The Kissing Game [Hardcover]

I thought this was a fab little quick read.

The Kissing Game is a collection of short stories all based on the different experiences of teenagers.

I liked how diverse the stories were. There were a few longer ones, some done as scripts, others as letters / monologues. I really liked the variety as you were never sure what you were getting next.

Out of all the stories there were a few that really stood out for me.

One story was a letter written by a boy who lives outside the system in a house he built in the woods to the council who are trying to get his house pulled down. I loved the idea behind it and the morals the story put out there which were put together well in a very short piece.

I loved the letter rom one boy to his teacher about why he was not participating in PE. I thought it was brilliantly funny.

A couple of the stories were quite dark. The title story the Kissing Game is quite dark in its content but almost quite sweet. There is also a story about a young girl who is an illegal immigrant and being used for all kinds of awful things by the man who helped her get into the country.

All in all a fab collection of stories which were intelligently written showing a real insight into teenagers today.

The Kissing Game by Aidan Chambers was entertaining. I read this because I wanted to read a collection of short stories and see whether I liked them. Made up of sixteen short stories which also included flash fiction, letters and script writing, The Kissing Game had a lot of potential. I enjoyed many of the stories; however, others weren't to my taste.

The first story in the collection entitled, Cindy's Day Out, was a modern take on Cinderella and whilst I did enjoy it overall, I never felt that I got to know Cindy/Ursula as much as I wanted to and the ending felt very abrupt.

Other stories, such as Kangaroo and the titular story The Kissing Game had shocking endings. The Kissing Game left me feeling cold. In it, two socially-awkward teens exchange a series of letters and eventually meet, resulting in an unexpected twist. The story is written beautifully and the ending jars the reader. I thought about this story a long time after I finished it. The Tower was really interesting. I liked the way reality and fantasy became obscured. It was very mysterious and action-packed.

I wasn't very interested in reading the short pieces of dialogue; Up For It, The God Debate and Like Life as I do like description, however, I did enjoy Like Life as it has a funny and insightful ending. The character Eve feels as if she hasn't experienced anything serious in her life but her boyfriend Brad soon changes this. Weather Forecast was a great metaphor for life and Something To Tell You was both sad and funny.

I liked the letter entitled Thrown Out as it was very realistic. The character that lives in a hut, at one with nature, writes a letter to the Environmental Services Manager detailing their simple existence and asks to live their life the way they want to. Of course, their request is denied.

I didn't enjoy the story entitled Sanctuary. Jack suffers from agoraphobia and has travelled to London from Wiltshire for an interview. He then becomes entangled in the dangerous life of a stranger, a Ukrainian lady named Nadia, who has been forced into prostitution. Jack feels as though he has to save her. I found it quite unbelievable. Chambers tried to fit in too much in a short space and over a short period of time. I wasn't able to get to know the characters at all.

The Kissing Game by Aidan Chambers was very good overall and as it had wide-ranging themes, there is a story for all tastes. I look forward to reading more from Aidan Chambers in future.

I'd forgotten what a good writer Aidan Chambers is, that said I didn't actually like these short stories. Published as part of the Definitions series, it contains a collection of short stories, some previous published, some new. He's included some flash fiction, complete stories in 1000 words, and in his own words "I've become more and more interested in them ....... at the cutting edge of literature". Clever if you can pull it off, but I didn't always like them. There are some clever ideas including the letter from the pupil to the Sports teacher about why he shouldn't do games and the one about the hut in the woods, there is also a mini play but I got bored half way through and didn't read them all.