It's there at every family event. A little smaller, collapsible, and decked out with paper napkins because you can't be truested with the good ones. But you're stuck there. At the Kid Table. Because to them - to the adults - you're still a kid.
Ingrid Bell and her five teenage cousins are in exactly this situation. Never mind the fact that high school is almost over; they're still eating mac and cheese with a toddler. But what happens when the rules change? When Brianne, the oldest cousin, lands a seat at the Adult Table, the others are in shock. What does it take to graduate from the Kid Table?
Over the course of five family events, Ingrid and her cousins attempt to finish childhood and send the infamous table into retirement. But as Ingrid turns on the charm in order to manipulate her situation, the family starts questioning her motives. And when her first love comes in the form of first betrayal (he's Brianne's boyfriend), Ingrid is forced to consider how she fits into this family and what it means to grow up.
In a Nutshell: The Kid Table is a slightly fun, but mostly stale look at family life and what it means to grow up.
Putdownability Factor: Meh. Lets just say you won't be losing any sleep over it.
Cover Love: Sophisticated and eye-catching. Also, nothing says "The Kid Table" like macaroni and cheese on a fork! XD
My Thoughts
When I first read the summary of The Kid Table I knew I had to read it. Why? Because the whole kid table thing is basically the story of my life down to eating food at a card table with the toddlers. Even the "how do you graduate from the Kid Table?" question has been brought up among my teen cousins at several family get togethers. I kid you not. Anyway that being said I was actually a bit disappointed by The Kid Table. Overall it was an okay book, but there were aspects to the story that just didn't work for me.
The biggest problem I had with The Kid Table was that the main plot device was the secret romance between Ingrid and Brianne's boyfriend Trevor. 1. It was mega awkward. 2. IT WAS JUST PLAIN AWKWARD. All I could think while reading was "Gosh girl you are SUCH a homewrecker!" which definitely isn't a good thing, especially when Ingrid spends half the book trying to convince you (and her family) that she isn't a psychopath. :P
Because of this plot problem The Kid Table ended up lacking a real point. It flopped around from one problem to another (eating disorders, homosexuality, etc) but it never seemed to flow. The story never really went anywhere, and I'm STILL trying to figure out what the point of all of it was.
That being said there were some parts of The Kid Table that I really did love. The camaraderie between the cousins was a highlight of the book for me. Andrea Seigel captured the cousin bond perfectly. I also loved the humor in The Kid Table. Family humor is oftentimes the funniest and that definitely came through in this book!
I can't end this review without mentioning that the last 50 pages of this book were absolutely hilarious. Think While You Were Sleeping (if you haven't seen this awesome 90's chick flick YOU ARE MISSING OUT!) on steroids! My brothers kept telling me to shut up but I couldn't hold in the laughter. Seriously, its almost worth it reading this book just for those last 50 pages. XD
The Kid Table gets 3 out of 5 cupcakes.
Who would I recommend this to: If you're reading the summary of the Kid Table and thinking "Story of my life!" then you might want to pick this up.
Julia :)
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