Review: Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler

Who I Kissed

By: Janet Gurtler

Pub. Date: October 1, 2012

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Pages: 320

Source: Netgalley

She never thought a kiss could kill…

Samantha didn’t mean to hurt anyone. She was just trying to fit in...and she wanted to make Zee a little jealous after he completely ditched her for a prettier girl. So she kissed Alex. And then he died—right in her arms.

Was she really the only person in the entire school who didn’t know about his peanut allergy? Or that eating a peanut butter sandwich and then kissing him would be deadly? Overnight Sam 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’ll have to find a way to forgive herself before anyone else will.

This is the first story that I have read from Janet Gurtler, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was a fast paced read, with great writing and awesome characters. When I first read the synopsis for Who I Kissed, I was interested to see how the storyline was going to play out, and I ended up loving every second of it!

Samantha begins her first day at a new school, and things become easier when she starts to make friends. She is even invited to a party by a super cute boy named Zee. At the party, Zee started talking to another girl, so she started talking to Alex, Zee's best friend. Sam and Alex are drinking and flirting and eventually they start kissing. All of a sudden Alex can't breath and he ends up dying. Turns out he has a nut allergy and before the party Sam ate a peanut butter sandwich. Consumed with guilt, Sam refuses to leave her house. When she finally goes back to school, everyone hates her.

I felt so bad for Sam. She blames herself completely, but as it turns out, Zee blames himself for his best friends death too and Alex's sister also blames herself.

Who I Kissed is a story about forgiveness and moving past a tragic accident. Sam had a wonderful support system at home with her father and her aunt. She also meets new people at school who don't make her feel like crap for Alex's death.

I really loved Who I Kissed and I will definitely be reading other books from Gurtler!