Publisher:
Catnip
Release
Date: 10th
July 2014
Edition:
UK manuscript
proof, review copy
Other
Titles by this Author: Della
Says OMG!, Jessie
Hearts NYC, Emma
Hearts LA, As
Delightful as a Carrot
The
first in a new series by much-loved teen author Keris Stainton.
Sometimes
the greatest love stories happen behind the scenes...
Kitty’s
keeping secrets. Like how she’s struggling to cope with her mum’s illness. And
how she’s falling for the girl with the purple-red hair... A fun film
competition with ehr friends Sunny and Hannah seems like the perfect
distraction. But then Dylan wants to be more than Kitty’s secret. Is Kitty
ready to let her two worlds meet or will she risk losing Dylan forever?
I’m a huge fan of Keris’s
novels. They’re cute, warm and full of heart; Starring Kitty is no exception.
Kitty has a huge crush. A blush-inducing,
babble-causing, mind-bending crush. Kitty has seen Dylan around and she lives
next to Kitty’s nan. I loved watching Kitty grow more confident with Dylan –
starting with managing to speak full sentences, of course – and grow out of her
crush into genuine affection. I really enjoyed how Kitty was more freaked out
by what other people would think about Kitty liking girls than her liking girls
in the first place – it’s a take on discovering your sexuality I hadn’t come
across before.
In the UKYA blogosphere Keris
is known for her championing of feminism and all things girl-power, and this
thread runs through Starring Kitty as
well. It’s wound through the novel in a subtle and unassuming way that just
underpins common sense and how fourteen-year-old girls should react to boys
making lewd comments at them and boys dumping them because they won’t go
further than they’re comfortable with. It’s the way feminism should be
portrayed - as a given, as a natural response.
All of this is happening while
Kitty, Sunny and Hannah are organising and filming for a community competition
to win a London film course. There idea for the film was absolutely brilliant –
I’d watch it! Filming and editing videos is something I’d really like to try my
hand at, being firmly behind the camera,
of course. Starring Kitty made
me genuinely want to look into it, even though I know absolutely nothing about
it and I’m a terrible photographer so we’ll see...
Starring
Kitty is the
first book in what is looking like a wonderful new series.
Thanks to Keris for sending me
an early copy for review.
Sophie
This sounds so good and it's Keris so of course I want to read it badly! Great review :)
ReplyDeleteI really really enjoyed this book, even more than I thought I would! I loved Kitty, especially the way she worries about whether what she is saying is stupid. I especially loved her family, her teasing brother Tom, sweet little Grace, and her parents both struggling to know exactly what to tell their children.
ReplyDeleteThank you Keris Stainton, for another utterly delightful story. Now I just need a time machine so that I can read the next books sooner!
Gretta Hewson
Asbestos Lawyers Pearland