[Review] Split by a Kiss by Luisa Plaja

Review - Split by a Kiss by Luisa Plaja
I finished this book in one day, the story was so compelling that I didn't want to go to sleep without having finished it!

Blurb: Jo has never been one of the popular kids...until she moves to the USA. Suddenly the coolest girls at her new high school adopt her, and the hottest boy, Jake Matthews, notices her. But when Jake picks her as his partner in the kissing game Seven Minutes in Heaven, it's not half as heavenly as she imagined!
Jo has a choice: should she carry on with Jake for guaranteed popularity- or should she tell him where to get off and risk losing her new friends ... ?
At ths moment- Jo splits. She's Josie the Cool - girlfriend of Jake, member of the in-crowd. But she's also Jo the Nerd - rejected by the It girls, single ... ordinary.
Will her two halves ever come together again?

Review: This book is pretty much everything you'd expect it to be-- a funny, engagingly witty read about a girl who is warped into some sort of Freaky Friday situation. I liked the format of the book- the two narratives "Josie the Cool" and "Jo the Nerd"- was original, and I really enjoyed that. Plaja switched back and forth between both voices/stories smoothly, and I was waiting for a moment where something wouldn't quite fit, but- alack, I could find none. While the magical concept of splitting into two selves, who are at different places at the same time, is impossible, the issues and themes that are addressed are very much relatable to many teenage girls (and boys).

Also, relative to its context and form, the writing fits in very nicely. I found myself thrown with so many emotions- this book made me laugh, smile, tear up and just plain angry- in a good way, of course. That is a sign of a great writer. More on the format of the novel, the short chapters/parts make for easy reading. You can read it on a train, over a short 10 minute period before going to sleep, in the bathroom (although I'm personally not a fan of taking books into the bathroom-- wet books are not good!). For me, this is an important thing for a YA novel, as I don't want to be halfway through a chapter, get bored, and then forget what I'm up to, sigh, and start the chapter over again.

Luisa Plaja writes with an honest voice that rings so true to what is addressed. I would recommend this book to be read by all ages, though it should be noted that there are several sexual references, but nothing too descriptive. Probably a PG-13 rating, though the standards seem to be changing, and for all I know a ten-year old might be comfortable reading this, I would have no idea. When I was ten, I read books about animals. :P

Rating: 4.5/5
I've got to go out and buy EXTREME KISSING someday. Plaja is wonderful. :)

Buy SPLIT BY A KISS by Luisa Plaja at Amazon, BookDepository.
Thanks Luisa Plaja for a free review copy! ♥~