Book Review: “Once Upon A Kiss” by Robin Palmer

Lauren Wengrovitz

9 years ago

“Once Upon A Kiss” by Robin Palmer is a fun throwback-style young adult novel. The main character is high school student Zoe Brenner, who somehow ends up traveling from 1986 to 2016 in a freak time-travel event. Imagine being from the time of cassette tapes and neon fashion and being thrown into our world of iPhones, FaceTime and social media. Add in a sudden dose of popularity and a best friend who doesn’t know who you are and you’ve got Zoe’s dilemma. She’s trying to figure out how to get back to the past and needs Jonah’s help to do it.

“It’s 1986 and sixteen-year-old Zoe Brenner’s world revolves around Depeche Mode, Judd Nelson, exercise-obsessed parents and her best friend Jonah. Then one day, in a freak Fun-Dip choking accident, Zoe falls unconscious and awakes in the year 2016. So much has changed, and Zoe needs Jonah to help her make sense of it all. But in this life, Zoe is the most popular girl in school, and she soon realizes this Zoe doesn’t associate with nerds like Jonah. As Zoe juggles new technology, attempts to hide her enthusiasm for poet blouses and manages to keep her super jock boyfriend at bay, she tries to rekindle her friendship with Jonah and use her popularity for a good cause. Will she ever get back to 1986? And more importantly, does she want to?” (Synopsis from Goodreads)

“Once Upon A Kiss” is a story of friendship, new experiences and young love. It’s a fun twist on high school rom-coms and a great read for when you’re in the mood for something light and nostalgia inducing.

In honor of the retro spirit of “Once Upon A Kiss,” these are some of the fun things I was reminded of while reading:

Butterfly clips