Thoughts about Kent

Discuss the February 2016 book of the month, Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.
User avatar
HorrorFan87
Posts: 39
Joined: 17 Feb 2016, 12:03
Currently Reading: The Problems of Philosophy
Bookshelf Size: 26
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-horrorfan87.html
Latest Review: "Drop Dead Gorgeous" by Donald Allen Kirch
Reading Device: B00TSUGXKE

Re: Thoughts about Kent

Post by HorrorFan87 »

I thought his character was great. Although it seemed a little dim-witted that he crushed on Sam for so long, I saw a very mature guy who was just trying to see the absolute good in her. All throughout the story we see Sam as mean and abrasive and narcissistic but I really believe that Kent either did see or was trying to see if she would change or if there was a really good heart underneath. He is such a smart character that I honestly wouldn't think twice about that being his motive for sticking by her for so long.
Latest Review: "Drop Dead Gorgeous" by Donald Allen Kirch
User avatar
V_bansal2912
Posts: 231
Joined: 24 Feb 2014, 06:28
Favorite Author: Ayn Rand
Favorite Book: Atlas Shrugged
Currently Reading: The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)
Bookshelf Size: 57
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-v-bansal2912.html
Latest Review: Sigfried’s Smelly Socks! by Len Foley
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
fav_author_id: 2597

Post by V_bansal2912 »

I liked Kent....he had a mysterious thing to him...also he was the only guy in the book who was a little decent....
User avatar
Heidi M Simone
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 7054
Joined: 17 Jul 2015, 20:19
Favorite Book: Harry Potter
Currently Reading: Beyond the Wand
Bookshelf Size: 556
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-heidi-m-simone.html
Latest Review: The Movie Chair by Shari Borkin
Publishing Contest Votes: 27
fav_author_id: 0

Post by Heidi M Simone »

Kent is my favorite character!

I feel he is realistic in his pining for Sam, considering they were close once. I honestly feel he is mature for his age, which makes me believe he was mature for his age when he was younger hanging out with Sam. It didn't seem like he had a good group of friends, was thought of as the quirky guy you don't really hang out with, and he probably hasn't felt a connection like that in a long time.

Awesome choice for any high school girl :).
Heidi
Official Reviewer Representative

"There is nothing as powerful as a mother’s love, and nothing as healing as a child’s soul." – Unknown
User avatar
katiesquilts
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 665
Joined: 20 Aug 2015, 20:10
Currently Reading: A Game of Thrones
Bookshelf Size: 649
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-katiesquilts.html
Latest Review: Anything For Love by Gracie Bond

Post by katiesquilts »

I feel like I may be one of the few people who isn't totally in love with Kent...

I get that he's a great guy and he did want to take care of her (so, the total opposite of Rob!) but I felt like he was used as a total plot device...
Like, "Hey, your current bf is suuuper lame, check out this childhood sweetheart!" kind of thing. I wish there had been a third guy who was a little in the middle, someone she hadn't grown up with and who was genuinely nice, but she actually had to spend time with him to get to know him. I honestly feel like because Sam grew up with Kent, she views him more as a friend/protector than a romantic interest, and I hate when books assume that every male is a possible match for every female.
User avatar
BookSavvy90
Posts: 84
Joined: 26 Jan 2016, 19:25
Currently Reading: Fangirl
Bookshelf Size: 37
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-booksavvy90.html
Latest Review: "The Saltwater Ghost" by Shiela Jane

Post by BookSavvy90 »

I freaking loved Kent. I thought he was quirky and unique. I agree with a lot of you though he could definitely have done better than Sam. She was mean, she treated him like crap until the end, and I just straight up didn't like her! I mean sure she redeemed herself sort of but that doesn't excuse that A) she bullied a girl to the point where the girl wanted to kill herself, and B) was a complete b**** to the one guy who actually cared. Okay I'm ranting now I better stop. :)
Latest Review: "The Saltwater Ghost" by Shiela Jane
User avatar
Lovely_Loreley
Posts: 124
Joined: 11 May 2015, 11:43
Favorite Author: Donita K. Paul
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 776">Light of the Oracle</a>
Currently Reading: The Blue Fairy Book
Bookshelf Size: 370
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-lovely-loreley.html
Latest Review: "Vanished in Berlin" by Gry Finsnes
Reading Device: B00UB76290
fav_author_id: 13786

Post by Lovely_Loreley »

katiesquilts wrote:I feel like I may be one of the few people who isn't totally in love with Kent...

I get that he's a great guy and he did want to take care of her (so, the total opposite of Rob!) but I felt like he was used as a total plot device...
Like, "Hey, your current bf is suuuper lame, check out this childhood sweetheart!" kind of thing. I wish there had been a third guy who was a little in the middle, someone she hadn't grown up with and who was genuinely nice, but she actually had to spend time with him to get to know him. I honestly feel like because Sam grew up with Kent, she views him more as a friend/protector than a romantic interest, and I hate when books assume that every male is a possible match for every female.
I agree! Although Kent was by far my favourite character (and was clearly a thousand times better than Rob!), I think the whole relationship between him and Sam was played up just a tad too much. I don't think he was really pining after Sam that entire time at all. Rather, it felt like Sam was stuck in the mindset that everything and everyone revolved around her and her friends, and when she realized that Kent cared about her rather than her popularity, she just kind of assumed that he'd been in love with her the entire time.

My view of Kent was that he was more disappointed in her than anything. He knew she used to be really nice and playful and had all of these interests and unique qualities that just sort of got pushed aside when she was absorbed into Lindsay's group. For me, Kent seemed like the kind of guy who regretted losing a friend - not just the fact that she ditched him for cooler crowds but the fact that she became a completely different person along the way. Maybe Kent did pine after Sam, but it would have been the Sam that he used to know, not the one who "ruled the school" with Lindsay's gang.

That was also what stuck out to me when Kent said that he could see right through her. Yes, he said it out of frustration, but I think he wanted to believe that Sam wasn't a bitch, that she just acted like one. It seemed throughout the story as though a lot of the bullying happened because Lindsay instigated it. Sam, Ally, and Elody mostly just went along with the taunts and the jokes because that's what you did when you were friends with Lindsay. Does that excuse Sam's behaviour? Nope, not at all. But it did help me make sense of the so-called "infatuation" that Kent seemed to have for Sam.
Latest Review: "Vanished in Berlin" by Gry Finsnes
User avatar
Sarah G
Posts: 336
Joined: 09 Aug 2015, 08:51
Favorite Author: Brandon Sanderson
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 83
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sarah-g.html
Latest Review: Smith by Sam B Miller II
fav_author_id: 4040

Post by Sarah G »

I like the characer of Kent. He was a breath of fresh air after Rob. I did think he was a little deluded for being hopeful about Samantha but he seems to be the sort of guy that sees the best in everyone. He is just what the books needs. It seems that every character in the book had major issues. He offset that well
The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon
User avatar
mmandy38
Posts: 480
Joined: 30 May 2014, 00:04
Favorite Author: Nicholas Sparks
Currently Reading: The Zookeeper's Wife
Bookshelf Size: 132
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-mmandy38.html
Latest Review: Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress by Gustavo Kinrys, MD
Reading Device: B00HCNHDN0
fav_author_id: 2460

Post by mmandy38 »

At first, I wasn't too sure about Kent, but by the end I loved him. He was so thoughtful and sweet towards Sam. I just wish that he had gotten more respect from the beginning and possibly had something serious with Sam.
User avatar
micoleon13
Posts: 476
Joined: 20 May 2016, 20:33
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 96
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-micoleon13.html
Latest Review: Sandusky Burning by Bryan W. Conway

Post by micoleon13 »

I really liked Kent. I don't think it was weird that he liked Sam for so long from afar. They had been best friends when they were kids and both awkward and unpopular. Although it seems like Kent was more secure in himself and who he was to not undergo the transition that Sam felt she had to to become popular. He would have seen her go through this, but Sam standing up for him when he was bullied obviously made a huge impact on him, so he was always able to look past the mean girl exterior.
He may not have had a relationship with Sam as the ultimate goal as he seemed genuinely surprised when he got the rose and didn't immediately read too much into it.
User avatar
AmySmiles
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 1268
Joined: 21 Mar 2018, 10:43
Favorite Author: Dana Peters
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 149
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-amysmiles.html
Latest Review: Sex Education for Adults Secrets to Amazing Sex and Happily Ever After Too by John Wilder
fav_author_id: 154082

Post by AmySmiles »

He was probably one of my favorite characters too, but I was annoyed with him for wanting to be with Sam they way she treated him.
Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.
–Author Unknown
Nusrat_Shabnam_
Posts: 149
Joined: 06 Nov 2018, 02:46
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 18
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nusrat-shabnam.html
Latest Review: Heartaches 3 by H.M. Irwing

Post by Nusrat_Shabnam_ »

Kent was a lovable character. He was nice, shy and he had many other good qualities. So I liked him.
User avatar
nanglada
Posts: 118
Joined: 10 Feb 2019, 17:36
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 25
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nanglada.html
Latest Review: Zonas de quema by Jorge P. Newbery

Post by nanglada »

Though I really liked Kent, I think it is true his behavior was unrealistic. Pinning for Sam all those years without feeling at least a little bit of resentment towards her doesn't seem like something that would happen in real life.
User avatar
Hyacinth Bella
Posts: 926
Joined: 19 Aug 2021, 08:15
Currently Reading: Pride and Prejudice
Bookshelf Size: 98
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-hyacinth-bella.html
Latest Review: The Magician's Secret by Charles Townsend

Post by Hyacinth Bella »

Kent is the perfect example of a cinnamon roll. What's better than a whole person understanding you, accepting you even if how many times you've wronged them? (pretty sure Sam learned her lesson well). Kent McFuller is the best character in the book. He is one of those characters who are not the main character, but the readers' attention is on him.
Agbata precious
Posts: 285
Joined: 17 Jun 2022, 00:46
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 33
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-agbata-precious.html
Latest Review: Reconfigurement by E. Alan Fleischauer

Post by Agbata precious »

I liked Kent he was my favorite character.
Agbata precious
Posts: 285
Joined: 17 Jun 2022, 00:46
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 33
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-agbata-precious.html
Latest Review: Reconfigurement by E. Alan Fleischauer

Post by Agbata precious »

I liked Kent he was my favorite character.
Post Reply

Return to “"Before I Fall" by Lauren Oliver”