This book really teaches you the importance of keeping your friends close and really valuing friendships. Kate In Waiting is a rom-com that was published on April 20th of this year by famous author Becky Albertalli. She is most known for her book Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which then inspired the movie “Love, Simon” which came out in 2018. Albertalli has written around ten books throughout her career and has gained a lot of fans. This is technically her first solo written story since her book, Leah on the Offbeat. Kate in Waiting is about two best friends who have always been like sisters. They have always done everything together. However, they both once had a long-distance crush of theirs, and this person decides to now transfer to this school where Kate and her best friend Anderson both go to school. You can see where the dilemma starts. 

Matt Olsson is a new student at school with Kate and Anderson, and he has supposedly had some sort of relationship with both of these girls. This book is already breaking a lot of barriers, because Anderson in this book is an African American male and homosexual. Becky has been known to break a lot of barriers to empower people in the LGBTQ community as well as racial barriers. We see a lot of progressive relationships throughout the book such as, Kate herself being Jewish, a transgender fan, and another friend who has social anxiety. In a society where people are being more open with their sexuality and their emotions, it’s awesome to see an author who embraces all of those traits. Reviews from fans have almost been nothing but positive, Sahil Javed a fan of Becky’s stated, 

“A straight girl and gay guy crushing on the same person? and they’re friends? let me get my popcorn because honey, we’ve got a big storm comin’”. 

Another reviewer on Goodreads mentioned, “Kate in Waiting is Becky’s first solo book since Leah on the Offbeat and her first solo book away from the Simon verse world. I was eagerly awaiting to see what Becky had up her sleeve and was excited to read her new work. Although I may not have loved it as much as the Simon verse, Kate in Waiting still has lots to offer and is a fun/quick read!”

Kate in Waiting is a motivational book because it has so many progressive characters and viewpoints that will appeal to a lot of young readers. Becky Albertalli is an author who deserves a lot of credit for her bravery and her open-mindedness. While the storyline is also something that will appeal to the younger generation I think this book shines in its ability to embrace different cultures, religions, and sexualities. I’m excited to see what more Becky has in store for us as readers and I know that Kate In Waiting as well as her future reads will be something that we are definitely going to want to check out for ourselves.