The 25 Pains of Kennedy Baines

By Dede Crane and Kalyn Josephson

Kennedy, newly 15, has a lot of questions. Is her annoying little sister really her sister, or only her half-sister? Did her family move across the country for her father s job or because her free-spirited mother had something, or someone, she needed to get away from? Kennedy is reluctant to join the ranks of burdened adults, yet is frustrated by the timid passions of boys her own age, particularly her boyfriend Jordan. She resorts to Jane Austen novels, Colin Firth movies, and singing her heart out in her bedroom. An average summer turns not-so-typical when her best friend Sarina becomes self-destructive and a creepy cyber-stalker appears on their chat line. Things truly heat up when she meets 18-year-old Colin. As Kennedy and Sarina make plans to trap the cyber-stalker, Kennedy finds Colin s good looks and predatory charms hard to resist. Can she find the courage to ask the right questions and to see truth for what it is? This poignant novel deals fearlessly and humorously with the concerns of modern teens: relationships and sex, family, alcohol, racism, cyber-stalkers, and wild cougars."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1551929791
• ISBN13: 9781551929798
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Raincoast Books
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.3" x 0.5" x 4.5"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Kennedy Baines feels like her life is just one big pain in the [...]. Of course she has some ideas on why that is -- well, actually, twenty-five of them. Like the fact that she goes along with her friends, which includes her boyfriend, when they feel like shoplifting, even though she knows they can afford to buy it for themselves. Or how her mother finds it fit to give advice to her best friend in front of everyone on topics that mothers just shouldn't bring up. And people who think they know it all, when in fact they really don't, which is just plain annoying. It doesn't help, though, when the know-it-all grows on her and turns out to be this really sweet person. All these pains and so much more, like drugs and alcohol, affairs and cankles, are weighing her down, and even more just might be added when Colin, her mother's best friend's son, comes into town. Sure, he may be the hottest foreigner ever, but looks aren't everything. He might just be the biggest pain of all, especially since Kennedy already has a boyfriend. Can she handle all of these pains and finally have an ending like the one in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE? Or will the pains just keep on growing? Quirky, smart, and very easy to relate to, THE 25 PAINS OF KENNEDY BAINES is one novel that will make you laugh, yell, and keep on turning the pages. Out of the twenty-five pains, there is definitely some, maybe even all, that the reader will be able to recognize and relate to. This is one story that should not be overlooked. Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen