When My Sister Started Kissing

Based on the title, you might think this book is about boys... and it is, but really, it is about sisters. Beautiful poetic lines and gorgeous descriptions fill these heartwarming pages with a story to which every girl with a sister just a little bit different than her can relate. Helen Frost is a storytelling genius and I was thrilled with this newest addition to her collection.

it is written beautifully and left me wanting more. definitely for 10 and up. highly recommend it. it has an amazing message and helps get kids ready for teen years

Sisters Claire and Abi have been going to their family’s lake house since they were born. After their mother died, her things were kept just the way she had left them at the lake house: her chair at the window, books on the shelves and a painting on the easel. Now everything is different. Their father has married Pam and their mother’s things have been moved from the house. Pam is pregnant and the baby should come during their time at the lake. Claire discovers that Abi is changing too. Abi is interested in boys and starts to sneak off to meet them, involving Claire in her lies. Claire finds herself alone on the lake often, trying to figure out what all of this change means for her family.Frost is a master of the verse novel, and this book is a great example of her skill and heart. She plays with formats for her poetry, using different types of poems and different structures for the various voices. The book is told not only by Claire and Abi but by the lake itself, and those poems are my favorites. They have embedded sentences using the bolded letters either at the beginning or ends of the poetic lines. It turns reading them into a puzzle that leads to discovery, rather like Claire’s summer.The two sisters are dynamic characters. Abi’s interest in boys is seen as natural and normal, and so is her pushing the boundaries. Organic progression is made in Claire’s relationship with Pam, positivity slowly moving in to replace the wariness. Claire is a girl who is brave and wonderfully written. She has fears but overcomes them and never stops trying.A beautiful verse novel that captures summer days on a lake and a family becoming stronger. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Claire always loved spending summers at her family's lake house. She felt close to her late mother there, but this year is different. Her father and new stepmother Pam have cleared out all of her mother's belongings. They are expecting a baby and for them a new and exciting period has started. Claire hopes to find support with her sister Abi, but Abi has other things on her mind. She has just discovered that boys are liking her back and she regularly sneaks out to be with someone she finds more interesting than her sister. Claire spends a lot of time on her own and keeps having to cover up for Abi. Claire is feeling lonely and left out, but is this really justified or are her own actions also part of the problem? Will her summer be a disaster or will she be able to have fun in a different way by giving new experiences a chance?Claire and Abi were always really close, but Abi is older and she's discovered boys. Pam is someone Abi can learn from, while Claire doesn't want to have anything to do with her. That's a fantastic subject for a story. I could easily feel Claire's pain and frustration. Everything and everyone around her is changing and she desperately wants things to remain the same, because she misses her mother and doesn't want to let go of the past. I loved the way Helen Frost explores her feelings. Claire is more sensitive than her sister and this gives quite a bit of friction, but there's a lot of love as well, which is the first step towards making things right. I love books about siblings and When My Sister Started Kissing is definitely a good one.When My Sister Started Kissing is an impressive story about growing up. I was immediately mesmerized by Helen Frost's beautiful words. Her writing is absolutely stunning. I love stories in verse and I liked that she's given each character she writes about their own form. It brings variety and the structure is clear and interesting. Because of the way she writes her story is deep and meaningful, which is something I loved about it. When My Sister Started Kissing is a gorgeous story about change, grief, hope and happiness. I really enjoyed reading this fantastic book.