Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler

Who I Kissed

Author: Janet Gurtler

Publisher: Sourcefire Books

Rating: 4.5 Stars 

Pub Date: October 2012

She never thought a kiss could kill…
Samantha didn’t mean to hurt anyone. She was just trying to fit in...and she wanted to make Zee a little jealous after he completely ditched her for a prettier girl. So she kissed Alex. And then he died—right in her arms.
Was she really the only person in the entire school who didn’t know about his peanut allergy? Or that eating a peanut better sandwich and then kissing him would be deadly? Overnight Sam turns into the school pariah and a media sensation explodes. Consumed with guilt, abandoned by her friends, and in jeopardy of losing her swimming scholarship, she’ll have to find a way to forgive herself before anyone else will.~Goodreads.

Who I Kissed is a book filled with sorrow and hope. It's a book filled with characters that'll make your heart hurt and a storyline that is brilliantly told. Who I kissed is a book that makes you THINK about the choices you make through-out the day and how they can affect others. Small, simple things that you might find inconsequential. Like eating a peanut butter sandwich, for example.

Because that’s all Sam, the main character, did; eat a peanut butter sandwich before a party.

And it all spiraled downward from there.

Sam arrives at the party hoping to make an impression on her crush and fellow swimmer Zee, but unfortunately he’s mackin’ on someone else. Ouch. So, to try to make Zee jealous, Sam decides to kiss one of his best friends, Alex. And remember how Sam ate that pb sammich before the party? Yeah, well, Alex is SEVERELY allergic to peanuts. And oh my gosh you guys...that moment!? It felt suspended in time. From the time Sam and Alex broke their kiss to when his sister Chloe was franticly yelling for someone to call 911...it was all in slow motion, even as I was reading it. It was insane. Seriously.

When Alex dies at the hospital, Sam’s life changes drastically. She quits the swim team and hides away in her room. She’s broken and confused and sorry, so so sorry, and mortified and embarrassed and devastated and the absolute anguish she feels? Just bleeds through the pages. I felt so bad for this girl.

Only a hand full of people treat Sam with the dignity she still deserves after the incident while others are SO rude and hateful. And I just want to quick mention Casper and say “WAAAAAH!” ←whether that’s a good ‘waah’ or a bad ‘waaah,’ I’ll never tell ya! (pick up the book and you’ll find out :P)

Sam tries to deal with what happened to Alex but struggles with it on a daily basis and it takes her awhile to finally heal and accept it. She makes some major mistakes along the way but she also reaches some very important revelations; severing certain relationships and strengthening others. She goes through so much and grows so much as a character and i absolutely loved that!

Overall, Who I Kissed is an intense and amazing novel that I HIGHLY recommend.