

That entails managing a packed class schedule, battling a time-zone difference, and making new friends - especially those of the opposite sex.

But now that school is back in session, he’s relocated 3,000 miles away, starting his freshman year at Harvard. High school senior Elle Evans ( Joey King) has just spent the best summer of her life with her hunky, hot-tempered boyfriend Noah (Jacob Elordi), basking in the California sun, bonding over board games and baring all her emotions. Though its imaginatively named sequel “ The Kissing Booth 2” hits similar beats, themes and emotional touchstones, it delivers a few refreshing details by giving the heroine more agency in her quest to find happiness - yet not quite enough to justify its interminable run time. It spoke to its target audience without speaking down to them, telling the story of a young woman confronted with the challenge of choosing between a longterm relationship with her male best friend or a budding romance with his hotter older brother.

From its auspicious beginning as a novel written by then-15-year-old author Beth Reekles on the self-publish site Wattpad, to its wildly popular film debut on Netflix, “The Kissing Booth” has proven itself a hit.
