Confessions of a Serial Kisser by Wendelin Van Draanen

Girls are going to be drawn to this book because it looks like quite a romance. In the end, it's really not about romance at all, but it is about a 16-year-old girl in search of the perfect "crimson kiss" she has read about in a trashy romance novel. Of course, when this straight-A student starts grabbing boys and kissing them in the hallways people start to talk (and write on the bathroom walls). As she fails to find any satisfaction in her many kisses, she comes to realize that her quest is really more about her anger at her father (who cheated on her mother and now wants to be forgiven). I thought all the kissing was a bit unbelievable, and therefore I couldn't really be too sympathetic with Evangeline. But by the end of the book when things got more serious and introspective I really wanted to finish this book. There's a lot of substance here about friendship, forgiveness, and finding your own talents (and a lot of classic rock and roll music as well). Probably most appropriate for 7th graders on up.