Story Secrets: THE ABC's OF KISSING BOYS by Tina Ferraro

Story Secrets is back, this time with fabulous, fresh, funny, and simply delightful YA author Tina Ferraro on THE ABC's OF KISSING BOYS! (If you missed previous Story Secrets, you can check them out here.)

I'm especially excited for Tina because today's book was featured on Amazon's Great Gifts for Teens list as well as YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults list! Welcome, Tina!

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When I first started taking about my third Random House novel, The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, I really wasn’t sure what to say. The plot sounded ridiculous, even to my own ear: in order to get promoted to varsity soccer with the rest of her team, 16 year-old Parker has to learn to kiss the socks off last year’s prom king. And she finds help in the unlikeliest of places: the freshman guy across the street.

I mean, say what?

But thankfully, reviewers provided cleverer and more succinct versions.

Here’s YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association), when nominating it for Best YA Book of 2009: "Learning to kiss from her father's archenemy's son (a freshman) can lead to consequences Parker never imagined. A funny, poignant, and sweet Romeo and Juliet.”

Booklist calls it: “...a mashup of Bend It Like Beckham, Mean Girls, and Can’t Buy Me Love, and will find a happy audience in fans of the same.”

So at the risk of appearing unoriginal with my own original project--what they said!


How did you come up with the idea for the do-or-die kiss scenario?
For me, it was a crash-boom-bam of ideas.

• I had been thinking about a girl who doesn’t make varsity with her teammates, and how awful it would be to get left behind.
• I loved the idea of a title that started “The ABC’s of...”
• I thought it would be fun to research kissing.

Suddenly, they all banged together--plus the fact I knew several high school soccer players and a coach who would help me--and I knew I had a book!

Read the rest (plus there's a giveaway from Tina!)