Review: Who I Kissed – Janet Gurtler

She Never Thought A Kiss Could Kill. . .
Samantha is new at school and just recently joined the swim team. She’s been flirting with one of her teammates, Zee, who invites her to a party and just as quickly dumps her for another girl. Hurt, but pretending not to care, she turns to his best friend, Alex, and gives him a kiss. And he dies—right in her arms. Alex was allergic to peanuts, and Samantha had eaten a peanut butter sandwich right before the party. She didn’t know. Overnight, Samantha turns into the school pariah and a media sensation explodes. Consumed with guilt, abandoned by her friends, and in jeopardy of losing her swimming scholarship, she will have to find the inner-strength to forgive herself for the tragedy.

Series:
Release Date:  October 1, 2012
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Fire
Source:  NetGalley
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Reviewer’s Thoughts:

Talk about a book that makes you think.  Who would have thought a seemingly harmless kiss would lead to death, ridicule and a family to finally to speak about the past?  This wasn’t your typical YA book full of teenage angst about who loves who and why it isn’t it.

Samantha is the new girl at school, trying to fit in while finding her place on the swim team that will hopefully get her into a good college.  While she doesn’t have many friends, she count two of her teammates amongst her friends, secretly wishing for a little more with Zee.  It’s because of Zee that at a party she kisses his friend Alex and is labeled is killer when an asthma attack results in his death.

Your heart really goes out to Sam.  She is devastated to think that the PB&J sandwich she had as a snack before going to the party resulted in Alex’s death.  She feels she deserves all the labels and names her classmates give her.  She may hide herself away in her room, but her father and aunt take steps to help Sam come to grips with what happened and also understand her mother’s life, something she had been missing before this.

With peanut allergies becoming more common place in schools, this story brought forth how important it is for everyone to understand exactly what having the peanut allergy means.  Prior to reading this story, it was something that I didn’t pay much attention to (since my kids don’t have it), but this did force me to have a conversation with my kids to understand just what could happen.

A wonderful though provoking read.