In the Perfect Distraction we are introduced to Kate, fresh out of high school and ready to start college a free woman. Her boyfriend of two years Kyle, broke up with her when he left for college the year before, so she decides to do the same-go to college single. Once at school, she is determined to be the girl she wants to be. Not Kyle’s ex, not the Kate with some family problems, just happy-go-lucky-Kate, is that too much to ask? For her, it seems to be.
Kate’s Freshman year starts out with a bang, she likes her roommate Quinn well enough and meets some others as she settles in. Maggie, Kelly, Jenna and a few boys Derek, Marco and of course Reed form a bit of a party group and start to hang out together. Kate settles into college life and here is where I had a bit of a problem with the story. Kate seemed very immature to me as compared to her girlfriends. For example, she was so worried about kissing guys, which came off as more of an elementary level action as compared to college level.
So Kate tests the waters with a few guys, but all roads lead back to Reed. He is good looking, a tennis player and has the prettiest blue eyes ever (which is mentioned constantly, as well as Kate’s lip biting). Reed and Kate have the tennis thing in common, so they strike up a friendship that way, playing every Saturday. Kate is aware of Reed’s player status around campus, so she doesn’t make any moves other than friendship wtih him. School is out for the summer, Kate and Reed go their separate ways and we meet up with them her Sophomore year.
During the summer Kate goes back home and ends up giving into her nagging ex Kyle. This guys comes off as a total d-bag and stays that way the entire book. He treats Kate like property and she falls right under his spell when they spend time together again. After a few incidences with Kyle, Kate is done, however she doesn’t really tell him, she just ignores him. Kyle is at a different school, so it is easy for Kate to go on with her life like he doesn’t exist. Some of the prospects from the year before like Marco, have graduated, so Kate finds herself getting closer to Reed.
Reed isn’t who Kate thinks he is, so she starts to let him get closer than the year before, talking to him about Kyle and a bit about her family life. He feels the same way about her, but knows that Kyle isn’t too far in the past and he still effects Kate. Reed wants to make sure Kate feels the same and I think his 50 questions game was a great way to do it. So Kate wants Reed, Reed wants Kate, Kyle still wants Kate and that is a recipe for trouble.
Things go all kinds of bad with Kate and Kyle, making Reed look like even more of a stand up guy. He is good to Kate, but she just doesn’t think she is enough for him. Kate wants to get her life straightened out with Kyle and her family once and for all before she can fully give herself to Reed.
The story is solid and a little YA for my liking. I wasn’t connecting with Kate at all. She seemed to be too wishy-washy when it came to Kyle and the decisions she had to make. She made them a bigger deal than they needed to be. The book is a bit of a cliffhanger and I do want to see how this story is going to play out-especially with Reed.
