How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You

September 5, 2016
In this debut novel, 16-year-old Aurora Skye relies on a sense of humor to stand tall in the face an overbearing mother, stay sympathetic to her NAD (New Age dad), and (eventually) open her heart to Hayden Paris, the handsome neighbor who’s always popping up at inopportune moments. Threaded throughout Aurora’s story is the detail that she’s never kissed anyone: she is determined to kiss the prince of her dreams, Disney-style, and won’t settle for anything less. This quest serves up significant physical comedy where her suitors are concerned and plenty of misunderstandings between Hayden and Aurora that only bring them closer. Aurora’s indefatigable enthusiasm permeates Eglington’s writing, and keeps every plot twist frothy and fun, whether it involves family, boys, or the production of Much Ado About Nothing Hayden and Aurora star in (whose plot parallels their own journey from mutual antagonism to romantic attraction). Eglington celebrates female friendship and loyalty, too, and Aurora’s sunny outlook will satisfy readers looking for a romantic comedy with a dash of Shakespeare. Ages 12–up.

July 15, 2016
Aurora's saving her first kiss for a mythical, modern-day Prince Charming, until a school production of Shakespeare requires that she kiss a longtime nemesis.Spoiler alert: Aurora ends up in love with her handsome, kindhearted, longtime admirer and playful rival, Hayden. Though this is a foregone conclusion, considering the novel is a retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, the silly antics required to unite these two white, beautiful foes generate decent romantic tension. But while the high school theater production does deliver laughs as the student cast attempts to co-opt the direction of the play from their exasperated theater teacher, Aurora and Hayden's interactions are stilted by comparison. Her smug attitude about the general cluelessness of men (a view shared by her equally beautiful and seemingly privileged group of girlfriends, almost all white) often makes her seem more shallow than the males she mocks for their lack of chivalry. Aurora and her girlfriends design elaborate schemes to both garner and manipulate male attention, and they judge men almost entirely on their appearances. They repeatedly note their love interests' hotness and worry that Aurora's secret admirer may be, gasp, a nerd. And Aurora's ongoing rejection of Hayden's admiration makes it difficult to fathom how he understands that beneath her prickly exterior waits a lonely girl hoping for love. Neither gender really wins in this modern Much Ado About Nothing. (Romance. 12-16)

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September 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Australian debut author Eglington brings Shakespeare to high school, creating a comedy of errors with mixed results. Narrator Aurora Skye is drop-dead gorgeous, popular, and so adept at outmaneuvering her dates that she's never been kissed. Living up to her fairy-tale name, she is waiting for her perfect mate, who must meet a set of rigorous criteria in order to win her heart. As she deals with her constant disappointment with the eligible bachelors at her high school, 16-year-old Aurora busies herself with the love lives of her best friends, the sweet Cassie and haughty glamour girl Jelena. The girls become involved in the school's staging of Much Ado About Nothing. Aurora's ample mental energy is also spent on battling her gorgeous next-door neighbor, whose charms are lost on the narrator as she deals with her distracted father ("New Age Dad") and copes with the reemergence of her runaway mother. While the book strives for the kind of Shakespeare update that was executed to such fresh comedic effect in the films Clueless and 10 Things I Hate About You, it never quite gets off the ground. Aurora has a biting wit and a difficult family life, but most of the other characters seem one-dimensional, the setting is a generic anyworld, and the plot twists feel contrived. VERDICT Although uniting high school and Shakespeare can work, this addition won't go far to woo readers.-Sara Scribner, Marshall Fundamental School, Pasadena, CA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2016
Grades 7-10 Aurora Skye has always had an affinity for princessesshe does, after all, share a name with a certain Sleeping Beauty. That's why she's launched her Find a Prince Program (FPP), going on plenty of dates but putting the kibosh on a goodnight kiss if the guy doesn't seem worthy. But her plans go awry when she auditions for her school's production of Much Ado about Nothing to please her absentee mom, and somehow lands the role of Beatrice. Worse, her insufferable (even if he is hot) next-door neighbor Hayden Paris is cast as Benedick. Spunky, superbeautiful Aurora knows her prince is out there, but how can she save her first kiss for him when she has to lock lips with Hayden? Australian Eglington's debut is pure fluff, following Aurora through a series of mostly shallow teen tribulations in her quest for a happy ending. The final twist is less a surprise and more an inevitability, but, as with Beatrice and Benedick, most romance-hungry readers won't care that they can see it coming.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

December 13, 2012

Despite claiming to be an expert on matters of the heart, Aurora has never actually been kissed. She is determined her first kiss won’t be with any old guy (or worse, with her sworn enemy during the school play!). She is waiting for a guy who is worthy of her. She is waiting for a prince. In a bit of a comedy of errors, she tries to help out her friends and her father with their own romantic problems—with mixed results. You can tell from the start that the animosity between Aurora and her neighbour Hayden is actually a deep affection. The book, of course, ends with Aurora receiving her first kiss from a guy who has proven himself to be worthy of her affections. This would be great for pre-teen to early teen girls who are after a romantic read—it is romantic but also completely innocent. The importance of having good friends is also emphasised. Aurora and her friends know that they need to remain fast friends no matter what happens with the various boys in their lives. This is a fun, engaging read.

Amelia Vahtrick is the children’s book buyer at Better Read Than Dead is Newtown