Heather Truett’s YA debut, Kiss and Repeat, brings to life the author’s commitment to more neurodivergent voices in publishing. Perfecting her writing while also pursuing an MFA at the University of Memphis, Truett is launching her career with a charming and relatable debut centered around Stephen, a teen with Tourette’s who discovers his tics disappear when he is kissing someone. With the help of his best friend, Stephen embarks on a scientific investigation of this phenomena, making it his goal to kiss as many girls as possible during his “experiment.” Although Stephen had always thought himself unlikely to have a girlfriend, he finds himself entangled in evolving relationships with not one but two girls, forced to figure out what really matters to him and who he wants to become along the way. While Stephen’s Tourette’s may be new to some teen readers, his relationship missteps and the way he navigates school, family, friends, and church (where his mom is the pastor) will be familiar territory for many, and readers will be rooting for him as nurtures his newfound confidence and learns how to see himself as others do.

Stephen, a senior in high school, is convinced by his friend to engage in an experiment: does kissing girls calm his Tourette’s? Stephen means well, but things quickly sour due to his inexperience with girls and dating. Suddenly, Stephen has new girl problems, and his tics are getting worse. Will he be able to get his life back under control? And get the girl of his dreams?

This YA romance is unique in that it is told entirely from the male protagonist’s POV. I worry that the teens at my library won’t read it, then, since my male teens don’t want romance and my female teens who like romance don’t want male protagonists. I wonder why Truett decided to make her protagonist male and not female? I know neurodivergence is more often diagnosed in males, but that doesn’t mean females aren’t neurodivergent.

If you have a teen specifically looking for a book with an MC who has Tourette’s, get it. Otherwise, pass.

Ability diverse:
- Stephen has Tourette’s. It goes into detail on what having a 504 plan means for Stephen.

I like the Tourette’s representation, but the pride of the book itself is clunky and scattered, making it hard to get into.

I really liked reading a novel from the perspective of a male protagonist who, aside from his Tourette's syndrome, seemed to have a reasonably decent life (even with a stick-in-the-mud dad). I also liked how he figured out fairly early on what his plan really meant to him, and what was perhaps more important. This story has clear religious themes that I didn't necessarily get into, but I think in other areas, or with certain students, they might resonate more deeply.

This book didn't really work for me personally.. The pacing felt off and this made it hard for me to connect with the characters. I think high schoolers who are looking for a light weekend read would enjoy it. <3

Stephen Luckie has Tourette Syndrome and believes that its the reason he can't seem to get girls to like him. He attends a party where they play Spin the Bottle and discovers that his tics seem to go away when he is kissing someone. He decides to begin a kissing experiment to see if his hypothesis is true. As the experiment continues and two girls become interested in him, he begins to think that his tics haven't been the problem after all.

I haven't seen Tourette's Syndrome represented in books often, so I was excited to check this out.
This was a pretty average read in my opinion, and I didn't think it was anything revolutionary. I was a bit disappointed with the plot, as the experiment that was a major point in the synopsis was abandoned pretty on in the book for Stephen to begin pursuing a real relationship instead. I wasn't the biggest fan of either love interests either, but if I had to choose between the two I'd definitely choose Jan over the other one. I think this would be a good book for younger YA readers, who are just diving into the genre.

Overall, it was super quick, I read it in one sitting and it flowed very nicely, but I don't think it was anything spectacular.

Kiss and Repeat was an incredibly enjoyable read. I tend to get super squirmy when it comes to books with miscommunications and that impending feeling of knowing something bad is going to happen (especially as major plot points), but this did not give me that feeling at all. This book was real and honest and such a joy to read. I fell in love with Stephen’s character and just wanted to hold his hand through the book because pretty much everything gets thrown at this boy. But it was in the way he picked himself up and made things right that made this book as special as it was.

In the deep south of Alabama, sixteen-year-old Stephen Luckie is at a party when he gets roped into a modern version of spin the bottle. When he and a beautiful classmate of his get matched, he internally freaks out because he has Tourette’s Syndrome, and he does not want his ticks to make him do something to embarrass him… Much to his surprise, he finds that while kissing this girl, he does not have a single tick or spasm, giving his best friend the wild idea that they need to further this experiment and get Stephen to kiss as many girls as he can to prove the theory that he is tick-free when he is kissing a girl.

Stephen is this very real, very relatable character who is just trying to maneuver through his high school career in one piece, but for a kid named Luckie, he definitely does not have the best luck. Through a series of experiments, one girl who wants all of his attention, one who used to have a major crush on him, and one that he has always been in love with, it is obstacle after obstacle for him. But what I loved most was that through all of this, Stephen was a good and kind, respectable kid with a huge heart.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Swoon Reads for the opportunity to read and review this book. First trigger warnings for underage drinking, religious discussion, bullying, and miscommunication. This book was a hit as well as a miss for me and here is why:
I enjoyed the Tourette's Syndrome representation that felt truly accurate (based on my personal knowledge)
However, I felt like there were some moments where it didn't feel like a natural representation more like romanced. But, if the author decides to do more books like this one, I wouldn't not read it.
I also didn't understand some of the plot? It felt like it was trying to do too many things at once (I mean there were some characters that weren't flushed out enough, there were some that just felt like an archetype that were just added in to discuss certain topics (or lack thereof).
Overall though, I think this book is a good teen self-discovery of Tourette's and relationships but there are moments where it is just "huh?" or "Why is this even happening??" Because of these points, I have to give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars

Truett's story about a teen boy with Tourette's navigating the high school dating scene could have been great. She spends a lot of time describing Stephen's physical challenges and his thoughts as he changes from being shy and guarded to confident and relaxed. The teaser for this book sets it up as a 'kissing' experiment and honestly, I think that it would have been more entertaining and potentially more humorous to see that idea fulfilled than the plot that was presented. On the positives, I think the author does a nice job of handling the 'preacher's kid' aspect of things and makes Stephen's parents realistic and balanced. She also refrained from completely tying the 'bow' at the end (there's no evangelism/conversion of any characters at the end. While finding 'the right girl' has helped Stephen with his tics, and helped the girl find some solace and comfort, it doesn't completely fix their worlds.
Thank you for the ARC and the opportunity to preview this.

Honestly I felt let down by KISS AND REPEAT. I thought this was going to be a story about a guy with Tourettes learning to be more comfortable with himself, rather than a story of a guy getting more comfortable being awful to everyone around him. Add to that the uncomfortable love interest and the lack of chemistry between them, and the only reason I am not failing it is because I didn't hate it enough to DNF it.

Disclaimer: I got this book in exchange for an honest review.

In this book, the protagonist, Stephen uses his father's scientific method for a kissing experiment. This kind of reminded me a lot of An Abundance of Katherine's by John Green. Stephen has Tourette Syndrome which is why he's awkward when it comes to love. He starts to realize that maybe it's not his syndrome. Maybe it's how he treats the girls and he has to realize that the important thing is to be himself. I was looking forward to reading more about The Kissing Experiment, but it was only talked about in the beginning of the novel and then it was an abandoned storyline halfway. If it was discussed more, I would've given it a 4/5 stars. It just sounded really good based off the premise, but he spends most of his time thinking about which girl to pursue.

What happens when kissing a girl suddenly stops your tics from happening? Stephen Luckie has Tourette’s Syndrome and when one game of spin the bottle leads to him getting kissed by a girl for the first time, suddenly his tics disappeared when he was kissed. Now Stephen is on a journey or rather an experimental journey to see if kissing girls really does stop his tics from occurring. Throw in lots of girls with lots of drama, and one guy who is experiencing a lot of firsts and what you get is a kind of funny journey about Stephen and finding not just a girl to stop his tics but maybe someone he actually likes. It was definitely an interesting story and getting to know Stephen was a fun read. The relationship drama was packed in this book haha. One girl who saved him from a bully when he was younger who has has a hate/love relationship with, another girl who thinks he is her boyfriend, and another girl who gets into a bit of a miscommunication with Stephen. But the question is, which one is the right one?

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Stephen has Tourette’s Syndrome and after being kissed by a girl which happened at a party by accident, he realizes he doesn’t get a tic while it happened. This causes for an interesting plot where I liked some parts but didn’t like others as much.

When it comes to the rep, I can’t really speak on it because I don’t have it nor does anyone close to me. I will say in some instances it felt more like a background thing because it didn’t happen often and it would only be talked about. It was interesting to see how he dealt with situations that came about because of his tics.

Stephen isn’t like many other guys in books as he does try to take a girl’s feelings into consideration. Although this is the case for a lot of the book, he does at times overlook a certain situation involving a girl that causes a lot of drama that did feel over the top but also understandable in a way.

The plot was a bit predictable and it was easy to see where the story was going when it came to the romance and the girl he would end up choosing. There still were certain plot twists I didn’t see coming and liked so it did keep the book interesting.

As for the other characters, some were a bit flat for my liking and only there to keep things moving but it didn’t bother me too much. His best friend was a real dillweed though and I would have ended up punching him, haha.

Overall, this was good and it did have cute moments.

Although I appreciated the topic, the storyline and love interest and characters fell short for me. Full review on goodreads.com.

Kiss and Repeat is the story I didn’t know I needed. It tells the story of Stephen, a high schooler with Tourettes Syndrome who realizes that his tics momentarily disappear at a party when he kisses a girl during a game of Spin the Bottle. When his friend suggests that kissing could be a natural aid, Stephen begins to wonder whether this was just a one-off occurrence and the two teens set out on a mission to test their theory via the scientific method. Their purpose? To calm Stephen’s tics, which he believes to be contributing to his nonexistent relationship record.

As a neurodiverse reader, I found Stephen’s high-school experience relatable in ways I couldn’t begin to expect. There were times when I laughed, triggered by a line that resurfaced a memory long forgotten. Other times, I found myself in pain, relating to childhood emotions I’d once felt would never leave. With an honest, easy and relatable writing style that effortlessly takes a reader back to grade school, Kiss and Repeat is definitely suitable for its intended teenage audience, as well as adults and educators. There is an authenticity to the authors voice in this story- one easily recognized by another neurodiverse reader and impossible to duplicate. This and any future work by Heather Truett definitely deserves space on my bookshelf and would be an amazing asset to school libraries around the world. If you are looking for a great Own Voices tale for your or your child's enjoyment, this book would be a great place to start.

Overall, I would give Kiss and Repeat 8/10 for authenticity, relatability and just an overall great story. I thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to release and look forward to rereading and building onto my review for Neuroclastic at https://neuroclastic.com/author/elyseconnections/.

This is my second read of this book, and it was just as delightful as the first go.

Stephen is a high schooler with Tourette’s. As much as he doesn’t want it to, his condition controls much of his thoughts and anxieties. He is struggling with his identities. He struggles to be the perfect son and to be the best friend. He struggles with his identity as a Christian in a household where his mother is a Methodist minister and a father who is inattentive and gaslighting toward him. On top of all that, he has the tics which makes life much more complicated.

Stephen discovers that his tics stop when he kisses a girl for the first time, and he and his best friend Ballard go on a journey for a scientific experiment to figure out if his tics stop every time he kisses someone. Along the way things get complicated for Stephen. He finds that some girls do actually like him, and he has some important realizations about how his Tourette’s has effected his social/dating life.

This book is a lovely coming of age story with neurodiverse representation. It captures the anxiety of being a teenager who is dating. The story highlights the struggles with living in the Bible Belt and doubting your faith and spirituality. Stephen’s journey is messy, complicated, and perfect. I highly recommend reading this story!