Beth Reekles was only 15 years old when she started writing The Kissing Booth on her bedroom floor in Newport, Wales. She wasn't looking for a multi-million dollar film deal or a global fan base. She was just a teenager who was bored with the vampire-heavy romance trends of 2011 and wanted something more grounded. Something about a regular girl, a "bad boy," and a very complicated friendship pact.
Most people know the movies. They’ve seen Joey King and Jacob Elordi’s chemistry. But the actual The Kissing Booth book is a different beast entirely. It’s a snapshot of a specific era of internet culture—the Wattpad era.
It’s easy to dismiss teen rom-coms as fluff. Honestly, plenty of critics did just that. But if you look at the numbers, you can't ignore the impact. Reekles' story racked up over 19 million reads on Wattpad before Penguin Random House even touched it. That’s not just luck. It’s a case study in how the "gatekeepers" of publishing lost their grip to the digital masses.
Why The Kissing Booth Hits Differently Than Other YA Romance
The plot is deceptively simple. Rochelle "Elle" Evans and Lee Flynn have been best friends since birth. They share a birthday, a bond, and a strict list of friendship rules. Rule Number 9 is the big one: relatives of your best friend are strictly off-limits. Enter Noah Flynn, Lee’s older brother. He’s tall, brooding, and rides a motorcycle. He's also the person Elle isn't supposed to touch.
When Elle and Lee decide to run a kissing booth for the school carnival, Elle ends up locking lips with Noah. It’s a mess. A beautiful, dramatic, teenage mess.
What makes The Kissing Booth stand out is its lack of pretension. Reekles wrote it for people her own age. She didn't use an "adult-writing-for-teens" voice that often feels condescending or out of touch. Instead, the book reads like a long text message or a diary entry. It's raw. It’s sometimes clumsy. It captures that specific, agonizing feeling of having a crush on someone who is technically "forbidden."
Critics often point out the tropes. The "bad boy with a heart of gold" isn't a new invention. Neither is the "best friend’s brother" dynamic. But tropes exist for a reason—they work. Reekles leaned into them with a sincerity that resonated with millions of girls who were tired of reading about dystopian wars and just wanted to read about a carnival.
📖 Related: Al Pacino Angels in America: Why His Roy Cohn Still Terrifies Us
The Wattpad-to-Netflix Pipeline
We have to talk about how this book fundamentally changed how movies get made. Before The Kissing Booth, the path to a movie deal was rigid. You had to get an agent, find a publisher, hope for a bestseller, and then maybe—if the stars aligned—a studio might option the rights.
Reekles bypassed all of that.
By the time Netflix got involved, the audience was already built. They weren't guessing if people liked the story; they had the data. They knew exactly how many people had read Chapter 1 versus Chapter 20. This "data-driven" approach to storytelling has since become the gold standard for streaming services. Without the success of Elle and Noah, we likely wouldn't have After, Through My Window, or many of the other Wattpad adaptations that dominate our "Trending Now" rows.
There’s a nuance here that gets missed, though. The book is arguably more "real" than the movie. While the film glams up the California setting, the book retains a certain grit regarding teenage peer pressure and the social hierarchy of high school. In the book, Noah’s protective nature is often framed as more intense, bordering on possessive, which sparked significant debate among readers about what constitutes a "healthy" romantic lead.
Acknowledging the Criticism: Is Noah Flynn a Hero?
If you spend any time in the YA book community, you'll find heated discussions about Noah Flynn. Is he a romantic lead or a walking red flag?
In the original The Kissing Booth text, Noah’s temper is a recurring theme. He gets into fights. He tries to control who Elle talks to. For some readers, this is the ultimate "bad boy" fantasy. For others, it’s a dated portrayal of masculinity. Reekles herself has acknowledged that she wrote the book as a teenager, and her perspective on relationships has naturally evolved since then.
👉 See also: Adam Scott in Step Brothers: Why Derek is Still the Funniest Part of the Movie
It’s important to view the book as a time capsule. It reflects the romanticized "alpha" tropes that were rampant in the early 2010s. Whether you find it charming or problematic, it’s a fascinating look at what an entire generation of readers found compelling during the transition from the Twilight era to more contemporary romance.
The Evolution of Elle Evans
Elle isn't your typical "I don't know I'm beautiful" protagonist. She’s sporty, she’s funny, and she’s deeply loyal to Lee. Her struggle throughout the book isn't just about choosing a boy; it’s about the fear of losing her identity as "Lee’s best friend."
The pact she has with Lee is, frankly, a bit much. A list of rules for a friendship? It’s intense. But it highlights the codependency that often happens in childhood friendships when they hit the wall of puberty. Elle is trying to bridge the gap between being a kid and being a woman.
The kissing booth itself is the catalyst for her independence. By stepping into that booth, she’s stepping out of the "Lee and Elle" bubble. She's making a choice for herself, even if that choice breaks the rules. That’s the core of the book’s appeal. It’s about the terrifying moment you realize your life belongs to you, not your best friend, and not your family.
Behind the Scenes: Fact-Checking the Success
There are a few things people consistently get wrong about this book.
First, many assume Reekles had a massive marketing budget. She didn't. She had a laptop and a free account on a writing site. Second, the book was actually published in 2012 by Penguin, years before the Netflix film was even a rumor. The "overnight success" was actually a slow burn that lasted nearly a decade.
✨ Don't miss: Actor Most Academy Awards: The Record Nobody Is Breaking Anytime Soon
Also, the setting is a bit of a quirk. While the movie is firmly set in a sunny, affluent version of Los Angeles, the book's location feels a bit more ambiguous, reflecting Reekles' own background while trying to appeal to a global (largely Americanized) audience.
Why You Should Still Read It Today
Even with three movies and several spin-offs (like The Beach House and Road Trip), the original novel remains the purest version of the story.
If you're a writer, it’s a masterclass in pacing and voice. Reekles knows how to end a chapter on a cliffhanger. She knows how to make you feel the butterflies of a first kiss. It’s an easy read—you can probably finish it in an afternoon—but it sticks with you because of its honesty.
It also serves as a reminder that your age or your "lack of experience" doesn't disqualify you from telling a story that matters. Reekles was a kid writing about kids, and that's exactly why it worked.
What to Do Next
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the world of The Kissing Booth, don’t just stop at the first book.
- Compare the mediums: Read the first book and then watch the first movie. Note the changes in Noah’s characterization. The movie softens his edges considerably compared to the 2012 novel.
- Explore the novellas: Beth Reekles wrote several "in-between" stories like The Beach House (Book 1.5) that fill in the gaps of Elle and Noah’s first summer together. These provide much-needed context for their relationship dynamic.
- Check out the "Wattpad" style: If you enjoy the conversational, fast-paced nature of this book, look into other authors who broke out from the platform, such as Anna Todd or Ariana Godoy.
- Support the author: Follow Beth Reekles on social media. She is incredibly transparent about the publishing process and often shares tips for young writers trying to follow in her footsteps.
The legacy of this story isn't just about a booth or a kiss. It’s about the democratization of storytelling. It’s about the fact that a girl from Wales could sit down, type "Rule Number 9," and change the landscape of teen media forever. Whether you love the romance or find the drama over-the-top, you have to respect the hustle.
Actionable Insight: If you're a budding writer, use Reekles' journey as a blueprint. Don't wait for permission to publish. Put your work where the readers are—whether that's Wattpad, Substack, or a personal blog. The audience is the ultimate judge, not the boardroom.