Title: Listen to Your Heart
Author: Kasie West
Publication: May 29, 2018
Publisher: Scholastics, Inc.
Genre: Teens, Young Adult
Pages: 336
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads
Talking to other people isn’t Kate Bailey’s favorite activity. She’d much rather be out on the lake, soaking up the solitude and sunshine. So when her best friend, Alana, convinces Kate to join their high school’s podcast, Kate is not expecting to be chosen as the host. Now she’ll have to answer calls and give advice on the air? Impossible.
But to Kate’s surprise, she turns out to be pretty good at the hosting gig. Then the podcast gets in a call from an anonymous guy, asking for advice about his unnamed crush. Kate is pretty sure that the caller is gorgeous Diego Martinez, and even surer that the girl in question is Alana. Kate is excited for her friend … until Kate herself starts to develop feelings for Diego. Suddenly, Kate finds that while doling out wisdom to others may be easy, asking for help is tougher than it looks, and following your own advice is even harder.
Kasie West’s adorable story of secrets, love, and friendship is sure to win over hearts everywhere.
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
I am not sure what drew me to this book in the first place. Perhaps it was the blurb about podcasts or maybe it was something as simple as the cover. I was not disappointed with my choice.
Kate would prefer to stay out on the lake on her Waverunner than doing anything else. She doesn’t even like going to the next town over to attend school. She wishes that there were enough residents in her town to make it so they could have a school. Kate’s best friend is named Alana. They have been friends since Alana moved here from Hawaii in the seventh grade. This year Kate was talked into taking a Podcast class with Alana. She hopes that she doesn’t end up with an upfront job. She would prefer to be a researcher. The teacher gives them an assignment of finding ideas for this year’s podcast. They vote for the best idea and Kate’s idea of “advice” won. What the teacher didn’t tell them was whoever idea won would be the host of the podcast for the semester. Kate is now stuck as the host for the podcast and she doesn’t like people. Meanwhile, Alana is crushing hard on Diego and has enlisted Kate to talk her up to him when she finds out that he works at the tutoring center that Kate takes her cousin to once a week. Will Alana get her guy in the end? Will Kate get over her fear and actually be good as a host on a podcast?
I loved this book. It was a quick, light and easy to read. While it is a romance of sorts it is as clean as a whistle. There is no overboard kissing and just harmless flirting in it. I would totally allow my girls to read this when they got older. The characters resonated with me. I could see myself in Kate when I was in high school. Hide in the shadows and try not to be noticed. I took debate in high school and was an anxious wreck over presentations so I could totally see that happening when she had to do her first podcast as well as the live one during the fall festival. Kate had a strong family bond. In fact, she lived next door to her extended family. It reminded me of my own upbringing. The author wrote the witty sarcastic banter for Kate that I absolutely loved. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more books by this author.
STAR RATING: 5/5
Pick up your copy of Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local bookstore. Also add the book to your To Reads list on Goodreads and leave feedback for the author when you are finished. You can check out more from author Kasie West on her website here! Lots of good books to choose from. You can also find many more great novels from Scholastic by checking out their website here!
