book data
243 ratings, 3.88 average rating, 62 reviews
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published
October 6th 2005
by Laurel Leaf
binding
Paperback, 192 pages
isbn
0440227046
(isbn13: 9780440227045)
description
Hi, I'm Kate Bjorkman. What do you do if you've lived a real romance with a great guy and he loves you as much as you love him? Simple, I wrote a roma...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 346)
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
anti-heroines, nerds named Kate
Gawky Kate Bjorkman has a rapier wit, genius IQ, and coke-bottle glasses. She’s been in love with Richard, her former neighbor and brother’s best friend, since they were kids, and she describes their budding romance by poking fun at Harlequin novel conventions, which take the lovers into bliss, betrayal, and back again.
I was completely charmed by this intelligent, witty, romantic anti-romance and wish I had discovered it in high school, as I share not only the narrator’s name but her g...more
I was completely charmed by this intelligent, witty, romantic anti-romance and wish I had discovered it in high school, as I share not only the narrator’s name but her g...more
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Read in December, 2006
I give this book five stars simply because I absolutely love reading it. It is not destined for the classics list or anything, but it can put a smile on my face and make me laugh every time I read it. It seems that every winter when I get that inevitable cold and feel miserable I turn to this book for a quick pick me up.
I was first introduced to this book in my college Young Adult Lit class. The author, Louise Plummer, visited our class (she was friends with my professor, Ann Cannon (or A...more
I was first introduced to this book in my college Young Adult Lit class. The author, Louise Plummer, visited our class (she was friends with my professor, Ann Cannon (or A...more
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How can you not love Kate Bjorkman? I love the play on structure and spoof on romance novels, without being to esoteric and mature for teens. I picked this book up as a comtemporary companion to read with Othello in my classroom, but in the end decided both texts were too challenging for struggling middle school readers. But, if I ever teach high school...
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This book was refreshing for having a loving family with actually nice parents.
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Read in December, 2008
I read this book because the author used to be in my ward and I was interested in her writing. This book is so expressive of her witty, satirical sense of humor. It was like I could hear her telling this story. One part of the story is especially funny because the main character's mother tells about a big fight she and her husband had. The story is straight from Louise Plummer's life. I've read it in her collection of memoirs and heard her tell the story herself.... I think in Relief Society...more
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Read in December, 2005
recommends it for:
Sabina
Author: Louise Plummer
Title: The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman
Genre: romance
Publication Info: Delacorte Press. New York. 1995.
Recommended Age: 12 and up
Plot Summary: Kate Bjorkman has had a crush on her older brother’s friend, Richard, for years. She didn’t think anything would ever happen between them because she is six feet tall, doesn’t like to wear makeup, and can’t see a thing without her thick glasses. But when Richard and her brother come home for Christmas, Kateâ€...more
Title: The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman
Genre: romance
Publication Info: Delacorte Press. New York. 1995.
Recommended Age: 12 and up
Plot Summary: Kate Bjorkman has had a crush on her older brother’s friend, Richard, for years. She didn’t think anything would ever happen between them because she is six feet tall, doesn’t like to wear makeup, and can’t see a thing without her thick glasses. But when Richard and her brother come home for Christmas, Kateâ€...more
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Read in December, 2008
recommended to Kricket by:
a librarian from my youth
a old favorite published in 1995. kate bjorkman is not a typical romance heroine: six feet tall, bespectacled, a grammar & dialect afficianado...now crushing on her older brother's childhood friend richard, who has come to visit for the holidays along with said older brother, his wife, and a beautiful, mysterious stranger named fleur.
kate's selfish friend ashley also has eyes for richard and manages to invite herself along to all of the family holiday functions, even after kate tries to ...more
kate's selfish friend ashley also has eyes for richard and manages to invite herself along to all of the family holiday functions, even after kate tries to ...more
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Kate Bjorkman is a senior in high school in Minnesota with a passion for linguistics, and for her big brother's best friend, Richard. When Richard comes to stay with her family for Christmas along with the beautiful Fleur (who is just too hard to hate), problems break out in the Bjorkman household because though Kate wants Richard, as she always has, she doesn't know how to show it. She turns to her best friend, Ashley, who can get any man she wants...and she wants Richard, too.
This story i...more
This story i...more
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I actually liked this book quite a bit. It was refreshing to read a YA whose main character was not the member of a dysfunctional family and/or was not suffering from some kind of disease, as is the norm in YA fiction these days. The story, which takes place over Christmas vacation, places awkward Kate Bjorkman in the middle of holiday festivities with her long-time love, Richard. Kate's family is, well, normal, and it's a breath of fresh air. Also, the style of this book is hilarious--it is pre...more
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Pretty fun, but I had a strong emotional reaction to the "problem" at the end. I found myself much less forgiving of Richard than Kate was, so I felt left behind and a little dissatisfied at the end.
Another very light, very easy, 2-hr read of adolescent lit. It's particularly fun to read at Christmas. This book plays a lot with the English language (most especially with linguistics, so if you're up on your linguistics, you'll get a lot more humor out of this book). It's a totally sappy read, so for heaven sake, if you're a guy, don't even bother. I of course love it. I discovered this book in my ad-lit class at BYU. It was written by one of the teachers there, so you're not going to fi...more
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Read in December, 1997
"I'm giving this my best shot. I've got The Romance Writer's Phrase Book right next to the word processor in case I'm at a loss for words, as they say. If you are jaded about romance or have PMS or are on the downside of manic depression and can't stand to read about other people's happiness, then get real. This book is not for you."
A Christmas tradition. Kate is snarky, sweet, funny and a joy to read about. I love how it lampoons and celebrates romance novels all at once. H...more
A Christmas tradition. Kate is snarky, sweet, funny and a joy to read about. I love how it lampoons and celebrates romance novels all at once. H...more
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Read in December, 2008
This book started out pretty good but two-thirds into it I wanted it to be over. It just continued to get worse and I thought the end was stupid. Blah.
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Read in December, 2008
This is an interesting story if your looking for a good holiday romance. I really liked it and it was written well! Best if read around Christmas :)
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Read in April, 2007
Humorous storytelling, a little too verbose in places, whether about the setting or the other characters. This character comes off as far to preoccupied with how other people see her in the way she describes the other characters, instead of just letting her actions and dalogue teach us. Too much first person narritive and commentary. Probably not a good read for anyone under 14, it's PG rated 80's style b/c the narrator is studying how to write a romance novel so she gets into the sensual bit of...more
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I learned how to write a Christmas romance book :)
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Read in September, 2007
Kate Bjorkman isn’t the typical romantic heroine—she’s six feet tall and she wears huge glasses. But one Christmas she finds herself in the middle of a long-awaited romance.
This was a fantastic book. It’s a sly mixture of a romance novel parody and a real-life romance—the kind that really happens, with all its trials and tribulations. There is plenty of humor thrown in, as Kate constantly tries to make parallels between her romance and the typical romance novels.
This was a fantastic book. It’s a sly mixture of a romance novel parody and a real-life romance—the kind that really happens, with all its trials and tribulations. There is plenty of humor thrown in, as Kate constantly tries to make parallels between her romance and the typical romance novels.
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Read in November, 2008
This was a really cute book! It's a quick read and quite unconventionallly written. It seems to be written from the point of view of a teenage girl falling in love and attempting to write about it with the help of a book on how to write romance which provides for some humor. There's revisions and updates at the ends of the chapter. I think it's actually a true story about how the author met her husband, she just changed the name. But I'm not sure. Anyway, I liked it.
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