The Serious Kiss Author:Mary Hogan I was forced to face the upsetting fact of my fourteen-year-old life: I'm on my own. It's up to me to create the life I want. I must be mistress of my destiny or I'll never even skim the surface of normal. And that's when the whole fiasco began. One summer day, Libby and her best friend, Nadine, come up with a plan. Before their freshman ... more »year is over, they will each experience a serious kiss. Libby already has her ideal boy picked out. Everything is set. But Libby's beer-guzzling father and fast foodaddict mother have another plan: The family is moving. To the middle of nowhere. Away from all of Libby's friends and all hope of a normal life, much less a boyfriend. As her life and her family are falling apart, Libby starts to wonder, Is happiness really about being normal? Or is being happy maybe just...being yourself? As she begins to figure out who she is, Libby discovers the most amazing thing of all -- being herself could also be the key to a perfect, incredible, wonderful, serious kiss.« less
A fine first novel. The portrayal of a family's struggle in dealing with a father's alcoholism is touching. The ending is a bit rushed, but doesn't take away from the story. Recommended.