Zoey Fools Around

Making Out #1

by Katherine Applegate

They've all grown up together on a tiny island. They think they know everything about one another...but they're only just beginning to find out the truth.

Zoey fools around, and it turns their world upside down. New couples are formed, friends become enemies, and secrets are unearthed...

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Childrens, Teen, Chick Lit, Young Adult Contemporary

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

#1 New York Times bestselling author Katherine Applegate has written many books for young readers, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal.

Katherine’s picture books include THE BUFFALO STORM, illustrated by Jan Ormerod (Clarion Books); THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF IVAN, THE SHOPPING MALL GORILLA, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Clarion Books); SOMETIMES YOU FLY, illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Clarion Books); and ODDER: AN OTTER’S STORY, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Feiwel & Friends).

She’s written or co-written three early chapter series for young readers: ROSCOE RILEY RULES, a seven-book series illustrated by Brian Biggs (HarperCollins); DOGGO AND PUPPER, a three-book series illustrated by Charlie Alder (Feiwel & Friends). With Gennifer Choldenko, she co-authored DOGTOWN and MOUSE AND HIS DOG, illustrated by Wallace West (Feiwel & Friends).

Books for middle-grade readers include HOME OF THE BRAVE (Feiwel & Friends); THE ONE AND ONLY series, illustrated by Patricia Castelao, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, THE ONE AND ONLY BOB, THE ONE AND ONLY RUBY, and THE ONE AND ONLY FAMILY (HarperCollins); the ENDLING trilogy (HarperCollins); CRENSHAW (Feiwel & Friends); WISHTREE (Feiwel & Friends); WILLODEEN (Feiwel & Friends); ODDER (Feiwel & Friends); and the forthcoming POCKET BEAR (Feiwel & Friends).

With her husband, Michael Grant, Katherine co-wrote ANIMORPHS, a long-running series that has sold over 35 million books worldwide. They also wrote two other series, REMNANTS and EVERWORLD, and a young adult novel, EVE AND ADAM (Feiwel & Friends.)

Katherine’s work has been translated into dozens of languages, and her books have won accolades including the Christopher Medal, the Golden Kite Award, the Bank Street Josette Frank Award, the California Book Award Gold Medal, the Crystal Kite Award, the Green Earth Book Honor Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Honor Award, and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award. Many of her works have appeared on state master lists, Best of the Year lists, and Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and New York Times bestseller lists.

Katherine lives in Nevada with her husband and assorted pets. She is represented by Elena Giovinazzo at Heirloom Literary and Mary Pender at WME.

Reviews

[Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is for the whole series, I don't want to repeat myself. I loved this series. I had two different editions. I bought the original when I was in eighth grade when it first came out and then the books were re-released with a new cover when I was nineteen. I just recently sold both sets on ebay. My sister and I would pretend we were certain characters. My favorite was Nina and I would skip to the parts that talked about her and Ben's relationship. I love them even though I don't own the books anymore. By far one of the reasons I love reading.

[Nicky (burialshroud) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this series of books over and over again between the ages of 12 and about 15. It holds up. It's set on an island off the coast of Maine and follows the incestuous girl/boyfriend swapping that goes on among the teenage inhabitants of the island. It's told using regular, meat and potatoes third-person prose as well as short, "hand-written" first person chapters that are quite cool, there are even maps and diagrams and things. Later on in the series the plot lines spiral into insanity but at this stage they're pretty acceptable. The story centres around lanky "bad-boy" Lucas's return to Chatham Island following a stint in juvy for killing clean-cut jarhead Jake's older brother Wade in a drunk-driving accident. Local teen ice-queen Claire is also involved in the accident as an "innocent" "passenger". Jake wants the Chatham Island massive to shun Lucas, but Jake's GF Zoey is drawn to Lucas after a series of weird food-related encounters (she kisses him and gives him an ice-cream, he licks her fingers and gives her some bread). Zoey's brother Claire's boyfriend Benjamin is blind and this causes him to question everything everyone else thinks they know about the accident. Could Lucas be innocent?

When I originally read these books Nina was my fave. Constantly cracking wise, seemingly hopeless crush on Benjamin. I think this is still the case. In my memory Zoey is a complete drip/prude but on this re-read I found her naive but moderately spunky and independent. I love an ice queen, so Claire will always have a chilly spot in my heart, even though her pursuit of Jake in this instalment is sort of gross and bewildering.

Favourite moments:
-Any chats between Zoey and Nina. Those two are so cute, even though their dialogue is a bit too snappy at times. No-one is this witty!
-Claire confronts Benjamin about his suspicions about the accident. Ben goes full-on Murder, She Wrote:
"It's coming back isn't it?" Benjamin asked softly.
"No!" Claire cried.
Notes:
-Jake has a little sister in this instalment. I'm pretty sure this little sister ceases to exist at some point in the series.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

ERMAHGERD THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD
KATHERINE APPLEGATE IS MY FAVOURITE AUTHOR IN THE UNIVERSE.
THIS IS YA CONTEMPORARY AT ITS BEST
PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE DUMB SERIES NAME OR THE SUSPECT COVER DESIGN.
IM GOING TO MARRY LUCAS CABRAL

[Daniela (Only If For A Page) · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I've just re-read this gem. The first five books of this series were translated into Czech and they were one of the very few non-Czech young adult books available in my small town library. I adored them and read them like 10 times so there's a huge amount of nostalgia involved but this was still entertaining and deliciously trashy.

I never got to continue with the series and I'm not pleased about the fact that the books were republished with "updated" culture references and stuff. What's wrong with the original references? It's dated anyway but the portrayal of a small town and how everyone knows about everything that happens is very authentic lol.

[Shay]

Probably one of my favorite series when I was a teen... never did get to finish it...

[Pastel Paperback · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun teen series set on an island near coastal Maine. The first entry sets up the love triangles, friendships, and tension that would populate the rest of the books. I love an introductory story that defines a tone and mood and Applegate is great at giving you a sense of the island location and 90s vibe.

I also spent the entire time picturing the cast as a mix of Beverly Hills 90210 and Dawson’s Creek characters, ha.

[Franzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god, I just found this book series here on goodreads and those were my absolute favorite books when I was growing up! I read them all from my local library and everytime I walked in there I checked if they got new books/books I haven't read.
I remember that I thought the characters were totally interesting and I even educated myself in a few things because the characters loved them (for example meteorolgy...haha).
It must have been 13-17 years since I read them but I still remember the setting and the parts of the story. My favorite characters were Nina & Ben, but I thought Claire was so fascinating too. Haha. Don't know if I would love them still today, but they sure were great youth novels!

[Reading with Cats · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much a product of its time (Dylan McKay has *a lot* to answer for), but I loved every guilty pleasure minute of it.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it even more on rereading! I giggled through parts, and I think reading it with friends really added layers to the experience because we could joke about the characters together. Definitely adding “slippery lippery” to my everyday jargon.

[Katie (Kitkatscanread) · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this is a re-read for me.
Probably my 3rd time reading if honest.
I first read this in secondary school when I was about 13 haha.
I still love it now.
Full of drama between teenagers.
This book had a definite plot twist, which I remembered.
Also at the back of this old edition there's a cute short quiz.
I really enjoyed this book and look forwards to re-reading the 2nd!

[Love_booksforlife Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally read this in high school and loved it then. Now I just like it. It was a cute and very quick read. The characters are good but j wished it was a little longer so I could get more into the story. I get that Zoey liked Lucas but it was a little too quick for her to be falling for him. All in all a good YA quick read romance.

[Emma Beckett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I completely adored rereading this after 25+ years. Oh, the nostalgia!

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remembered some of what happened from the first time I read it. I kinda want to keep going with this series!

2 years ago there was a car accident which killed Wade. Lucas confessed to being the river and was sent to juvie for 2 years. Now Lucas is back on the island, and Wade's brother Jake is not happy about it. Anyway...
* Zoey (Jake's girlfriend) talks to Lucas and even has breakfast with him.
* The other kids on the island all blank Lucas as Jake has asked them to.
* Zoey is seen with Lucas, and when Jake finds out he's really angry.
* Jake hits Lucas a couple of times on the ferry across from the island to the mainland.
* Zoey feels like she's falling in love with Lucas, and realises she'll have to break up with Jake.
* Claire seems pretty happy with that, it looks like she wants to dump her boyfriend Benjamin, and have Jake as her boyfriend instead.
* Benjamin doesn't want to lose Claire, but he suspects that Lucas wasn't actually driving the car the night of the accident because Lucas wasn't injured.
* Benjamin tries to talk to Claire about the accident but she claims she doesn't remember anything about that night, even when she now remembers everything and knows she was the driver.
* Nina wants to date Ben, but can't because he's her sister Claire's boyfriend.
* Aesha is annoyed when Christopher asks her out, she doesn't think that just because they're both black she should go out with him.
* Claire talks to her dad and finds out that he suspected that she was driving, and when Lucas confessed, he told him that if she stayed with the story that he was to blame, he'd help his dad out who was about to lose his fishing boat.
* The next book is 'Jake Finds Out', but what does Jake find out? Does he find out about Zoey and Lucas? Or about the accident and who was really driving? Or both??

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This rating is for books 1-8. After those were written, the series title was changed (from "Boyfriends & Girlfriends" to "Making Out," yuck). Also, they reshot all the cover photos using teens who didn't remotely resemble the characters. Add to this the fact that the books became even more like badly written teen soaps (and were almost completely Zoey-centric), and they basically made books 9-28 unreadable. Not that I could stop, since by then I had to know what would happen. But I do wish I could turn back the clock, stop at #8, and just be glad to have had fun reading those few books.

[Blaira]

pretty good book but definitely a book for teens. relationships can be kind of confusing. i read it several years ago but its been driving me crazy ever since that i was unable to finish the series because the library only had the first book so eventually id like to finish it. i really want lucas and zoey to end up together i think they are perfect for each other but i was reading summaries on the books and found out that lucas eventually cheats on zoey with nina though only a kiss and i think she needs to make him work for them to get back together.

[Katelynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books so much. They're timeless, hilarious, heartbreaking, and human. These characters are so unique and fully developed and smart and sweet and I remember reading about them at 13 and wishing so badly that I had friends like them, and really, I still do. I'm back in the world of Chatham Island and it feels like I never left. So excited to read the rest.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to re-read a book from my teens. The updates are odd though. Why update pop culture references when the story obviously takes place in a different era? Smoking in restaurants, no cell phones or social media - getting caught passing notes in class. It’s also funny to realize this is the same author who is now so well regarded for her children’s books.

[J.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this YA Making Out series back when I was an actual YA. I wanted so bad to live on that island, I wanted to be Nina, and Benjamin Passmore was my very first book boyfriend :)

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nostalgic re-read. Is this a perfect book? No. Do I still enjoy it? Yes. Easy to read book which is helping me get out of a reading slump.

[Jenn N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another reread of one of my favorite series of all time.

[Laina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading some of the books in this series back in the 90's. I remember loving Zoey, Lucas and Ben as my favorite characters. I decided to reread the books and finish the series.

I can't stand Claire already. She's too manipulative and I want Ben to wise up and dump her.

I feel bad for Zoey, who is torn between sides in being there for Jake, or Lucas.

I feel like Jake's being more of a dick to Lucas than he has a right to be. I'm on chapter 18 right now and what Benjamin said to Zoey, makes me think something else happened during the crash that killed Wade.

I hate that Zoey cares so much what everyone thinks of her, but I also remember being her age and wanting to fit in and wanting other kids to like me, and doing what I could to blend in or fit in. Even if that meant treating some innocent guy like crap. It's not good or right, but I can sympathize with her struggles.

And I remembered sorta right. Lucas wasn't responsible for the accident, Claire was. Makes sense. Hopefully they admit it and don't keep it a secret anymore so Lucas can stop being a pariah.

I hate that Lucas had to take the wrap for Claire, just to protect his father's business and to protect Claire. Neither the father nor Claire deserve his protection as they're assholes.

I like that Zoey and Lucas were together at the end of this book and I hope they're together more as the series goes on.

[Maria P · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good to read this again, the first time since my teens. It’s a young adult fiction book so felt a bit young now but good to read and remember the 90s. Which was when this book first came out. However for some reason the new version now called “The Islanders” has been edited to try to appeal to a more modern audience. My first indication was reference to the father’s age and that he was born in the nineties - well that couldn’t be true. Then One Direction got a mention and Ed Sheeran! Then an iPhone was mentioned once used as an alarm - but later in the story a landline rings and the person downstairs picks up and it’s for someone upstairs who picks up the upstairs phone and tells the person downstairs to hang up - something we did a lot back then! However this would not happen in the age of the iPhone! Also at no other point in the story do they communicate via phone. If you’re going to modernise a story surely you’ve either got to do it fully or not at all? In this case it was a half-hearted attempt and therefore created huge discrepancies. It should have been left alone for consistency! Still, a good story overall and I will still read the next one. 😊

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

****If you are a fan of Tijan & you can find this series, I highly recommend reading it!!****

I read this book when it first came out back in 1994, back when the series was called "Boyfriends/Girlfriends."

I had the first 8 books & immediately loved the whole lot of them. I remembered being so disappointed when I saw that it was only 8 books. I was later thrilled when the series continued! I quickly bought the rest. I still have the entire set.

It was just so realistic and I immediately connected with all the characters. I just couldn't get enough of them. I felt like i could fit in that little world of Chatham Island. Maybe, because I grew up in a small town.

Every once in a while, I re-read them just to have that little piece of my teenage years back.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, sweet nostalgia. My library never purchased this series, so I get to discover it as an adult.

Have you noticed that teen series are dead? They don't go past 3 books anymore. I miss them so much - series like Fearless and Sweet Valley University by Francine Pascal, Nancy Drew On Campus by Caroline Keene, and California Diaries by Ann M. Martin.

Making Out is just as fun as my old favorites - and the writing holds up today. It is SCANDALOUS, too! A drunk driving accident, unrequited love, cheating, and friendship problems galore. As an adult, I can predict most of the plot but I DON'T CARE. It's that fun. I'm looking forward to reading more from the series.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read for nostalgia's sake. It was of course a bit outdated given the year it was written in but I think even teens today could probably relate or like the book. It's definitely a little soap opera like but I'm not really complaining about that. It was sort of what I needed to read at the moment and I liked the cliffhanger ending enough that I want to buy the next book whenever I can find it somewhere to get it.

[Bookish Bernice · Rating 5 out of 5]

am I about to reread all of these? a genuine YA read from my YA years. these books followed me from HS to college then back home where I found missing books on eBay. the writing holds up?? these kids are funny, self-aware, and there's such a great plot driving them all forward.

of COURSE Lucas was my teenage type. dreamy river phoenix misunderstood bad boy? pacey witter is calling and me and Zoey are answering.

[Neve · Rating 4 out of 5]

OH MY
O H M Y
~~~~~~~~
First off
Claire can go jump WHY IS SHE MESSING WITH JAKE RIGHT UNDER BENJAMINS NOSE JUST BECAUSE HES BLIND
I’m sorry I really don’t like her
Benjamin I feel like is trying to stir stuff but idk
Poor Lucas tho he’s literally done nothing wrong
THE MISCOMMUNICATION BRO 😭😭
I’m addicted to these books now

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schöner Reihenanfang, ruft bei mir immer wieder Erinnerungen an meine Jugend hervor. Auch wenn das Buch nicht die Außergewöhnlichste aller Geschichten beinhaltet macht das Buch doch spaß und reißt mich immer wieder mit.

[Lisa]

I have thought about this series for so long wishing I could re-read the first few books and finish the whole series. I remember enjoying these so much as an older teen, but as an adult the magic has been lost. Kinda sad. 🥺

[belindag26637 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A drama filled story about a bunch of kids living in a small island town. It’s reminds me a lot of Dawsons creek which I love. It was a quick read but I like the characters and find the drama between them very entertaining.