Kate in Waiting

Written by Becky Albertalli

Narrated by Bebe Wood

From #1 New York Times bestselling author and rom-com queen Becky Albertalli comes a buoyant new novel about daring to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight in love, life, and, yes, theater.

Contrary to popular belief, best friends Kate Garfield and Anderson Walker are not codependent. Carpooling to and from theater rehearsals? Environmentally sound and efficient. Consulting each other on every single life decision? Basic good judgment. Pining for the same guys from afar? Shared crushes are more fun anyway.

But when Kate and Andy’s latest long-distance crush shows up at their school, everything goes off-script. Matt Olsson is talented and sweet, and Kate likes him. She really likes him. The only problem? So does Anderson.  

Turns out, communal crushes aren’t so fun when real feelings are involved. This one might even bring the curtains down on Kate and Anderson’s friendship.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063058200

Becky Albertalli

Becky Albertalli is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of William C. Morris Award winner and National Book Award longlist title Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (now a major motion picture, Love, Simon); The Upside of Unrequited; Leah on the Offbeat; the Simonverse novella Love, Creekwood; What If It’s Us and Here's to Us (cowritten with Adam Silvera); Yes No Maybe So (cowritten with Aisha Saeed); Kate in Waiting; and Imogen, Obviously, a Stonewall Honor Book. Becky lives with her family near Atlanta. You can visit her online at beckyalbertalli.com. 

Reviews for Kate in Waiting

[Geneviève Rouleau · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable, but there are a LOT of characters and it was a bit hard to keep track of them all in audio form ?

[brooke nowak · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a pretty cute story, Noah is hands down my favorite character. I found Kate to be kind of annoying though and I swear if I hear the phrase “f boy” one more time I’m ripping out my ears. I don’t think she went one minute without saying it

[Ronda Sue Wingo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very much enjoyed this story. Somewhat predictable but in an enjoyable way. Light hearted and cute little story.

[Chée · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I thought it was sapphic, it's not but it's still interesting. I loved Noah character, really, really loved him. But I kind of hated Anderson and the fact that she had to apologize even though he was in the wrong made me mad. Anyways, Noah is the cutest.

[François Thurston · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic narration. Going to have book hangover for sure! Was just so much fun!

[Briana Michelle Meyer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was absolutely delightful! It only took me two days to finish. Becky has done it again with her perfection of high school. Plus, this was all about theatre. Such a good ending!

[Victoria Edelsbrunner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a cute story with a lovely ending. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Great that there was such a lot of theatre vibes all the way through but it didn't take over.

[ewyatt_16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Kate and her BFF, Andy, pride themselves on communal crushes. When they walk into school and find their camp crush had moved to town, they are stunned. Both Kate and Andy develop feelings for Will. There's a whole subplot about an FBoy, Noah, who also seems to be coming around a lot. The action of the play revolves around the fall musical which most of the main players in the book are a part. High school rom com. Light, fun read. I liked the relationship between Kate and her brother!

[deslivres5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cute read, perfect for Glee fans/theater kids.
I saw the ending coming waaay before the ending.
I wanted a breezy YA read without too much teen drama and that is what I got.
But instead of making me feel young again, this one's current cultural references, which I only partially got, made me feel a tad old:-)

[avoraciousreader · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.5

Book source ~ TWR Tour

Kate Garfield and Anderson Walker are the bestest of friends. They share everything. They even have communal crushes. What’s that, you ask? Well, they crush on the same guys, but only if they are unattainable. Like, during Summer camp. However, when their Summer communal crush transfers to their school they are thrown into a complete tizzy. It’s unprecedented. Kate really likes Matt and so does Anderson. But they have no idea who Matt likes. When all three end up in the Fall musical together tensions rise. The only real question here is: will their friendship survive their communal crush if Matt chooses one over the other?

This is a great read! I honestly wasn’t sure when I saw the blurb for The Write Reads blog tour, because I don’t read much YA anymore let alone one centered around a school musical. However, I like stretching my reading muscles (since they’re starting to get a bit atrophied in this area) and it sounded like it might also be humorous. Humor saves many a book I otherwise might pass on. Who doesn’t love some humor? Especially when applied so skillfully.

This story took me straight back to high school. I’m 53, there’s not much I reflect on in that time period of my life except I was glad to graduate with my class (it was touch and go there) and get the hell on with my life. Long story. Anyway, the plethora of emotions in Kate and Anderson’s tale brought it all rushing back. The uncertainty, awkward crushes, best friends, tensions running high, diverse family dynamics, and the emotions. Yikes. All those emotions swinging wildly about smacking everyone around. And don’t forget the humor. Put it all together with a tight plot and fantastic writing and what do you get? A fucking awesome read. If you like YA books that will give you all the feels then pick this up. I give it a standing ovation.