Thoughts about Kent

Discuss the February 2016 book of the month, Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.
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Thoughts about Kent

Post by gali »

What did you think about Kent?

I liked Kent, and he was my favorite character. I felt sorry for him because of the way Sam treated him, but at least she treated him better during the last cycles.
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Post by ashley_claire »

Ugh, Kent. I actually liked Kent but he also made me angry. He seemed like a smart guy, so why would he pine away for years for a girl he last hung out with in elementary school? Especially given the fact that the girl is not a nice person and as far as I can tell, nothing like the girl she was in elementary school.
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Post by Taylor Razzani »

Kent > Rob!
He was probably my favorite as well, but I agree about him being a little misguided in crushing on Sam for so long. Unless like he said he could see right through her and he knew she wasn't totally awful. I honestly didn't think of this until you mentioned it, good call!
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Post by Thimble »

I really liked Kent. I don't know how realistic he is as a person since he pined for Samantha for so long, but he seems like a really nice guy. It also looks like he had kept trying to bring Samantha back to reality the entire time that she stopped being friends with him. So, he was consistent in how he treated her. It wasn't completely out of the blue that he would still try to be nice to her.

Also, I would have to say any character is better than Rob. lol.
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Post by Paliden »

Kent was great. But I have to say that it was very unrealistic to me that he would crush on Samantha for so long. Especially since she was such a "Mean Girl". Overall, he seemed way too nice for someone like her.
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Post by tnewman13 »

I liked Kent, and not only thought he was pinning for too long but thought he got shafted in the end. To finally get the girl he has been trying to get for years and then have her die hours after they shared their first kiss, is beyond rotten luck.
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Post by bookowlie »

Thimble wrote:I really liked Kent. I don't know how realistic he is as a person since he pined for Samantha for so long, but he seems like a really nice guy. It also looks like he had kept trying to bring Samantha back to reality the entire time that she stopped being friends with him. So, he was consistent in how he treated her. It wasn't completely out of the blue that he would still try to be nice to her.

Also, I would have to say any character is better than Rob. lol.
I loved Kent. :) I actually think it was very realistic that he pined away for Sam all those years. They were best friends when they were younger and I think he felt that she would grow out of her Mean Girls phase. It's hard for people to let go of someone even when they change.
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Post by Scott »

I like Kent too of course.

I don't hold it against him about pining for her. If I remember correctly, there was a few mentions of him talking to other girls.

He also stated he "wanted to be her hero", so I think his interest in her was not solely just a creepy long-term crush but also with a platonic love built on an even longer childhood friendship as well.
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Post by anonanemone »

I felt that Kent was a bit unreaslistic but not because of the long term crush. He is a genuinely nice guy; however, even nice guys can become resentful or angry when the girl they have a crush on over years not only doesn't return it but continuously puts him down.
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Post by TrishaAnn92 »

Kent was my favorite! He was genuinely sweet. He seemed kind of resigned in the beginning to the friend zone when he was noticed by Sam but in the end proved how good guys deserve the attention just as much as the next guy if not more so. I would have loved it if the author had been able to give his particular thoughts/feelings when Sam saved Juliet.
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Post by CrescentMoon »

I honestly am not a huge fan of Kent. I did think he was very sweet, but it was hard for me to respect him. There were times I wanted him to just get over Sam or at least tell her that she's treating him badly. I wanted him to stand up for himself and there were many times I was waiting for him to do just that but it didn't happen and I was disappointed.
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Post by pallavi garg »

Love truly is blind. ...kent is sweet yet couldn't judge sam and was mistreated by her...somehow I feel he was neglected as they had been friends all childhood. ..and sam took him for granted...
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Post by KAV »

Scott wrote:I like Kent too of course.

I don't hold it against him about pining for her. If I remember correctly, there was a few mentions of him talking to other girls.

He also stated he "wanted to be her hero", so I think his interest in her was not solely just a creepy long-term crush but also with a platonic love built on an even longer childhood friendship as well.
I agree that is wasn't completely about pining away for Sam. He had his own life and did talk to other girls, but he was portrayed as a love sick puppy for most of the book. Even when Sam did something stupid or treated him badly it was a little unrealistic that he still suck by her without a word against her. He did admit to putting together a huge senior party because he wanted Sam to come. How many people can really put up with that much abuse for seven years.
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Post by VinuW »

Taylor Razzani wrote:Kent > Rob!
He was probably my favorite as well, but I agree about him being a little misguided in crushing on Sam for so long. Unless like he said he could see right through her and he knew she wasn't totally awful. I honestly didn't think of this until you mentioned it, good call!
For me, Kent >>> Rob :)
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Post by Taylor Razzani »

VinuW wrote:
Taylor Razzani wrote:Kent > Rob!
He was probably my favorite as well, but I agree about him being a little misguided in crushing on Sam for so long. Unless like he said he could see right through her and he knew she wasn't totally awful. I honestly didn't think of this until you mentioned it, good call!
For me, Kent >>> Rob :)
I may have underestimated him a little :lol: That's probably a better comparison!
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