The Kissing Booth: The Book

Let’s start with things that stay the same: The book version of The Kissing Booth has the same barebones as the movie, with all of its problematic implications. Noah still scares guys away from Elle and has a reputation as a bad boy player who gets in fights. He also confesses to liking her because, “You’re the only girl who doesn’t fall to her feet in front of me.” Which, having read the book multiple times, I can confirm is not true. Elle has a huge crush on Noah, and doesn’t do a very good job of hiding it. There’s also a lot of sexism coming from every single male character, who constantly sexualize and infantilize Elle, often within the same sentence. Both Lee and Noah are of the opinion that she can’t decide who to date because she is too nice and trusting, and would get hurt. Elle doesn’t mind this coming from Lee, as he is her best friend, but correctly asserts that Noah is overstepping. (Of course, she comes to forgive him on this.) Even from Lee though, it’s a little bit ridiculous.

“The point is, Noah’s totally right to tell guys to keep away from you. You’re so trusting, you’d get hurt real easy.”

“What?” I cried indignantly. “How am I ‘so trusting’?”

Lee shrugged again. “You’re just too nice sometimes, Shelly. Not in a bad way. I just mean that… well, you know, you’re more likely to fall for some jerk who’ll hurt you.”

But there are also notable differences between the book and the movie. For one, there is no deranged list of rules between Lee and Elle, number eight being “Don’t date relatives.” This is a strange rule, because as Danny Gonzalez points out in his review, Elle’s only relatives are her kid brother and her dad, two people which Lee can be presumed to not be interested in. I can understand why the screenwriter’s added this; Elle’s relationship with Lee is the main stumbling block in her relationship with Noah, and in the book it’s pretty contrived as Lee seems fine with the two of them dating until all of a sudden he isn’t.

The movie also simplifies many scenes, making them confusing and deeply problematic. It achieves this by removing almost every background character, even those who are important to the plot. Like how in the movie, Elle agrees to go on a date with a boy who assaulted her- leading the viewer to think, ok Noah, protect this idiot from herself as much as you want. In the book, Elle punches him in the face, and then Noah finishes the beating for her. She agrees on a date with a different boy, who Noah doesn’t scare off, but glowers at. This is important not only because it is the difference between a love interest who physically attacks people for jealousy reasons over protection reasons, but also because it allows Elle to explore her romantic options. When the boy she’s on a date with goes in for a kiss, she isn’t feeling it and gives him a peck on the cheek instead. These factors combine to give the reader the impression that 1. Elle can take care of herself and 2. She isn’t just with Noah because he’s forcibly made himself her only option.

Another difference between the book and the movie is Noah’s character. Movie Noah is a dick, there’s no other way to put it. He pushes a girl he’s making out with off of him because she “tastes like cheetos.” He uses his own treatment of women as justification for why Elle should never date because all guys are just like him. Book Noah is problematic, but not in his treatment of women. Rather, it’s the book's insistence that he be the “bad boy violence junkie” that gives me qualms. He admits to having a deep well of anger, not being able to stop himself, punching his own brother when they disagree– and Elle is the only one who can calm him down. Everyone in Elle’s life worries Noah might be dangerous for her, which makes me concerned for the book's readers. If even your love interest’s family members think he might present a danger to you, run.

That said, Noah is never really shown to be a violent danger. He’s just treated like one, because that’s part of the fantasy. And, importantly, he actually likes Elle. The two of them like each other, not just as lovers but as friends.

Noah’s bad traits are pulled from fantasies that while reading the book, I started to have some ideas about. Like the way Noah (and Lee, for that matter), constantly explain to Elle that she is accidentally leading boys on, shouldn’t wear super tight clothing and then get drunk at parties, that someone is going to try to take advantage of her. And then, if anyone does, they leap in to protect her. And it got me thinking about my experience as a young woman in the world. Getting offered a threesome in line at the cafeteria, getting my chest stared at in the library, having my work interrupted by a guy who talked to me for two hours about his childhood trauma. There’s a scene where Elle is at a party, sober, and begins to feel stifled. A guy offers her some fresh air, and they go outside. He comes up behind her and starts to kiss her neck. She tries to push him away; he does not relent. Noah almost breaks his ribs.

So while the idea of a violent man is a turn off for me, I couldn’t help but think… yeah, that would be nice. To go through the world blissfully unaware of men’s thoughts, the dangers around every corner. Elle, through Noah and Lee’s protection, gets to do that, and I can appreciate that for a lot of teen girls, it’s a nice fantasy.

Also, the thing about a bad boy trope is that he’s supposed to have an arc. He starts out as a bit of a player, sure, and is overprotective most definitely, but then he changes. He falls in love and becomes every bit the hopeless romantic the girl is from the start. And while this premise has its challenges (such as the idea you can fix a man with your love) it’s still better than the alternative where the guy doesn’t change at all and just… stays a dick. That’s exactly what happens with Noah in the movie. However, in the book he is soft and gentle with Elle. He gets down on his knees to ask her to go to prom with him, and hops up on stage to apologize and ask her out in front of everyone. He holds doors open for her and takes her on romantic dates, and as the reader, you do start rooting for him. He even apologizes for his controlling nature:

“I’ll catch you in a little bit. Go party, birthday girl.”

“Wow. Who’d have thought I’d see the day when overprotective, violence-junkie best friend’s brother would tell me to ‘go party’?” I teased. “ And not tell me to watch what I drink or who I talk to, or make a comment about how I’m dressed.”

I expected him to roll his eyes, or laugh at me, or make a witty comment back. But actually, he gave me a sheepish smile, looking kind of…guilty.

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” I told him.

“I know. Don’t worry. I am sorry for that, though. You know - being all…”

“Overprotective? Controlling? A jerk-face?”

He laughed. “Yeah. That. But just for the record… You look extremely hot tonight.”

So for all of these reasons, I would describe the book as having Good Bones. The version I’m reading (which I found for free online) is as it was originally uploaded to Wattpad. I can tell that it’s written for a fanfiction website, that it’s a first draft, but it has promise.

The book certainly doesn’t scream I was written by a fifteen year old. It does however, scream I was written by a Brit, which makes sense, because it was. The Kissing Booth’s idea of carnival’s, school dances, and social hierarchies, speaks to an understanding of American high school gleaned solely from pop-media. Particularly when school-skipping, getting into fights Noah who is never seen studying just… gets into Harvard. (The parent’s lax feelings about sex and alcohol also seem distinctly un-American, but maybe that’s just the part of America I’m from.)

All in all, it is an extremely impressive feat on behalf of Reekles, and having read it, I’m saddened by the reviews of the movie that pin its failings on her. Because yes, the movie is atrocious, and yes, it takes its plot lines from the book– but not Elle strip teasing in the boys locker room. Not Elle going on a date with the boy who assaulted her. Those scenes, treating the teenage Elle as sexual and stupid, were written by adult men. And we blame them on a very impressive, talented and driven teenage girl.

There’s more I could say about this book. It’s a very rich text, and if it’s wanted, I’d be willing to dive back into it. Or at least, the world of self-published romance, both through sites like Wattpad and more traditionally. But for now, I think I have to put The Kissing Booth aside for a little while, for my own sanity.

Love and (consensual, un-paid for) kisses,

Pure

Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXDWjYWlqpQ

https://www.webnovel.com/book/the-kissing-booth_11501387906398105/chapter-1_30873868637885491