Title: What I Thought was True
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Date Started: September 4
Date Finished: September 8
Format: Hardcover from local library
Gwen Castle has never so badly wanted to say good-bye to her island home till now: the summer her Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, takes a job there as the local yard boy. He’s a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island’s summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she’ll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen’s dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.
I was actually kind of excited to read this book after how much I loved My Life Next Door, but maybe it was because I was distracted when I started WITwT but this book was not what I expected it to be. It had a very slow start, so slow in fact there was a few times that I thought I was going to hit DNF. Then thankfully, around chapter 6 or so I finally hit a stride with this book. The confusion I felt near the beginning disappeared when previous events were finally explained.
I”m not sure how I felt about Gwen as a character. I get that she’s a little bit messed up because of her family life and because of her being a ‘townie’ while people she goes to school with aren’t and are more upper class. But did she really have to act out so much? And to have that habit of hooking up with the swim team…eek. However, I did feel that as the summer progressed so did Gwen. She opened up more and was less conflicted about herself. Even her relationship with Cass was cute to read about.
However, I didn’t like the fact that this book ended without one big plot point resolved. That whole thing with the woman Gwen worked for and her son. Was it resolved? I don’t think it really was.
Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. I didn’t love it as much as My Life Next Door, but once I got into the story it was rather enjoyable.
Bookshelf worthy? Support your local library!
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