What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Summary:  From the acclaimed author of My Life Next Door comes a swoony summertime romance full of expectation and regret, humor and hard questions.

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.

A magnetic, push-you-pull-me romance with depth, this is for fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Deb Caletti.

I was a bit disappointed by this read. Other books by Huntley Fitzpatrick have been so much more than the drama of "sleeping around". This one, I'm afraid, was just that. I got so freaking tired of the vague hints of what horrible thing Cass did to Gwen! I came so close to just chucking the whole thing because by the time I was 1/2 through the book, there still was no answer. I felt I had somehow missed it somewhere. So frustrating!
Gwen had several flaws, like most of us. She seemed to give in to the what the crowd thought of her, living up to her reputation. I think a lot of young teens can relate to this situation. Doing whatever it takes to get noticed and hopefully accepted by the in-crowd. I realize Gwen was just trying to do better than her parents and with her father pressuring her to do so didn't help. I got very frustrated with her, but she seemed to redeem herself with how she ended up making good choices.
Cass.. Oh Cass... I wanted him to just MOVE ON! Gwen didn't deserve him after what she did to him. He let her treat him poorly, he didn't stand up to tell her what really happened, didn't even offer any kind of explanation. So even though she did the worst thing possible, he still pursued her.
This book covers some real issues, but I don't think they were made as important as they truly are. I found this read a very difficult one to get through.


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