zacochsner's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cccarinacc's review against another edition
2.0
*Spoilers Ahead*
Its hard to rate this book because my opinions are so scattered on it. I would give it 2.5 if half stars were a thing.
First off, I think I would have had a lot more fun with this book if it had alternating perspectives between Matt, Noah, Kate and Andy rather than just being told from Kates POV. She was honestly kind of my least favorite character and I would have loved to actually see the development between Matt and Andy. I think there could have been such a cute coming out story here.
A lot of the first 70% of the book felt like filler. I get it, they both had a crush on the same guy, but it felt very redundant. Again, with multiple POVs it might have moved along faster. My main motivation for continuing was Noah.
Noah Kaplan. OH HOW I LOVE THIS CHARACTER. From the time he was introduced I was rooting for him and Kate over Kate and Matt and I'm so happy I got my ending with them. I think I would have been very annoyed if I didn't. I don't think words can describe how much I love this boy.
The last 30% of the book was really good! I loved the development of Noah and Kate - I think they should have had a greater focus earlier in the book. Maybe Kate struggling to choose between who she had a bigger crush on? I knew the chemistry was there, but Kate took FOREVER to find it. However, the ending of the book just cemented how much I love Noah. Hell, I even love Ryan and would love to have seen some of his and Noahs relationship. Again, multiple POVs would have made me so much more invested.
Also, the use of f-boys, f-force, fuckboys, and f-girls really started to get to me. Trust me I get it. I was that theatre kid in high school who hated the jocks, and I totally understand where they're all coming from but damn it was overused.
I do like the emphasis on friendship in this though. So many books, movies and tv shows now are centered on only the romantic plot, (which I'm a sucker for, let's be real), but the friendship element here was really cute.
Overall it was an enjoyable read. A little slow, but the ending picked up a lot. Also, I'm a sucker for some good theatre plots, I miss the world of performing SO MUCH and this lit a lil of that joy in me.
Its hard to rate this book because my opinions are so scattered on it. I would give it 2.5 if half stars were a thing.
First off, I think I would have had a lot more fun with this book if it had alternating perspectives between Matt, Noah, Kate and Andy rather than just being told from Kates POV. She was honestly kind of my least favorite character and I would have loved to actually see the development between Matt and Andy. I think there could have been such a cute coming out story here.
A lot of the first 70% of the book felt like filler. I get it, they both had a crush on the same guy, but it felt very redundant. Again, with multiple POVs it might have moved along faster. My main motivation for continuing was Noah.
Noah Kaplan. OH HOW I LOVE THIS CHARACTER. From the time he was introduced I was rooting for him and Kate over Kate and Matt and I'm so happy I got my ending with them. I think I would have been very annoyed if I didn't. I don't think words can describe how much I love this boy.
The last 30% of the book was really good! I loved the development of Noah and Kate - I think they should have had a greater focus earlier in the book. Maybe Kate struggling to choose between who she had a bigger crush on? I knew the chemistry was there, but Kate took FOREVER to find it. However, the ending of the book just cemented how much I love Noah. Hell, I even love Ryan and would love to have seen some of his and Noahs relationship. Again, multiple POVs would have made me so much more invested.
Also, the use of f-boys, f-force, fuckboys, and f-girls really started to get to me. Trust me I get it. I was that theatre kid in high school who hated the jocks, and I totally understand where they're all coming from but damn it was overused.
I do like the emphasis on friendship in this though. So many books, movies and tv shows now are centered on only the romantic plot, (which I'm a sucker for, let's be real), but the friendship element here was really cute.
Overall it was an enjoyable read. A little slow, but the ending picked up a lot. Also, I'm a sucker for some good theatre plots, I miss the world of performing SO MUCH and this lit a lil of that joy in me.
lierenprotectionsquad's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ark99's review against another edition
3.0
~I received a copy from netgalley~
This book took me a little bit to get into, but once I got into it it got a lot better than I thought it would be! Although I am not a big theater person, I still did enjoy the theater theme of this book, and I think someone who is really into theater would enjoy it a lot more than I did. I also wish that the book had more Noah, especially in the beginning, just so I knew a little more about him before he appears more in the middle. I also really enjoyed the main character growing throughout the book. I love when character development actually happens lol. Overall this is a decent book! I did not enjoy it as much as some of the other Albertalli books I've read, though.
This book took me a little bit to get into, but once I got into it it got a lot better than I thought it would be! Although I am not a big theater person, I still did enjoy the theater theme of this book, and I think someone who is really into theater would enjoy it a lot more than I did. I also wish that the book had more Noah, especially in the beginning, just so I knew a little more about him before he appears more in the middle. I also really enjoyed the main character growing throughout the book. I love when character development actually happens lol. Overall this is a decent book! I did not enjoy it as much as some of the other Albertalli books I've read, though.
li11y's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
sarah_kurtz's review against another edition
5.0
Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
During our trip to West Virginia a few weekends ago, Sam and I wanted to find an audiobook that we could listen to together. With our common love for Becky Albertalli, we were both excited to see Kate in Waiting was available for us to listen to on Libby! 🎧 🚗
This is a story about Kate Garfield, high school theater geek who is just waiting for her chance to have things go her way! She’s surrounded by a group of amazing friends and this year there is a new additional to the school that Kate as a MAJOR crush on. Is Kate going to fall too hard? Is something better in the works for her? When will she finally not be ‘waiting’? 🎭 🎬
I loved this story, it’s really just that simple. I loved the main character, I love the group of supportive friends she has, and I love the way Becky Albertalli so wonderfully captures high school and romance and everything in between! The chapters, or ‘scenes’, were plentiful but they were simple and easy making it easy to stop and walk away for awhile and come back and not have forgotten what had happened. Everything was wrapped up in a nice little bow in the end. I do sort of get ‘Simon’ feels from it - like there could be other stories - but other than that, I for once don’t really have any complaints! I laughed, I cried, and again, I just loved it! ❤️
#audiobook #bookstagram #bookreview #beckyalbertalli #kateinwaiting #kategarfield #pinkcover #theaterkids #geek #lgtbq #friendship #chosenfamily #unexpectedrelationships #fivestarreview #audiobookreviewRWS #lgbtqreviewRWS #onceuponapittsburghwizard #welloiledwives #readwithsarebear
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
During our trip to West Virginia a few weekends ago, Sam and I wanted to find an audiobook that we could listen to together. With our common love for Becky Albertalli, we were both excited to see Kate in Waiting was available for us to listen to on Libby! 🎧 🚗
This is a story about Kate Garfield, high school theater geek who is just waiting for her chance to have things go her way! She’s surrounded by a group of amazing friends and this year there is a new additional to the school that Kate as a MAJOR crush on. Is Kate going to fall too hard? Is something better in the works for her? When will she finally not be ‘waiting’? 🎭 🎬
I loved this story, it’s really just that simple. I loved the main character, I love the group of supportive friends she has, and I love the way Becky Albertalli so wonderfully captures high school and romance and everything in between! The chapters, or ‘scenes’, were plentiful but they were simple and easy making it easy to stop and walk away for awhile and come back and not have forgotten what had happened. Everything was wrapped up in a nice little bow in the end. I do sort of get ‘Simon’ feels from it - like there could be other stories - but other than that, I for once don’t really have any complaints! I laughed, I cried, and again, I just loved it! ❤️
#audiobook #bookstagram #bookreview #beckyalbertalli #kateinwaiting #kategarfield #pinkcover #theaterkids #geek #lgtbq #friendship #chosenfamily #unexpectedrelationships #fivestarreview #audiobookreviewRWS #lgbtqreviewRWS #onceuponapittsburghwizard #welloiledwives #readwithsarebear
caitminch's review against another edition
4.0
sometimes you just need a fast-paced lighthearted YA romance, and this one absolutely hits the spot.
livinginfairytales's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
readabookorfive's review against another edition
4.0
I have always enjoyed Becky Albertali’s books, they’re not my favourite books of all time or anything but they’re always fun and this was no different! It was an easy to read rom com that made me smile quite a few times!
What I will say and I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, this felt like a mix of Simon and Upside, the characters and the story felt like a similar mix of them which isn’t a bad thing, take a formula that works and all that!
I really enjoyed the cast of characters! Especially Noah, an absolute sunshine but I really liked Kate, Ryan, Matt, Brady and Raina and Anderson and they were all fun to read about!
I liked the relationships explored here too, I will say, I think Kate and Anderson’s friendship could be seen as toxic in some parts and the way they talked about Matt like they owned him was kinda gross in some parts. ALSO one of my absolute pet hates in books is the “let’s use their sexuality as a plot twist” trope I hate it, it’s gross and fact it was used here I hate it. Anyway, also my main OTP for Kate got together which was great I shipped them for their first interaction but I felt in the end their getting together was a bit rushed but I still really loved them as a couple.
The ending as a whole was a little bit rushed for me but overall, I really enjoyed this story and I’m looking forward to seeing what Albertali does next!!
What I will say and I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, this felt like a mix of Simon and Upside, the characters and the story felt like a similar mix of them which isn’t a bad thing, take a formula that works and all that!
I really enjoyed the cast of characters! Especially Noah, an absolute sunshine but I really liked Kate, Ryan, Matt, Brady and Raina and Anderson and they were all fun to read about!
I liked the relationships explored here too, I will say, I think Kate and Anderson’s friendship could be seen as toxic in some parts and the way they talked about Matt like they owned him was kinda gross in some parts. ALSO one of my absolute pet hates in books is the “let’s use their sexuality as a plot twist” trope I hate it, it’s gross and fact it was used here I hate it. Anyway, also my main OTP for Kate got together which was great I shipped them for their first interaction but I felt in the end their getting together was a bit rushed but I still really loved them as a couple.
The ending as a whole was a little bit rushed for me but overall, I really enjoyed this story and I’m looking forward to seeing what Albertali does next!!
reyes_sf's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks to Penguin Random House Children’s UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this!
My history with Becky Albertalli is complicated… I absolutely adored Simon vs the Homo sapiens Agenda, kind of liked Leah on the Offbeat and couldn’t even finish What if it’s us?, so I was both excited and terrified about reading Kate in Waiting. Luckily for me, this was just adorable and definitely my second favourite Albertalli book (Simon will always be Simon, sorry).
I did have a couple of issues with the book, but nothing major. My biggest problem is that I didn't get any feelings from Andy or Matt, both important characters in the story. Andy is too much in all the wrong ways, and maybe it's because we're on Kate's head and we know what she is thinking but they have all these talks about "our friendship comes first" and it feels like Kate actually believes that and she feels awful about hurting Andy even when it's clear she doesn't mean to, but I didn't feel like Andy was as concern for Kate's feelings as she was for his. Plus, their friendship is supposed to be this cute, all-consuming thing, but I thought it was actually borderline toxic, with this competition to win Matt over when for half of the book they don’t even know if Matt is gay/straight/pansexual/asexual, and honestly, it feels like they don’t even care. And I don’t even understand why they are so in love Matt, he’s pretty and he’s a good guy but he’s just so bland... although I admit that I might be biased here because the moment Noah Kaplan showed up he totally stole the show.
The other problem I had is that Kate and his crew are a bunch of judgemental brats. Yes, the jocks (fuckboys or f-boys, as they call them) are evil and self-centered and pretty much every other high school stereotype you can think of, but you know what? So are the artsy, witty theater kids, but that's ok because they are the right kind of stereotype I guess.
On the plus side, the book is absolutely charming. Kate is hilarious, and the writing is pretty good and super funny. Also, bonus points for all the Tangled references. There’s also lots of diversity, and for the most part it feels completely organic. The way the whole story unfolds and how the drama is solved also felt really natural for 17yo kids, I never had that feeling of being reading about 30yos in the body of teenagers that’s so common in YA. Also, there’s Noah Kaplan. Let's just say that there are Blue levels of adorableness here. Kate’s relationship with her brother Ryan was also very interesting and heartwarming, I really enjoyed their interactions and I wish Ryan had been more present in the book.
So the story is predictable but believable and charming, the characters can sometimes be annoying, but for the most part they are a bunch of cinnamon rolls, and Noah Kaplan will just steal your heart. Absolutely recommendable
My history with Becky Albertalli is complicated… I absolutely adored Simon vs the Homo sapiens Agenda, kind of liked Leah on the Offbeat and couldn’t even finish What if it’s us?, so I was both excited and terrified about reading Kate in Waiting. Luckily for me, this was just adorable and definitely my second favourite Albertalli book (Simon will always be Simon, sorry).
I did have a couple of issues with the book, but nothing major. My biggest problem is that I didn't get any feelings from Andy or Matt, both important characters in the story. Andy is too much in all the wrong ways, and maybe it's because we're on Kate's head and we know what she is thinking but they have all these talks about "our friendship comes first" and it feels like Kate actually believes that and she feels awful about hurting Andy even when it's clear she doesn't mean to, but I didn't feel like Andy was as concern for Kate's feelings as she was for his. Plus, their friendship is supposed to be this cute, all-consuming thing, but I thought it was actually borderline toxic, with this competition to win Matt over when for half of the book they don’t even know if Matt is gay/straight/pansexual/asexual, and honestly, it feels like they don’t even care. And I don’t even understand why they are so in love Matt, he’s pretty and he’s a good guy but he’s just so bland... although I admit that I might be biased here because the moment Noah Kaplan showed up he totally stole the show.
The other problem I had is that Kate and his crew are a bunch of judgemental brats. Yes, the jocks (fuckboys or f-boys, as they call them) are evil and self-centered and pretty much every other high school stereotype you can think of, but you know what? So are the artsy, witty theater kids, but that's ok because they are the right kind of stereotype I guess.
On the plus side, the book is absolutely charming. Kate is hilarious, and the writing is pretty good and super funny. Also, bonus points for all the Tangled references. There’s also lots of diversity, and for the most part it feels completely organic. The way the whole story unfolds and how the drama is solved also felt really natural for 17yo kids, I never had that feeling of being reading about 30yos in the body of teenagers that’s so common in YA. Also, there’s Noah Kaplan. Let's just say that there are Blue levels of adorableness here. Kate’s relationship with her brother Ryan was also very interesting and heartwarming, I really enjoyed their interactions and I wish Ryan had been more present in the book.
So the story is predictable but believable and charming, the characters can sometimes be annoying, but for the most part they are a bunch of cinnamon rolls, and Noah Kaplan will just steal your heart. Absolutely recommendable