‘The Kissing Booth’ Author on Why It Became a Series: ‘I Couldn’t Let Go of the Characters’
The Kissing Booth 2 is here!
As of July 24, 2020, the teen rom-com is officially on Netflix. That means fans of The Kissing Booth, which debuted in 2018, will be streaming the sequel all weekend. Before becoming one of the most-watched movies on Netflix, The Kissing Booth started out as an online novel. Keep reading to learn why the author, Beth Reekles, made it a series.
Beth Reekles wrote ‘The Kissing Booth’ because she couldn’t relate to YA novels
When Reekles set about writing The Kissing Booth, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series and Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games dominated the Young Adult genre. Because she had trouble relating to those particular characters and stories, a then 15-year-old Reekles decided to write her own.
According to Fast Company, she used the app Wattpad to craft the story. A simple, compelling, and most of all relatable, one about teens. The book follows Elle Evans, as she falls in love with Noah Flynn, the older brother of her best friend, Lee Flynn.
When Reekles first uploaded The Kissing Booth to Wattpad it soon racked up millions of reads. By 2013, the author landed a three-book deal. Then, of course, came the Netflix movies.
She didn’t intend for ‘The Kissing Booth’ to be a series
While fans of The Kissing Booth eagerly devour every scene in The Kissing Booth 2, it’s hard to imagine Reekles not setting out to write a series of books about Elle. When she first wrote the book, the possibility of a follow-up didn’t cross her mind.
“I didn’t even think of it as a series,” Reekles told Fast Company. “I think if I turned around to my publishers and said, ‘No, I’m not doing the sequel. You’re not getting anything from me,’ that probably would have been the end of it.”
She continued, saying what ultimately pushed her to continue the story.
“But I couldn’t let go of the characters, to be honest,” she added. “They’d become sort of such a big part of my life.”
After penning The Kissing Booth, Reekles would go on to write more about Elle, Noah, and Lee. The Kissing Booth 2: Going the Distance and The Kissing Booth: Road Trip! make up the series along with The Beach House, a novella.
Will there be a ‘Kissing Booth 3’?
As Netflix users watch The Kissing Booth 2, there’s already talk of a third installment. Joey King, the actor who plays Elle, says she and the rest of the cast would love to reunite for The Kissing Booth 3. But she also says fans have to let Netflix know they want another movie.
Historically, Netflix doesn’t announce if an original series or film will return for more until a while after the release date. And given the massive success of The Kissing Booth, the sequel has high expectations to meet.
Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see if Netflix continues to tell the story of Elle, Noah (Jacob Elordi), and Lee (Joel Courtney). In the meantime, we’ll be watching The Kissing Booth and The Kissing Booth 2 on Netflix.
