Confessions of a Serial Kisser    by Wendelin Van Draanen Order:  USA  Can Knopf, 2008 (2008) Hardcover     Reviewed by Lyn Seippel Seventeen-year-old Evangeline Bianca Logan learns about the crimson kiss when she finds a stash of romance novels under her recently divorced mother's bed. She is so intrigued that she decides she must find her own kiss. Ready to step out of her old skin and reinvent herself, Evangeline gives herself a makeover starting with her hair and make-up and ending by borrowing her mother's cooler clothes. She sets out to find the crimson kiss. Who among the high school boys can deliver that kiss? She confides her plans to her best friend Adrienne who tells her to go for it. Neither realizes the consequences of Evangeline's actions. Her first kiss comes from Robbie Marshall a super jock in her first period math class. Evangeline kisses him and he's all for it but he's definitely not the crimson kisser. Things get more complicated because boys are bigger gossips than girls, and soon the whole school is counting the number of boys she's kissed. So far she's kissed a lot of toads and her name is on the boy's bathroom wall above the urinal. When Adrienne deserts her because Evangeline accidently kisses Paxton, the boy she has a crush on, Evangeline finds herself alone. Adrienne should have told Evangeline she had plans for Paxton. With Adrienne furious with her, Evangeline begins to see a lot of herself in Adrienne's refusal to accept an apology. Evangeline has been avoiding her two-timing dad for months. Evangeline learns a number of life lessons from being a serial kisser. Taking a fantasy driven teenager, Wendelen Van Draanen has written a light and comical book with some heavy themes such as forgiveness, being yourself - and that apologies aren't just for the recipient. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews