The International Kissing Club

Aug 02, 2012 Loni Flowers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: the-teen-book-scene-blog-tour

When I saw the premise to this book I though it was so funny and I though to myself, has anyone kept points like this before? I think I would have fit right in with the girls (Piper, Cassidy, Mei, and Izzy). If joining the schools foreign exchange program wasn't good enough, starting The International Kissing Club (IKC) Facebook page would have been. Spending a semester overseas and no only do you get to experience culture, sightseeing, and amazing people and food... but you get to kiss foreign...more When I saw the premise to this book I though it was so funny and I though to myself, has anyone kept points like this before? I think I would have fit right in with the girls (Piper, Cassidy, Mei, and Izzy). If joining the schools foreign exchange program wasn't good enough, starting The International Kissing Club (IKC) Facebook page would have been. Spending a semester overseas and no only do you get to experience culture, sightseeing, and amazing people and food... but you get to kiss foreign boys too... AND you can get points for it??! I think I'd call that a total win-win. Where can I sign up? Okay, Okay... I'm too old to do this now, but I would have totally down for it (If I would have been brave enough.)

Piper picks Paris for art. Cassidy picks Australia to get away from her troubles in Texas, Mei wants to go to china, hoping she'll find her biological parents there, and Izzy picks Costa Rica so she can learn all about the Rain Forest. Disappointment comes early when Izzy can't join in on the international fun because there isn't enough money for her to make the trip. But she's determined to make the best out of a horrible situation. She goes to work on Tanner Colt's farm, the hottie quarterback of her dad's football team. There's just one little problem...he's Pipers current crush and we know that you don't kiss your best friends love interest, even if said boy might not be interested. Even if Piper is kissing her way through Paris- it's the number one best friend rule.

It's a summer to remember! Piper is kissing in Paris, Mei is trying to fit in with the people in China (and being very unsuccessful), Cassidy is having fun learning to surf, and poor Izzy is on a stinking farm! How will this summer turn out... it's interesting to say the least, especially when word gets out around school about the IKC Facebook page. What will happen when the school finds out how they spent their time kissing when they should have been learning?

This was definitely a fun read but we also learn what true friendship is all about. My only dislike came when the chapters skipped ahead. One minute a character was doing this and then the next chapter, time skipped a month ahead. Sometimes I felt like I was being told how it happened instead of getting to experience it for myself. All in all, this didn't hinder my feelings for the book. It was fun and if this book interests you, I recommend you give this a read!(less)

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Sep 30, 2012 Angela (Reading Angels) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, 2012-ya-contemp-challenge

Find more of my reviews at www.readingangel.com

The International Kissing Club was such a fun read. These four friends have such a fun adventure, kissing, finding love, and finding out who they really are. I really enjoyed that it would change POV's between the four girls and we got to experience each of their trips with them. It was like a little miniature vacation to four different locations all in one book.

Piper has been humiliated by her long-time enemy in a VERY public way, so when she finds...more Find more of my reviews at www.readingangel.com

The International Kissing Club was such a fun read. These four friends have such a fun adventure, kissing, finding love, and finding out who they really are. I really enjoyed that it would change POV's between the four girls and we got to experience each of their trips with them. It was like a little miniature vacation to four different locations all in one book.

Piper has been humiliated by her long-time enemy in a VERY public way, so when she finds out about the foreign exchange program it's like a life line she has to grab on it. She convinces her three best friends to take their own trips as well and they form a facebook group to keep in touch. It's not just any facebook group though, it's a kissing club, one where they get a point for each different boy they kiss. Piper starts it out with a bang in the beautiful city of Paris. Having fun with her new house sister and kissing beautiful boys, Piper is having the time of her life. That is until she meets Sebastian, who may just be the only boy she wants to kiss. I didn't like Piper for a while. I thought she was a little too shallow, and way too whiny, but she grew on me later on. The girl has had it really rough and she was just ready to let her hair down and have some fun.

Cassidy has been waiting her whole life to get out of this tiny town in Texas. She jumps on her chance to go to Australia. What she doesn't expect when she gets there is to be so homesick. She misses her friends and her mom and her normal life, that is, until she meets a hot surfer. Vacation Cassidy is ready to have some fun! What Cassidy doesn't want is to fall in love, but 8 weeks can sometimes be more than enough... Cassidy is probably my favorite of all four girls. She had such a real and honest voice. Every time I got to her part of the story I kept wishing it was longer and wanted more!

Mei is the only Chinese girl in the small town of Paris, Texas. Having always been curious about her culture and her birth parents, she takes this opportunity to go to China. Stepping off the plane Mei immediately feels at home, but it isn't long before she realizes that she fits in even less her than she does in Texas. I really liked Mei, she is such a control freak (which I can totally relate to) yet still fun and a very good friend. She has a hard journey in China, but she takes it all like a trooper, she is one tough chick!

Izzy get left behind. The always looked over middle child, her parents don't have the money to send her on a trip, so she finds a summer job on a farm back home. Izzy is definitely one confused girl. She makes some bad choices that come back to haunt her in the end. Izzy probably my second favorite of the girls though. She's funny and always has a sarcastic come-back. I really enjoyed her part of the story.

International Kissing Club was a light-hearted read. It started out a little slow, but once they went on their separate trips it really took off and I was able to fly through the rest of it. I love that in between the chapters it would show little posting on the IKC facebook page, that was a very fun break-up to the chapters. Overall, I thought International Kissing Club was an enjoyable tale of love, and friendship, and what it takes to keep both going.(less)

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Jul 09, 2012 Tara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012debut, challenge-ccc2012

Review originally posted on my blog http://hobbitsies.net/wordpress/2012/...

I am a sucker for any book that contains international travel. I studied abroad in London for the first half of 2011 and ever since then, I am full of wanderlust and I gobble up movies and books about going abroad. The International Kissing Club by Ivy Adams was right up my alley.

I loved reading about Piper, Cassidy, and Mei’s time abroad in their various places, and even Izzy, being stuck in Texas, was adorable. Mei’s s...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Inspired Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

It took me forever to get into this book. I just didn't care about the characters or the story line for the first half of the book. It took me a couple weeks to get through the first half because it just didn't hold my interest. Once I hit he half way point I finished up the second half really quickly.

Kissing for points is just not a concept that works for me and the whole premise just seemed shallow to me. The book did have some funny parts and by the time I got half way through I wanted to kn...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Angeline rated it 4 of 5 stars

I hang out at the library A LOT. Before I got Sophie, I used to wait to get a ride in the library. I usually pick out sci-fi and fantasy novels along with the newest editions added to my library's young adult collection. Not that I don't indulge in Chick Lit, but my sister was the one who actually checked out this book and gave it to me to read. My first impression of the book was that it would have a Sisterhood of the Traveling pants feel, but the four sub-stories weren't balanced. With mulitip...more I hang out at the library A LOT. Before I got Sophie, I used to wait to get a ride in the library. I usually pick out sci-fi and fantasy novels along with the newest editions added to my library's young adult collection. Not that I don't indulge in Chick Lit, but my sister was the one who actually checked out this book and gave it to me to read. My first impression of the book was that it would have a Sisterhood of the Traveling pants feel, but the four sub-stories weren't balanced. With mulitiple POVs, you have to judge each individual story by itself.

Piper: From the picture on the front, you would have no idea that she's totally ADHD, boy crazy. She looks more down to earth and looks more likely to play in a band than to meet guys all the time. Of course in the world capitol of love, Piper gets the most kissing points and meets a variety of cute French guys (including her home-stay brother). I felt that Piper was very melodramatic character whose story overshadowed the other three. Although her parents are distant and she got caught up in the kissing scandal, she didn't have it nearly as bad as the other three in terms of search for identity and budding relationships. Piper's story was passable, nothing really stood out to me.

Cassidy : Of the four girls, I think Cassidy's story was the most emotional. I loved that even though she's down to earth and resilient, she has her flaws. Cassidy tries to make the best with what she has. I would totally want her to be my best friend because she's so level-headed (comes in handy when Piper needs to be reined in) and loyal (not afraid to give some ass-whooping to bullies). I think her romance in Australia allowed her to face her fears and by the end of the book, I felt really proud and happy for her.

Izzy: Poor Izzy! Because her parents invest so much in her brothers they forget about her and she can't go the rain forest (she loves the environment). The interaction between Piper and her was another important factor that took up most of the book. Izzy's vulnerability especially when her best friends weren't with her really got to me. Her story was a typical love-hate relationship with another boy from their hometown. I'm glad she got the guy in the end.

Mei: Mei's story really frustrated me. I felt none of the authors really put any effort into her story (trying not to be biased). Mei's story had the most potential as a searching for identity story. I felt that Mei's part in the story was insignificant and was done as an after thought. In the end, she gains absolutely nothing!! No guy, no identity found, no self-understanding. All she got was alienation from her birth land and overprotective actions by her nervous adopted parents. At most, China and her "romance" (by romance I mean more friend that bf) got her to loosen up and be adventurous. I'm so disappointed. If you go to the author's website and read her "bio" it's the shortest and least personal Q&A ever.

Overall: The shallowness and unbalance of this book ticked me off, but there are definitely some cute moments. I probably wouldn't read this book again myself. At most, borrow it from the library or a friend to read.(less)

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Apr 23, 2012 Jeanbooknerd rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews

Ivy Adams’ (The pen name of authors Emily McKay, Tracy Deebs, and Shellee Roberts) The International Kissing Club is a story of four girls who desperately want to escape the life of small town USA, specifically Paris, Texas. Nothing special or exciting ever happens in their town except when things go bad…embarrassingly bad and one of the girls is always at the receiving end. When they learn of the new foreign exchange program at their school, they immediately go for it in hopes of finding more o...more

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Mar 23, 2012 Ginny rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, 2012-da-challenge, 2012-debut-author, contemporary

Junior year starts off with a plop for Piper, Cassidy, Mei, and Izzy. And by plop, I mean utter humiliation. That is, until the school counselor introduces a new program available to the school: International Exchange Students. What a perfect way to put the horrible beginning behind them. So, with each girl heading off to four different countries, they decide to create the International Kissing Club and score points for kissing different guys. Bringing a bit of currency to the book, the girls us...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you liked The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares, Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty, or Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison, then you will love The International Kissing Club. This story is full of fun, witty, and strong female characters who live in Paris, Texas.

Four girls from a small town have decided to escape by becoming exchange students. Piper plans to head to Paris, Mei to China, Izzy to Costa Rica, and Cassidy to Australia. Each one has their o...more

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Dec 10, 2011 Rie Conley rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I began this book I thought to be an insipid version of The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants. One that was even worse because of the skanky Facebook page that they made. As I read on I found a book that was fully charming and characters that truly grew as the book went on. Everything wasn’t tied up with smiley bow, but it ended in a completely natural way.

Each of the characters had real faults and they often did not truly realize their faults until they landed on their faces. Quite literally....more

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Mar 18, 2012 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: five-stars, contemporary, covergasm, couples-i-fangirled-over, fluffy-reads, books-set-in-asia

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. ***DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK YET!***

I loved this book. It was wacky, funny, sweet, sad and full of friendship and family and of course, romance. Plus, it was set in 4 different continents, America, Europe, Asia and Australia. What more could a girl who dreams of traveling the world want??

Here are my separate reviews on the four spirited protagonists of TIKC:

Piper:

Piper is the drama queen of the group and a romantic and dreamer. Piper is rather pretentious and a tin...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-teen-book-reviews, read-in-2012, teen-general-fiction, read-in-2011, with-reviews, teen-romance

Four teen girls, best friends, have wished their entire lives to get out of their small town of Paris, Texas. When the opportunity arises for the four of them to participate in a foreign exchange program the girls jump at the chance. Piper will go to Paris, Mei to China, Cassidy to Australia, and Izzy will remain in Texas because her parents can't afford her trip. Four girls, 10 weeks, and many exciting experiences, new guys, new kisses, but will they be the same people they were before they le

...more

Four teen girls, best friends, have wished their entire lives to get out of their small town of Paris, Texas. When the opportunity arises for the four of them to participate in a foreign exchange program the girls jump at the chance. Piper will go to Paris, Mei to China, Cassidy to Australia, and Izzy will remain in Texas because her parents can't afford her trip. Four girls, 10 weeks, and many exciting experiences, new guys, new kisses, but will they be the same people they were before they left? Welcome to the International Kissing Club.

There is no way to avoid the comparison. The first thing I thought of when I saw this book listed was Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (SOTTP). As much as I would like to there is no escaping the comparison. There is even an allusion to that series in this novel that definitely made me chuckle. Like SOTTP, this novel features four best friends separating for the first time in their lives. Each teen has her own reasons for wanting to leave their tiny town and start fresh somewhere else. Like SOTTP, these girls are searching for identity, and to some extent their first real encounter with love.

The characters in this novel are easy to relate to--you know them or have even been them. First there is Piper, who longs to escape the bullying and harassment of the queen bee of their school Germaine. Ever since falling victim to a cruel pageant prank, Piper has been known as Kiss the Pig Girl. Every where she goes the nickname and insulting oinks follow. She longs to get away and go somewhere where she can find a boy who isn't familiar with her notorious past.

Mei is the overachiever trying to prove that she is worthy of her adoptive parents who love her. She is the smart sensible member of the group, but she really wants to know more about who she really is. Little does she realize that in China, the students will see her as one more Chinese girl among millions--one that was unwanted.

Cassidy is the only daughter of a single mother who had her while she was a teenager. Her family has lived in Paris for generations, and Cassidy longs to seek adventure elsewhere. She wants to escape the stereotypes of her small town life and have people know her for who she is rather than where she is from.

Finally ther is Izzy whose breakup with her boyfriend has left her reeling. She had hoped to get away from her chaotic family life and the painful memories of her breakup, but when her irritating older brother breaks his hand and has no hope at a football scholarship, Izzy is forced to give up her trip and stay without her friends in their small town.

While they are apart the girls form the International Kissing Club, a Facebook page for them to share their adventures and conquests. But the page becomes so much more as more and more people begin to follow and support these young adventurers.

The technological aspects of the story, and various pop culture references may eventually date the story, but the themes of growing up and searching for your own identity will remain true. All of these young women are charming characters who you would want to know. You can even see bits of yourself in each of them. The novel manages to tackle serious topics such as bullying, and identity without taking itself to seriously. I love that this novel could make me laugh and cry.

Overall this charming novel is a great addition to the realistic fiction genre. I can see it appealing to fans of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and many others. This is a really fun read.

Cautions for sensitive readers: Mild sexuality, but nothing graphic.(less)

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Jan 03, 2012 Bonnie at A Backwards Story added it

Shelves: contemporary, blog-tour, 2012

While the title of THE INTERNATIONAL KISSING CLUB sounds light and carefree (and, okay, yes, it's that, too), the book digs a bit deeper than the title might otherwise suggest. This book isn't really about a club full of people who only care about kissing. I wasn't sure what to expect at first, but I wasn't anticipating the extra dimensions that grew as I read. When I first started reading, I compared the book a little to THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS series by Ann Brashares (and it made...more While the title of THE INTERNATIONAL KISSING CLUB sounds light and carefree (and, okay, yes, it's that, too), the book digs a bit deeper than the title might otherwise suggest. This book isn't really about a club full of people who only care about kissing. I wasn't sure what to expect at first, but I wasn't anticipating the extra dimensions that grew as I read. When I first started reading, I compared the book a little to THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS series by Ann Brashares (and it made me laugh when the girls referred to the series in the novel). It started off slowly, but as I grew invested in each of the characters, I came to care more about what happened to them and was sad when the book came to an end.

The International Kissing Club isn't just the book's title, but an online Facebook page put together by four best friends (Piper, Cassidy, Izzy, and Mei) after getting opportunities to study abroad for ten weeks. Piper wants to go to Paris, France after one of the school's most popular girls, Germaine, torments her in the most humiliating way possible--and posts the results online, making Piper a viral sensation. Over three million people witnessed her humiliation on YouTube and everyone at school still makes fun of her. She can't wait to get away from Paris, Texas, and go to the real Paris to study art...and boys. Cassidy also longs to get away from Paris. She's had people talking about her and her mother, who was an unwed teenager when she gave birth, her entire life. She can't wait to go down under to Australia, even if it means sucking it up and talking to her estranged father for the first time in years. Mei is adopted and longs to go to her Chinese homeland in order to discover more about herself and learn a little Mandarin. Izzy is all about saving the environment and would love to visit the rainforests of Costa Rica, but she's the middle-child, wedged between a football-playing older brother who recently broke his hand and ruined his chances at a scholarship and a younger brother who is a piano-playing prodigy and always traveling to compete in various competitions. There's no money left for her, "Invisabel Isabel." Instead, she finds herself working on a classmate's farm...and feeling more for him than she ever thought possible. While all four girls relish their single status and start The International Kissing Club with the best of fun intentions, they quickly realize that kisses are meaningless if you're not sharing them with that special someone.

My favorite part about this novel was all the character growth. All four girls grew a lot; no one returned home the same as when they left. Piper started out as my least-favorite character because she was so self-absorbed, but in the end, I found myself rooting for her the most. The novel also ends in a natural fashion that remains true-to-life. No story arc is tied up with a pretty bow. Readers get hints of what might come--and those hints could potentially lead to stand-alone sequels focusing on each girl in the future--but no one story is too easily concluded, which I really appreciated (as much as I wanted to know more about certain things!). I like the way the girls evolved abroad, too. Piper had the time of her life--and grew up a lot before returning home, Mei didn't have the experience she hoped to and went through a lot of culture shock, and Cassidy experienced a lot of home sickness. All of these reactions are natural when living abroad for any length of time and I was pleased to see them focused on in the novel. I also loved the four guys that the girls found themselves falling for and fell right alongside them. The characters were truly well-developed in this novel and I would read any sort of continuation that might come out.
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Dec 28, 2011 Britta rated it 4 of 5 stars

When the novel opened, I was not impressed... but that quickly changed. It took a few chapters for the speed to pick up, but once it did, I was completely hooked.

After an extremely embarrassing incident leaves Piper in constant torment, she, with the help of her three best friends; Izzy, Mei and Cassidy, come up with the International Kissing Club (or IKC for short). They plan to each take part in their school's international exchange program; Piper to Paris (the real one), Mei to China, Izzy t...more

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Dec 21, 2011 Heidi McLaughlin rated it 3 of 5 stars

We have four friends: Piper the quintessential non-pageant girl even though that is what her mother wants her to be; Cassidy the super jock daughter of a single-mom; Mei the adopted Chinese daughter of white parents; and Izzy the ordinary daughter of a high school football coach who is invisible behind her older football playing brother and her younger piano prodigy brother.

When Piper becomes the laughing stock of Paris, Texas, and an overnight YouTube sensation for kissing a pig at the Cotton...more We have four friends: Piper the quintessential non-pageant girl even though that is what her mother wants her to be; Cassidy the super jock daughter of a single-mom; Mei the adopted Chinese daughter of white parents; and Izzy the ordinary daughter of a high school football coach who is invisible behind her older football playing brother and her younger piano prodigy brother.

When Piper becomes the laughing stock of Paris, Texas, and an overnight YouTube sensation for kissing a pig at the Cotton Festival, she wants to escape. Her friends try to comfort her, but there is just so much they can do. Their classmates are relentless in their constant pig squeals and oinking making Piper’s life miserable.

Dreading the first day of school, Piper is excited to learn that a foreign exchange program is being offered. The four girls come up with an idea to each go away for a semester. Piper picks Paris so she can study art. Mei decides on China in hopes to find herself and her biological parents. Cassidy picks Australia because it is the furthest from Texas and Izzy picks Costa Rica so she can study the rain forest.
Being foreign exchange students isn’t all they had planned.

The girls create the International Kissing Club – a Facebook fansite – where they will detail, anonymously, their kissing exploits. They even created a points system.

With the friends about to head it, Izzy drops the news that she isn’t going. Invisible Izzy is told that the finances aren’t available for her, but she knows deep down that her parents are only spending money on her brothers. Izzy feels left out and alone and is determined to at least enjoy her summer.

Piper is kissing her way through Paris while Cassidy is learning to surf from hottie Lucas. Mei struggles in China and quickly discovers that she doesn’t fit in with her classmates there and Izzy, she’s gone to work on Tanner Colt’s farm – resident quarterback for her dad’s team – and current Piper crush.

The International Kissing Club fansite is a huge hit with people chiming in from all over the world, but once the school finds out how the girls spent their time, people are none too happy and there are consequences to pay.

I will say this; this story is very interesting and pretty close to real life. The girls are likable and you can’t help but feel for them. Each one has their own set of issues, but their strong friendship holds them together like glue.(less)

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Jan 12, 2012 Sonya rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dac-2012

Disclaimer –Don’t be frighten by the negative beginning keep reading it gets better. Remember bookies these are just my opinions so take it with a grain of salt, thanks.

When I started reading this book I thought I made a mistake. I don’t want to make comparisons but it was shaping up to be another insipid substance-less bore with Piper’s whining it was annoying, but after about two chapters in. I started to see a real story begin to emerge. Each of the girls had their own set of issues to deal w...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Kyrra rated it 5 of 5 stars

Piper, Mei, Cassidy and Izzy are just four girls looking for an adventure. When they decide to study abroad for a semester, as a way of forgetting about a horrible prank pulled on her, Piper comes up with the idea for the International Kissing Club, while they're away they would kiss boys and rate the kiss on their Facebook page. What they didn't expected was for those kisses to turn into so much more with boys they never saw coming.

The title of this book alludes to a light hearted book about ro...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars

Four friends decide to become exchange students and keep a FaceBook page rating boys they've kissed abroad (well, until one of the friends discovers she can't leave town). Perhaps if I were 13ish, I would really enjoy this novel - the idea of being allowed to travel abroad, the idea that multiple boys would want to kiss me, the idea of having a secret identity on an exclusive social media site, and the idea of exacting revenge on Germaine (b/c we've all had a Germaine in our lives, unless you WE...more

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Jan 16, 2012 Jade Inks rated it 4 of 5 stars

onceuponawanderer.blogspot.com

Author: Ivy Adams
Pages: 400
Publisher: Walker & Company
Publication: January 3rd 2012
Age Group: Young Adult (14-18)
Book Source: ARC
Challenge(s)- Debut Author Challenge (2012)

Meet Piper- fashionista, drama queen and kiss the pig star.
Mei- Adopted, serious, studious.
Cassidy- sporty, flirty, fun.
Izzy- wholesome, over-looked- with an idiot family.

What do these four girls have in common? They all live in tiny Paris, Texas and are best friends for life. All eagerly awai...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Sarah (Catching Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: debut-author-challenge-2012

What a really fun read!! When I first got this book from the library..I wasn't sure what to expect! But the concept of this novel sounded awesome so I had to give this one a try.
What I really liked about this book was that it rotated chapters between all four girls..so it was nice to see all of their different perspectives on their travels instead of just seeing one of the girl's thoughts. I also really liked the travel aspect of this book..who doesn't want to go abroad to study? I know I do!!

Ou...more

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Jan 30, 2012 Gabbi Calabrese rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-contemp, 2012-standalone, 2012-dac

http://bookbreather4lyfe.blogspot.com

Upon hearing the premise for The International Kissing Club, I was extremely intrigued. A book focused on kissing? Yes, please! As far as contemps go, I thought it had a pretty unique little twist to it and I was really happy to get the opportunity to read it. However, the novel didn't contain that certain spark that I wanted it to.

The story begins with a prologue from Piper's perspective. I'm not a fan of prologues, so I probably would have liked it a lot m...more http://bookbreather4lyfe.blogspot.com

Upon hearing the premise for The International Kissing Club, I was extremely intrigued. A book focused on kissing? Yes, please! As far as contemps go, I thought it had a pretty unique little twist to it and I was really happy to get the opportunity to read it. However, the novel didn't contain that certain spark that I wanted it to.

The story begins with a prologue from Piper's perspective. I'm not a fan of prologues, so I probably would have liked it a lot more if it was just chapter one, but the prologue did help me easily sympathize with Piper. I mean, being humiliated in front of the entire town by having to kiss a pig? Not a particularly ideal situation. The prologue also helped readers grasp just how far Germaine, Evil Popular Girl, is willing to take her and Piper's feud. Maybe it's because of the prologue that I felt for Piper the most, and that out of all four girls, I was rooting the hardest for her.

As for the other girls...I liked them, but I didn't really connect with them to a full extent. Each one of them was strong, independent, and good for some laughs. But like I said above, Piper was my favorite of the girls. Out of the boys, Lucas, Cassidy's love interest, was definitely my favorite, because he was the only one where I saw how great he was, rather than being told. Well, that's not true. It was obvious how great a guy Guiran, Mei's love interest, was, but he fell a little flat to me. Piper and Izzy both went on and on about how sweet and hott their guys were, but I couldn't really see it or feel it.

The way the perspective alternated between Piper, Cassidy, Izzy, and Mei wasn't particularly annoying or bothersome, because it was all very necessary, but it definitely made it difficult for me to fall for all of the characters and connect to them. In the beginning I also kept getting their background stories confused and I'd have problems following along with who is saying and doing what, but once I learned about the girls it was a lot easier.

I didn't like the way this novel ended. I know that some authors like to keep the ending open in order for the readers to make inferences about what happens, and that's fine. I didn't want an epilogue twenty years in the future, but I felt the ending of The International Kissing Club was unsatisfying. None of the major conflicts were really resolved. And I also didn't expect everybody to live la-dee-da-da happily ever after perfect lives, but it's like by the end, the girls were in the same position they started - only worse because they're friendship is being tested and some of their hearts have been broken.

Aside from those things, though, I did enjoy the novel. It was really cute and great for a good laugh! The writing was clear and sweet and snarky and I absolutely adored reading the posts on the IKC facebook page between chapters! The dialogue between the girls is hilarious because they don't take any crap from each other.

My favorite part of this story, though, was the power of friendship. Every girl craves the kind of friendship that these girls have, and some have even found it themselves. It's the kind of thing that makes my heart happy, as lame as that sounds.
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Feb 10, 2013 Claire rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: aussie-swap

What it's about: A group of friends go on a separate exchange program with a pact and a club - a club to score points by kissing the most boys possible.

What I thought: This book was like a recent, re-vamped version of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Which I love. TIKC is quirky, fun and disastrous all at the same time. Four girls, in four different places, having four different experiences equals a lot of fun and even more trouble!

The characters were wonderfully written, each with their own i...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars

A very sweet and cute book. For people who like to read about the whole high school setting and boys, this book would be perfect for them. I like reading the sassy comebacks in books like these, I always wished that I could be that witty. I kinda expected this book to be rather lame or a shallow depiction of the American high school system again, but, event though it had some of that, it was written quite well. I liked it. :) All the boys in the book were so dreamy, and I found it unrealistic be...more

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Nov 23, 2011 Reading Vacation's Mom rated it 3 of 5 stars

The International Kissing Club has a very “unique” premise. Four girls from Paris, Texas join the foreign exchange program so they can get out and see the world. To make it interesting, they make a Facebook page to anonymously track their romantic encounters while they are away.

Okay, so anonymous or not, the idea of tracking your romance on Facebook sounds really weird to me. I would think the guys who are involved wouldn’t be too happy if they knew their kisses and private moments were being br...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Erica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-debut-author-challenge, 2012-completely-contemp-challenge

3.5 stars

The International Kissing Club by Ivy Adams was an interesting read. It turned out to be a very different book from the one I was expecting. Once I got well into the book, I found the story to be very cute and I didn't want to put it down.

The International Kissing Club had a very slow beginning. Nothing much happened until well over 100 pages into the book. Then I found that things picked up. Even then I definitely favored Cassidy and Izzy's storylines, they were my favorite. Mei also...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Megan (The Book Babe) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-on-my-site

Other reviews like this at The Book Babe

Note: Due to copy an paste, formatting has been lost.

I really liked this book, because I found the characters to be good, and I could identify with them. Small town-No options. But I have to say that my favorite characters were probably Izzy and Cassidy, because they seemed so much more developed than Mei and Piper. Not that Mei and Piper weren't developed, they just didn't really seem as easy to identify with as Izzy and Cassidy.

Izzy was probably the be...more

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Feb 26, 2012 Jessica Day rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really wanted to love The International Kissing Club. Seeing the world is my new niche and I’m looking forward to traveling in college. However I found this book to be very lacking on the “international” side while instead loaded with plenty of “kissing”. I ended up disappointed. That isn’t to say IKC wasn’t a good book, it was. It just wasn’t a great one.
Let’s start with my compliments. IKC has all the requirements of a short, chick lit book. There is humor, boys, drama and plenty of kisses....more

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Mar 29, 2012 Daisy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, 2012-debut-author

Did you know Ivy Adams is a pseudonym for the writing team Emily McKay, Shellee Roberts and Tracy Deebs? Cause it is. And these 3 lovely ladies have written an absolutely cute novel together!

I totally had a smile on my face the whole time I was reading The International Kissing Club! And seriously, just knowing I was reading a book called The International Kissing Club totally made my day! Cause how awesome would it be to have a club like that?? I would have LOVED that as a teen!
Before starting...more Did you know Ivy Adams is a pseudonym for the writing team Emily McKay, Shellee Roberts and Tracy Deebs? Cause it is. And these 3 lovely ladies have written an absolutely cute novel together!

I totally had a smile on my face the whole time I was reading The International Kissing Club! And seriously, just knowing I was reading a book called The International Kissing Club totally made my day! Cause how awesome would it be to have a club like that?? I would have LOVED that as a teen!
Before starting this one I had been reading a couple of books that weren't really working out for me and this one brought my fun back :)

I LOVED reading about the friendship between these 4 girls! Probably because my group of girl friends from college also consists of 4 girls and it's so recognizable! The dynamics were wonderful to read about and I loved that these girls know each other so well.
Also, their are four different point of views we're reading from, but it was always perfectly clear whose chapter it was because they had really well defined voices! Definitely brownie points to the authors for that cause it's not always the case with these kinds of books!

Of course there is a lot going on that I was expecting to happen, because of course all four girls are going to be having a love interest. And I could see the mistakes the girls made coming from miles away. But none of this made me enjoy The International Kissing Club any less! All four of the lovestories were incredibly sweet and I only wish we didn't have to switch POV all the time cause I enjoyed each of the stories and just wanted to spend more time with the characters and their boys.

Also, I'm BEGGING the authors to write a sequel because I am So not done spending time with these girls and I'm DYING to find out what's going to happen with these mostly holiday romances!
This was such a cute read and it was exactly what I needed at the moment. Definitely recommended when you need something light to just relax with!

My rating: 4,5 stars(less)

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Nov 09, 2012 Brittani (Hope, Faith & Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, reviewed

You can find more reviews, along with this one on my blog Hope, Faith & Books

I thought this book was really cute for the most part! I mean, first of all, who wouldn't wanna be a foreign exchange student?? That would be so cool! Meeting new people, learning about a new culture, exploring a whole new country! I would love that! Personally, I'd be like Piper and go to Paris because I absolutely love Paris! But Australia sounds pretty cool too! I really liked the whole International Kissing Club...more You can find more reviews, along with this one on my blog Hope, Faith & Books

I thought this book was really cute for the most part! I mean, first of all, who wouldn't wanna be a foreign exchange student?? That would be so cool! Meeting new people, learning about a new culture, exploring a whole new country! I would love that! Personally, I'd be like Piper and go to Paris because I absolutely love Paris! But Australia sounds pretty cool too! I really liked the whole International Kissing Club Facebook page! Not because of the whole kissing as many guys as you can thing, I thought that was weird. I mean, it thought it was so cool that they each met a guy that they could openly talk about with the entire group but not have to give away names or anything. I thought the whole points system for how many guys you kissed was weird though. I honestly like the girls that only got their three points for the one guy they met and really spent their time with. Having a meaningful friendship/relationship with one guy is way better than kissing a ton of different guys, even if your in a different country.

The girls! They all were pretty cool and unique in their own way but I think out of them all I liked Cassidy the most! She seemed the most level headed most of the time and actually thought things through more than the others. She also seemed to be the most loyal friend out of the four, especially after the big blow up between Piper & Izzy! I really disliked how everyone turned against Izzy when she didn't mean for anything that happened to happen. Piper acted like she did everything on purpose. I've been in that spot where your friends turn against you for something stupid that wasn't even supposed to happen. So I really felt for Izzy, because what Piper did to her was really unfair. I also thought it was really messed up that Piper constantly complained about her problems and always tried to make the conversation about her when she wasn't the only one with problems. She acted like the world revolved around her and it didn't. That was extremely unfair to Izzy! She needed someone to talk to and Piper just blew her off and didn't even care. That's why I liked Cassidy the most because she was actually there for all her friends when they needed her. I was really happy that they worked out their problems but I felt like most of the drama between them wasn't needed. Don't even get me started on Germaine! She was just a manipulative jerk! She didn't need to cause half the drama she did but she did anyways just because she thought she was better than everyone else. I thought this book really described high school really well, populars always picking on the non populars and then manipulating them into turning against each other. It felt really familiar. Overall, I thought this was a good contemporary!(less)

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Jan 09, 2012 Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-release, arcs-i-own, mundie-moms-reviews, signed-books-arcs, 2012-100-book-challenge

Friendship, trust, falling in love and a little bit of self discovery are just a few of the things you'll discovery while reading the story of Cassidy, Izzy, Piper and Mei, four friends who are desperate for an escape from their small TX town. The International Kissing Club is a facebook group they started to track the international kisses they receive as three of the friends venture to China, France and Australia, while one of them stays behind in Paris, TX for 10 weeks. During the course of th...more Friendship, trust, falling in love and a little bit of self discovery are just a few of the things you'll discovery while reading the story of Cassidy, Izzy, Piper and Mei, four friends who are desperate for an escape from their small TX town. The International Kissing Club is a facebook group they started to track the international kisses they receive as three of the friends venture to China, France and Australia, while one of them stays behind in Paris, TX for 10 weeks. During the course of this time the girls learn a few things about love, romance, heartbreak, being a true friend and falling in love.

I liked that through out the course of the story each of the girls grow in a different way. Mei, Cassidy, Izzy and Piper all have different ambitions and goals. They all have their reasons for wanting to get out of their small TX town, and away from their dramatic high school issues. Which can I just add, I'm so glad my HS days are behind me. Honestly the drama that goes on in this story started getting on my nerves a little bit. I know these years are tough, but the things kept happening at the girl's expensive were making me mad. I got really irritated that no one would really stand up and do or say anything about it except for one of the girls. I grew really frustrated with Piper and her in-ability to just stand up for herself. I wanted to help her tell of the queen "you know what". I loved Cassidy, because she didn't have any problems standing up for her friends. With Izzy despite doing something one of her friends deems uncool, I loved that she did what she felt was right and I adored Mei for realizing friends are like family.

I enjoyed getting to know the four friends from Paris, TX. It was great seeing how they each grew through the story, even though at times I cringed at some of the things they did. Unfortunately the public face book page where they track their international kisses was cringe worthy moment for me. I personally had a hard time buying into doing something like this, especially since they not only have an arch enemy who would do anything she can to make the girls look bad, but they could have made their page/group private for just the four of them to see. Instead the girls gain an internationally following, and sadly what started out as a fun idea for these four close friends ends up back firing a little bit for two of them.

I liked how well the different girls all meshed together and their various backgrounds. I also liked reading about some their experiences during their travels. I felt like Ivy Adams nailed that small TX town setting perfectly! I couldn't help but laugh at the Dairy Queen comment that's made in the book. What TX town doesn't have one of those. haha In the end this wasn't a book I enjoyed as much as I wanted to, but I think it's one teen readers will. There is some mild language, some sensual scenes, and mentions of underage drinking and sex.
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Mar 16, 2012 Andie Z rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-debut-author, 2012-debut-author-challenge, 2012-release, 2012-netgalley-reading-challenge, 2012-ya-contemporary-challenge, arc, arcs-i-own, ebook, on-my-kindle, netgalley, own, road-trips-and-travel, read-2012, reviewed, dual-or-multi-narration

Originally posted on my blog, From A to Z.

The International Kissing Club is a lot like what it sounds: light, frothy fun. Four girls make a pact to each try to kiss as many boys as they can during their study abroad semesters… and what do you expect? The result is a lot of kissing, a little heartbreak, and some good old-fashioned high school drama and angst. All in all, a pretty enjoyable read, though I would have appreciated a little more substance.

The chapters alternate point-of-view between P...more Originally posted on my blog, From A to Z.

The International Kissing Club is a lot like what it sounds: light, frothy fun. Four girls make a pact to each try to kiss as many boys as they can during their study abroad semesters… and what do you expect? The result is a lot of kissing, a little heartbreak, and some good old-fashioned high school drama and angst. All in all, a pretty enjoyable read, though I would have appreciated a little more substance.

The chapters alternate point-of-view between Piper, Cassidy, Izzy, and Mei, which is a little confusing to follow at first, while they’re all four still in Texas. I kept getting their stories mixed up (which was the one with the single mom? Whose dad is the football coach?), but once they split up and each started their adventure it became a lot easier to keep track of things.

I really enjoyed each girl’s unique story and the personal growth and realizations they went through because of it, but I wish a little more time could have been spent with each one. There are four different stories to tell in this one novel, which is a LOT, and even at 400 pages, I felt like a lot of story progression and development was left out. We would meet up with a character only to find that a month had passed since we last spoke with her (for lack of better phrasing), and there was a lot of telling instead of showing. I also found it hard to believe that none of the girls made friends with anyone other than their respective guys. I’ve studied abroad, and it’s pretty difficult to not meet ANYBODY.

Partly because of this, I felt like all the relationships moved very fast. I kept thinking “Stop kissing so quickly! You just met!” And while many times this was because the characters had, in fact, just met (or practically just met), it was also because we had often missed a whole chunk of their relationship, which would have been the chunk with all those little moments leading up to the kissing. For this reason, Izzy’s was my favorite storyline, by far. Even though she was the one stuck in Texas I was always excited when we got another ‘Izzy’ chapter, and her romance was the one I could most relate to: slow-building, sweet, and unexpected (to her, at least).

Ivy Adams is actually the pseudonym for a trio of writers, and I have to give them credit for making the story flow as well as it did. It could have easily felt disjointed, given the three authors and the four different narrators, but I didn’t even know Ivy Adams wasn’t one person until I read it at the back of the book when I was finished.

Though at times it can be a bit cheesy and juvenile (but you already knew that from the title, right? :P), The International Kissing Club was nevertheless a cute, fun read. It wouldn’t be my go-to book for an in-depth love story, but if you adore stories about international adventures and you’re in the mood for a light contemporary, this might be just the book for you.(less)

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