The eagerly anticipated follow-up to My Life Next Door is a magnetic, push-me-pull-me summer romance for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han.
Gwen Castle's Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, is slumming it as a yard boy on her idyllic Nantucket-esque island this summer. 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.
Huntley Fitzpatrick delivers another enticing summer read full of expectation and regret, humor and hard questions, and a romance that will make every reader swoon.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
Engaging Summer Romance
By Jen--Jenuine Cupcakes
I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book! My Life Next Door is one of my absolute favorite books and while What I Thought Was True does share some of the same characteristics as MLND; well-written, beautiful setting, multi-layered characters, witty banter and complex issues, it is very different.I'll be honest, I started and stopped this book several times over the past few weeks. For whatever reason, I just couldn't get into it the way I wanted to, had hoped and expected to. It wasn't until I was sitting on my bathroom floor at 1:00a.m. (so as not to wake the husband up), having just finished the entire 408 pages straight through that I realized WHY I struggled to get into it...I didn't like Gwen. I'm not even sure I can pinpoint exactly what it was that made me not like her. She's strong willed, snarky, hard working and fiercely protective of her family, all qualities I generally like in MCs, but... I don't think we would be friends in real life. (Which is totally okay.)Cass was a really good guy! Funny, cute, and loyal, almost to a fault, but it was his patience with Gwen that won me over. Gwen assumes the worst of him (repeatedly) despite knowing EXACTLY how that feels, but Cass doesn't give up. Instead, he chooses to see the best in her and tries to get Gwen to do the same.There are a lot of adults present in this story which was refreshing, even if some of them shocked and infuriated me at times. (I'm looking at you Gwen's parents.) But the most intriguing thing about What I Thought Was True (for me) was the honest look it took at the emotional side of sex.Having "just sex" versus being in love, using sex as a weapon, and the physical consequences were discussed, but these characters found themselves in situations because of choices they made, and it was SO NICE to see them take responsibility for that. Forgiveness was another key element as well as hope. And that Epilogue was perfect!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
What I Thought Was True - A Summer of Change, Trust, and Romance
By Sara
Gwen's summer begins like any other: pulling any and all shifts at her father's restaurant, playing third wheel to her best friends, a couple with no qualms about PDA, and taking care of her little brother. She never expects it to be the summer where everything changes... the summer where everything she's always believed to be true becomes muddled and the future that once seemed both inevitable and comforting suddenly shifts. Gwen takes on a caregiver position with an lively older woman, finding herself in difficult and often uncomfortable situations that test her beliefs about right and wrong and her place in the world. And, no matter how hard she tries to avoid him, Gwen finds her path constantly crossing with that of Cassidy Somers, a boy she finds herself trusting against her better judgement.Huntley Fitzpatrick earned much deserved praise with her debut, My Life Next Door, a novel that became one of my favorite contemporary YA novels before I'd even finished reading it. So, unsurprisingly, What I Thought Was True has landed squarely on my list of favorites as well.I quickly fell in love with the characters and struggles within What I Thought Was True. There are many important themes touched on in this novel, but the lessons about finding who you are and what you believe in, even, and especially, in the face of lies, gossip, and misinterpretation, are what carry this novel and make it a must read for teens and adults alike.Aaaand the swoonworthy romance doesn't hurt this book's must-read status one bit!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.A Summer Can Change Everything
By Lili's Reflections
Before I begin this review I just want to applaud that cover. I know Huntley Fitzpatrick fought hard to have a normal girl on that cover and I absolutely adore her for it. And now, for the review.I wanted to love this one, and I did. But I didn't like it as much as MY LIFE NEXT DOOR. I had trouble getting into the book in the very beginning. Part of this can probably be attributed to the fact that I turned to this book to get me out of a reading slump. The other part of this is because I just couldn't get into it. I think this is because Fitzpatrick has us wait a long time before she explains to us why Gwen is the way she is. We can figure out the general gist of it, but the details and everything aren't revealed for a while. This frustrated me because I didn't know how I should feel about Gwen. Furthermore, when I finally figured out what happened, I was mad that Gwen blamed so much on Cass when it was very obviously Spence's fault. She hurt herself because she chose to play the blame game with the wrong boy. Talk about frustrating. She totally pushed her soul mate away in a moment of freaking out.Gwen really is easy to love. She's a hard worker and although she is from the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak, she aspires to go to an Ivy League school. Despite her broken family, I still adore them. Her father is a very tough guy who still needs help with his laundry. I think I love him because his masculine ways remind me of my own father. Her mother is a dreamer who is constantly getting lost in steamy romance novels. Her grandfather is a crazy, lovable old Portuguese man that likes to illegally fish. Her younger brother, Em, is simply Em. He is not autistic, but he is something, though there is no way to describe him aside from unique. I absolutely adored him. And then there's Nico, her cousin and best friend, who I enjoy as well. He aspires to be in the Coast Guard.Then there's Vivie who lives across the street. She and Nico are in love and have been since they were little. I disliked her from the beginning. I found her to be hypocritical and the huge plot twist involving her was something I picked up on earlier in the book, which made it all the more annoying to me when everyone freaked out later. Really, some characters are so oblivious to what is going on right under their noses. I think the fact that Gwen's "rock" annoyed me so much detracted from my love of this book.And then there are the rich boys. I adore Cass simply because despite his upbringing, he's not a snob. As Em says, he is Superman and he is one of my favorite love interests ever. His best friend, Spence Channing, is a rich snob who should never be given the time of day. I never liked him and I thought he was a real jerk. Whenever he was in a scene, I found myself putting the book down for a few seconds because I found him to be so vile. However, such strong emotions elicited from characters is a positive sign in an author's ability to make us connect to characters.I loved Gwen's exploration of the island and her life on the island. I loved her story and the underlying themes of sex. The fact that sex is not just sex and it should mean something was hugely important in this book. There was no slut-shaming and instead there was regretful discoveries and do-overs. In other words, I loved the overall plot. Fitzpatrick found a way to take a modern problem and make the readers connect to it wholeheartedly. Though slightly heavier then her first book, she is still one of my favorite contemporary authors.I highly recommend this one to anyone, but I still believe her debut was slightly better. I'm very curious to see what she has in store for us next. No matter what, I know there will be a ton of laughs.Warning: There is sex, talk of sex, a little bit of cussing, and underage drinking.
