SuitabookKissing in America
Margo Rabb
- Reading
- Consider discussing the book in stages: first Eva’s use of romance stories, then her response to Will’s departure, and finally whether the road trip alters her view of love, friendship or grief.
- Themes
- Grief and coping: Eva is still affected by her father’s death and reads romance novels to dull the pain. The story places grief at the centre of Eva’s emotional life, but does not establish whether her coping is presented as helpful, harmful or changing.
- Romantic expectation: Eva’s romance with Will becomes bound up with her hope of escaping sadness and finding real love. Romance novels and Eva’s feelings appear to shape her expectations, while the journey is said to confront a more complex truth about love.
- Friendship and change: Eva and her best friend Annie make a plan to travel west to see Will. Their friendship is a practical force in the story, but its emotional development and any tensions are not described.
- Worth knowing
- Grief is central: Eva’s father died two years earlier, and the loss remains present. Romantic attachment is also intense, with Eva viewing Will as unusually important to her emotional wellbeing.