You Cant Kiss It Better

You Can’t Kiss It Better (2002) by Diana Hendry
Publisher: Red Fox | ISBN: 0099403471 | Condition: Good (but not “kiss-it-better” good)
Sold exclusively by Crappy Old Books

Ah, 2002. The year flip phones were futuristic, Avril Lavigne wore ties unironically, and Diana Hendry released You Can’t Kiss It Better. A story about family, love, and the uncomfortable fact that sometimes a plaster and a peck just won’t fix things. This is children’s fiction, yes, but the sort that sneaks existential dread between the lines—like a bedtime story that won’t tuck itself in.

This particular copy is graded Good, which in Crappy Old Books parlance means: pages are still attached (mostly), the cover has weathered its fair share of being shoved into rucksacks, and there may be the odd scuff or crinkle. Don’t worry—it’s not been gnawed by hamsters, only time.

Why should you want it? Because Hendry writes about real family messiness without a sugar-coating—characters who bruise, stumble, and sometimes get up the wrong way round. Also because owning a slightly battered children’s book from the early noughties is the kind of ironic statement piece your bookshelf has been craving.

So here it is: You Can’t Kiss It Better—a reminder that love is complicated, plasters don’t solve everything, and sometimes the best you can do is keep turning the page.

Keep browsing: See more Kids books Other books by Diana Hendry