transporting herself to a less difficult future—-The Kid Table is full of interruptions, pratfalls and puns. But it reads like a book that would hate all of those things. And the combination kind of works. Does that make sense?
The structure is a series of five family gatherings, which serves Seigel’s style perfectly. Holidays are the times when traditions are hyperbolic and expectations are high, and, accordingly, disappointments are big. But real emotions squeeze through, in spite of or because of all the ridiculousness. In other words, holidays are a lot like the experience of being a teenager.
I didn’t always think this book was crafted as well as it could be. Ingrid and her cousins’ coming-of-age arcs sometimes feel forced, although I admire Seigel for writing a protagonist other than some mousy-but-beautiful nerd who blossoms in the arms of a mysterious, brooding boy (Ingrid’s problem is that she’s too charming, if anything). For all Ingrid’s complexity, the rest of the characters are fairly one-dimensional, if expertly described: the scrapbooking mom, the anorexic cousin, the gay cousin (who’s also into vintage sci fi, just so we know that he’s not a gay stereotype). Nevertheless, the book is a different and welcome addition to the YA genre, and I couldn’t put it down.
April 14, 2011
Ingrid, a teenager meets an older guy, Trevor at her family party. She wonders why he is there because her family tends to get a little crazy at times, and because he seems like a good, regular guy. Ingrid really likes him, until she finds out that Trevor is her oldest cousin, Brianne’s boyfriend. What makes it worse is that Ingrid doesn’t really like Brianne. Besides Ingrid liking Trevor and not knowing what to do while he is around at her family gatherings, this book is about Ingrid and her cousins. All of the cousins except Brianne and Katie want to stop eating at the kid table, and would do anything to find out. Brianne doesn’t sit at that table anymore, because she is a “grown-up,” in college, or has a boyfriend, and Katie is too young to know she is sitting at the kid table. While reading this book, you find out the problems that each cousin is dealing with in their own life.
The plot a little interesting and to me, the author didn’t do that great on the main conflict, which I think is Ingrid liking Trevor. I felt that there could be more drama in it, but the topic of the book is something I wish I wrote about if I wrote a book. I think that this book is a book all adults should read. Because this is exactly how I felt when I would go to my family parties and there would be a kid table. This concept of a kid table is something that I think all kids hate. I would recommend this book to adults that have children, and/or nieces/nephews, and I might recommend this book to other teenagers.
The plot a little interesting and to me, the author didn’t do that great on the main conflict, which I think is Ingrid liking Trevor. I felt that there could be more drama in it, but the topic of the book is something I wish I wrote about if I wrote a book. I think that this book is a book all adults should read. Because this is exactly how I felt when I would go to my family parties and there would be a kid table. This concept of a kid table is something that I think all kids hate. I would recommend this book to adults that have children, and/or nieces/nephews, and I might recommend this book to other teenagers.
October 15, 2010
This book was wonderful and crazy! In the beginning I was a little confused because I didn't know how old Ingrid was and there were so many characters. I later learned by reading the acknowledgments that Andrea put a family tree of her characters in the beginning of the book because her dad disliked how many characters her books have. It was actually a big help and referred to it multiple times.
This book made me think of my family and always being at "The Kid Table" when we were all younger. I have a large family as does Ingrid does, and it was always best when the kids sat together, but when one of them got to sit at the big table as we called it, it felt like a piece was missing at the little table. This is portrayed in the book as well through one of the characters.
I thought Ingrid was really the glue of the family. She was tough and always helped others and tried to figure out what was going on with her family. When her love interest popped up, I was really hesitant to like him and I didn't really like him throughout the entire book, but I think it's obvious why. The ending was the best, and I could tell it was going to be. Everything was leading up to it and it really tied the book together.
The Cover: I have to ARC version, but the finalized one that I have seen looks awesome! I love the color scheme and it's simple.
Ratings
Ending: 5 Stars
Cover: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars
This book made me think of my family and always being at "The Kid Table" when we were all younger. I have a large family as does Ingrid does, and it was always best when the kids sat together, but when one of them got to sit at the big table as we called it, it felt like a piece was missing at the little table. This is portrayed in the book as well through one of the characters.
I thought Ingrid was really the glue of the family. She was tough and always helped others and tried to figure out what was going on with her family. When her love interest popped up, I was really hesitant to like him and I didn't really like him throughout the entire book, but I think it's obvious why. The ending was the best, and I could tell it was going to be. Everything was leading up to it and it really tied the book together.
The Cover: I have to ARC version, but the finalized one that I have seen looks awesome! I love the color scheme and it's simple.
Ratings
Ending: 5 Stars
Cover: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars
December 24, 2011
The Kid Table has been there for generations, always there, and these kids always have to be there. They can't seem to get out of the table and treated like an kid with their relatives. It's weird because when I read this book, I was thinking that the adults in my family sit on the floor or "The Kid Table" while my cousins and big sister and I sit at a fancy big table or the so-called "The Adult Table". But for this book it featured a lot of things that made if seem NOT like YA at all. It's odd how it actually made it in. The ending most have the most interesting of them ALL because book sets in parts of each family event and the main character name who narrates is named Ingrid who most of the adults are convinced she is a psycho path. The ending because if there was a wedding at that really happened I would be laughing/fustrated that I had to attend some wedding at 9 in the morning and there wasn't any good food. Cheats and behind backs, this is one for gossiping.
August 26, 2010
Picked this up as an ARC from ALA, on the strength of her first book (Like the Red Panda) and hoping it would make up for the forgettable To Feel Stuff. Publisher said this is her first actual YA book.
And... meh. I enjoyed it, but it's nothing I feel compelled to add to my library's collection or recommend all that strongly. Story and pacing were good, characters were good, but I never really engaged with the book.
Also, this doesn't read like a teen book to me--more a book for 20-somethings.
And... meh. I enjoyed it, but it's nothing I feel compelled to add to my library's collection or recommend all that strongly. Story and pacing were good, characters were good, but I never really engaged with the book.
Also, this doesn't read like a teen book to me--more a book for 20-somethings.
May 7, 2011
slow start but got very interesting at the end!!
May 27, 2025
Well, that was weird.
Honestly, the main reason why I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is because the synopsis is so wrong. Totally misses the main points of the book. If I knew what to expect going into it, I'd probably have liked it more.
The good: I was hooked. I totally got into Ingrid's mind through the first-person POV, and I felt like I really understood her. I also really liked how each section was a different family get-together. It made sense for the setting.
The bad: the ending was pretty rushed. I really didn't know how it was going to go, and it just went nowhere.
The ugly: nothing really ugly here, just the synopsis making 0 sense. This is a book about a high schooler falling in love with her cousin's boyfriend, while her whole family is convinced she's a psychopath. The psychopath part was a major twist that started literally in the first chapter, so why isn't that really mentioned anywhere? Her ability to manipulate people and whether or not that makes her a psychopath is a huge part of the book, almost more than the romance.
I really thought this would be a heart-warming story about what it means to move on from the kid table and how to navigate that when one cousin is slightly older than the rest. That is absolutely not what this book is about.
This would be a great beach vacation book. It reads exactly like a dramatic YA movie, down to the unrealistic, overly-stylized dialogue. If that's what you're looking for, then this will definitely scratch that itch.
Honestly, the main reason why I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is because the synopsis is so wrong. Totally misses the main points of the book. If I knew what to expect going into it, I'd probably have liked it more.
The good: I was hooked. I totally got into Ingrid's mind through the first-person POV, and I felt like I really understood her. I also really liked how each section was a different family get-together. It made sense for the setting.
The bad: the ending was pretty rushed. I really didn't know how it was going to go, and it just went nowhere.
The ugly: nothing really ugly here, just the synopsis making 0 sense. This is a book about a high schooler falling in love with her cousin's boyfriend, while her whole family is convinced she's a psychopath. The psychopath part was a major twist that started literally in the first chapter, so why isn't that really mentioned anywhere? Her ability to manipulate people and whether or not that makes her a psychopath is a huge part of the book, almost more than the romance.
I really thought this would be a heart-warming story about what it means to move on from the kid table and how to navigate that when one cousin is slightly older than the rest. That is absolutely not what this book is about.
This would be a great beach vacation book. It reads exactly like a dramatic YA movie, down to the unrealistic, overly-stylized dialogue. If that's what you're looking for, then this will definitely scratch that itch.
October 27, 2025
"I'd come to the room for The Kid Table because it was the seating equivalent of a security blanket, the one place I could think of where relationships had always been mutually clear."
This book had been sitting on my shelves since Borders closed and I've taken it around with me because I love that cover!
3.5 Stars
I finally decided it was time to give it a read and I was not disappointed. When it first started I thought, 'Here we go, I'm gonna hate everybody. They're all self absorbed ass holes' but then I reminded myself how messy it can be at 18 and took a seat so the story could take me through the mess. And it was a mess but through the journey we are reminded how messy ALL relationships can be, not just those of our young Kid Table kids.
Through Ingrid we see all the highs and lows of family connections, the way they change and move. We see first love, old love and of course familial love and the lines that we may or may not be willing to cross for those we love. From bold declarations of love to the renewed love of some aunts and uncles, learning to self love, and of course thinking you're doing the right thing but it turns out to be the most fucked up thing you can do this book gives us one messy year of it all.
I can't say with certainty that I actually liked any of the main characters but I did care about them in the end...
This book had been sitting on my shelves since Borders closed and I've taken it around with me because I love that cover!
3.5 Stars
I finally decided it was time to give it a read and I was not disappointed. When it first started I thought, 'Here we go, I'm gonna hate everybody. They're all self absorbed ass holes' but then I reminded myself how messy it can be at 18 and took a seat so the story could take me through the mess. And it was a mess but through the journey we are reminded how messy ALL relationships can be, not just those of our young Kid Table kids.
Through Ingrid we see all the highs and lows of family connections, the way they change and move. We see first love, old love and of course familial love and the lines that we may or may not be willing to cross for those we love. From bold declarations of love to the renewed love of some aunts and uncles, learning to self love, and of course thinking you're doing the right thing but it turns out to be the most fucked up thing you can do this book gives us one messy year of it all.
I can't say with certainty that I actually liked any of the main characters but I did care about them in the end...
August 24, 2023
I’ve let this sit for a day and now I think I know what to say 3.5
I loved this concept and reading it was great though the issues where glossed over ( ED, parents fighting) I was still really happy.
I hated the ending I don’t like endings like that personally but whatever it’s what was written
It’s Trevor
He’s my problem
Ok yeah he’s cute and yeah he’s hot and handsome whatever but he knew he was flirting with his girlfriends cousin he knew
It was also Ingrid’s problem and stuff which I hate her for but I related to her so much I know a lot of people say they couldn’t connect and felt nothing for her but I did. I’ve thought about the fact I could be a psychopath I know I’m not because I’m way to emotional but I have my moments and that’s how I felt I could connect towards Ingrid
And last thing Brianna never finds out about Ingrid and Trevor like what the hell?!
None the less I still loved the book but these problems bumped it down for me
,Thank you
Edit: I read people didn’t like how many characters there where but I liked it. I like books with lots o people and a ton going on so.
I loved this concept and reading it was great though the issues where glossed over ( ED, parents fighting) I was still really happy.
I hated the ending I don’t like endings like that personally but whatever it’s what was written
It’s Trevor
He’s my problem
Ok yeah he’s cute and yeah he’s hot and handsome whatever but he knew he was flirting with his girlfriends cousin he knew
It was also Ingrid’s problem and stuff which I hate her for but I related to her so much I know a lot of people say they couldn’t connect and felt nothing for her but I did. I’ve thought about the fact I could be a psychopath I know I’m not because I’m way to emotional but I have my moments and that’s how I felt I could connect towards Ingrid
And last thing Brianna never finds out about Ingrid and Trevor like what the hell?!
None the less I still loved the book but these problems bumped it down for me
,Thank you
Edit: I read people didn’t like how many characters there where but I liked it. I like books with lots o people and a ton going on so.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2023
This is an odd book. It isn't bad as such but it feels like both a lot happens and not much happens at the same time. The major issues that occur seem to be resolved without any major fuss but maybe that's just the matter of fact way that Ingrid describes everything. She's so emotionally detached that, only seeing the other characters through her eyes, I felt like I barely knew them by the end. The conflict at the heart of the premise was weird as well. The synopsis talks about Ingrid's "first love" but it didn't feel like she loved him at all. More like she was attracted to and intrigued by him. Trevor was obviously a terrible person - at least Ingrid didn't know who he was when she first felt a connection and started flirting with him. He was obviously well aware that he was flirting with his girlfriend's cousin!
August 14, 2024
I would have enjoyed this book much more had I read it 4 to 5 years ago. Of course it's a YA novel, but the writing style was so YA that it felt like something I would have been assigned to read in middle school. Overall it wasn't a bad book but not really one I would recommend to readers over the age of 13.
The storyline was structured in a fun and unique way, (only telling the story through moments at family holidays), but the plot was fairly predictable. It wasn't until the last chapter something happened that I didn't see coming. Still a fun story and interesting characters to follow along with.
It was a bit of a slow start but picked up during the middle. However I wasn't a fan of the ending. The little plot twist was silly but there was really no elaboration after it's revealed. It isn't necessarily a cliffhanger but just a boring/ little to no conclusion.
The storyline was structured in a fun and unique way, (only telling the story through moments at family holidays), but the plot was fairly predictable. It wasn't until the last chapter something happened that I didn't see coming. Still a fun story and interesting characters to follow along with.
It was a bit of a slow start but picked up during the middle. However I wasn't a fan of the ending. The little plot twist was silly but there was really no elaboration after it's revealed. It isn't necessarily a cliffhanger but just a boring/ little to no conclusion.
August 31, 2023
A nostalgic read for me! This is at least my third time through it and each time I pick up on new things since I am older. I like the low stakes family drama of it all and LOVE a character tree. I thought Ingrid’s perspective was way different from any other teenage girl pov I’ve read and I really vibed w her life outlook. I also like the way the relationships with her cousins were portrayed and although we had ana and alcoholism and parental marriage issues as lowkey cheap and not super deep plot points they were handled well when analyzed through the lens of just a seventeen year old. Gotta name my next dog long john I think. Trevor was mid and I’m glad everyone ended up where they did. Gots to be purchasing this and rereading that copy instead of my library’s.
November 29, 2017
I wish I could be a part of this family!
December 5, 2017
Nicely written, premise was a little confusing but other than that an altogether enjoyable and well paced book.
October 27, 2018
This book is way too all over the place. I give up.
January 29, 2020
A very profound read
July 16, 2020
A lot of exposition, and a disappointing end make this novel suffer from the premise it tries to build.
June 13, 2021
the beginning and end were interesting, but as a whole i couldn't care about any of the characters except Cricket (who was barely in the story!)
February 20, 2022
reading this book is like coming home
February 8, 2023
really good, initially thought candy book
August 13, 2025
This is by far the worst book I’ve ever read. I feel like the ending was really rushed and didn’t have good closure. There was also a bunch of cursing and overall the story was pointless.
January 2, 2021
3.5 this book was really different. The main character and the “love interest” if you can even call him that are really messed up. It was an interesting read because these characters were not stereotypical and likable.
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