Kate in Waiting – Becky Albertalli

Thank you so much to the publishers, The Write Read and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

_{Contrary to popular belief, best friends Kate Garfield and Anderson Walker are not codependent. Carpooling to and from theater rehearsals? Environmentally sound and efficient. Consulting each other on every single life decision? Basic good judgment. Pining for the same guys from afar? Shared crushes are more fun anyway.}

_{But when Kate and Andy’s latest long-distance crush shows up at their school, everything goes off script. Matt Olsson is talented and sweet, and Kate likes him. She really likes him. The only problem? So does Anderson.}

_{Turns out, communal crushes aren’t so fun when real feelings are involved. This one might even bring the curtains down on Kate and Anderson’s friendship.}

Becky Albertalli and her books, hold a very special place in my heart. So, the minute I found out about Kate in Waiting, Becky’s new standalone novel, I knew I had to read it as soon as I got the chance. As always with Becky’s writing I felt so much joy and happiness whilst reading this book. I flew through it and I could be found reading it at every opportunity I had!

There are so many things that I love about this book. One of the main things being that the primary focus of this book is on platonic relationships rather than romantic relationships. I adored the platonic relationship between Kate and Andy and how supportive of each other they were. Also, how close to one another they are and have been from a young age. It was a lot of fun to watch them navigating having a crush on the same guy and dealing with the jealously that they are both feeling. They are always looking out for each other even when they think they aren’t and it is so wonderful to see in a YA book. It shows the reader how important having friends in your life is and also having a support group around you.

Alongside friendships, we get to see sibling relationships throughout Kate in Waiting. I adored this. I loved seeing how Kate and her brother, Ryan, interact and how protective of her he. It just brought a smile to my face and showed how lovely sibling relationships can be. I really wish we got more sibling relationships like this in YA.

There are so many notable characters in this book, my favourite being Noah. He is adorable, cheeky and just down-right hilarious. At first, I did not know how to take him as a character but by the end of the story, I wanted a book all about Noah! Matt is a gem too. Although we only really get to see him through the eyes of Kate, we get to know quite a lot about him and I certainly wanted to know more about him when the story was over. There is also the rest of Kate’s friendship group, this includes, Raina and Brandie who I loved seeing little glimpse of throughout the book and I’d love to see a spin-off with them both.

The representation in this book is excellent. Kate the main character is Jewish and Andy is black and gay. There is also a trans character, a character with social anxiety and a character in a wheelchair. Kate in Waiting has some excellent representation, all of which is done with research or using own voices experiences!

To make this book just that little bit more up my street, the characters are putting on a musical! I was never a theatre kid when I was in high school, so I felt like I was living the experience through these characters. More books about musical theatre and more books with a diverse representation like this please!

Kate in Waiting is an adorable, heart-warming and entertaining novel to read, which I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a contemporary YA! It left me with a smile on my face and feeling like I was part of a friendship group. Becky Albertalli has done it again with this novel and you need to give it a read!