Kiss and Repeat

Gr 9 Up–Despite his name, white teen Stephen Luckie never feels lucky, especially in the romance department. After all, he lives in a small town and is the minister’s son. Added to that, he has Tourette syndrome, so he thinks he doesn’t have a chance with any of the girls at school. However, after playing Spin the Bottle at a party, Stephen realizes that when he’s kissing a girl, his physical tics go away. He sets out to test his hypothesis by kissing as many girls as possible. What seems like a fun experiment changes Stephen as he begins to reflect on his treatment of girls and his own beliefs about himself. Stephen is a richly developed character who dispels many misconceptions about Tourette’s. However, for a character-driven story, the many supporting characters are flat and underdeveloped. Some readers may find the plot resolutions unsatisfactory as it’s hard to connect with characters other than Stephen.