This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Looking for a witty and heartwarming young adult contemporary romance? Are you as obsessed with the Netflix series XO, Kitty as I am? Pick up this debut novel, and I promise you you’re going to be in for a good time. Author Alanna Bennett is a producer and executive story editor on your favorite Netflix series (and mine) XO, Kitty. While the story and setting of The Education of Kia Greer are very different from XO, Kitty, but if you really love the smart dialogue and lovable characters of the Netflix series, you’ll also be really pleased with this novel. And the best part? It just came out this week, so you can read it right now!
The Education of Kia Greer by Alanna Bennett
Have you ever heard of this family called the Kardashians? Yeah, that’s the kind of vibes we’re getting from the Greers, the family at the center of the hit reality TV show that has everyone talking. But Kiara, the Greers’ second-youngest daughter, has no interest in being in the spotlight. She often wonders what it would be like to be a regular teenager, just hanging out with friends and preparing to go to college. But fame is the only life she’s ever known. Ever since she was eight years old, there have been cameras in her face, following her every move. Still, for as much as Kia finds herself in the public eye, no one seems to see the real her. If she even knows who the real Kia Greer is and what she wants.
Then at her sister’s birthday party, she meets Cass. There’s something about Cass that lights Kia up on the inside, and for the first time she feels really seen. Cass, however, is no ordinary teenage boy. He’s a musician on the rise, and connecting herself to Cass only sends Kia further into the public eye. Remember how intense it was falling in love for the first time? Now imagine having to go through that with paparazzi following your every move.
So many things about Kia’s relationship with Cass seem absolutely perfect. But every moment she spends with Cass also puts her even more in the public eye than she was before. Can their relationship survive the scrutiny? And in the midst of all the drama, will Kia ever be able to figure out who she is and what she really wants?
If you love reality TV, you’ll love getting a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a family raised in the spotlight. For those of you who have never seen an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians in your life (like me), you don’t have to feel invested in the world of reality TV to understand and empathize with the things Kia and Cass experience.
Read This Book
One book recommendation to help you cut through the noise
Alanna Bennett is skilled at bringing characters to life through intentional characterization and dialogue, and I found myself caring about the lives of all of the characters in this novel. Especially Kia and Cass, of course, but also their families and the people who matter to them. The Education of Kia Greer might be Bennett’s first novel, but it’s not her first experience developing characters and storylines that make you smile and tug and your heartstrings. And that definitely shows.
Happy weekend reading, bibliophiles! Feel free to follow me on Instagram @emandhercat, and check out my other newsletters, The Fright Stuff and Book Radar!