What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Blurb (on back of book):
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.
MY OPINION: *****
This was my last book of 2019 and the last book of the decade, and I ended up enjoying it tremendously. While it may not have been the best book I've ever read, I'm satisfied with the way I ended this year.
The main thing that I liked about this book was that it wasn't cute. It wasn't fluffy and swoon and romantic like I thought it was going to be, especially judging from the blurb and cover. It's very slow-paced, unlike most YA books I read, and it was a lot darker than I was expecting from it.
This book doesn't only focus on the romance and love between a boy and a girl. Yes, there is a boy, Cassidy Somers, and a girl, Gwen Castle, and yes, they do fall in love, but it was about so much more than that.
It focuses on family. Gwen lives with her mother, cousin, Nic, her grandpa, Ben, and her younger brother, Emery, who has some sort of learning or mental disability which gives Nic and Gwen a lot more responsibility than they really deserve, not that I didn't love Emery or anything like that. He was so adorable, how could I not love him? But we soon see the strain that it puts on Gwen and her family, which she learns especially from her dad, who lives separated from the rest of her family and rather unfairly relies on her to do everything.
Gwen's mother cleans houses for a living, and is constantly being snubbed by the "summer" people (I think it was them??), who are all rich and arrogant. Gwen herself has a job taking care of an elderly rich woman, Mrs. Ellington, who's actually quite kind.
We see this great economic and social disparity between Gwen and the island people and the rich summer people. One of these richer residents refers to all of the island yard boys and cleaners and workers as "Maria" and "Jose", not seeing any difference between any of them. We clearly see a schism between these two classes with the two main characters themselves, Gwen and Cassidy. Gwen is from a less-economically-advantageous family, while Cassidy comes from a rich and renowned family who only is the yard boy because his father put him up to it.
What was interesting about these two was that they both had similar problems and challenges in life despite not really realizing it. Both are hurt and confused after a previous incident in a summer before between them. Neither of them know how to fully communicate to the other what they are feeling and end up getting into petty arguments full of misunderstanding and frustration. Both have hindered dreams: Cass's parents push him to become the epitome of a perfect, golden boy, despite his troubles at his previous school, and Gwen has to take care of Emery and the rest of her family, since there is nobody else to do it.
What I liked most about this story was that it didn't focus on the relationship between Gwen and Cass. Yes, they had some sort of slow-burn romance, but we also got to see the lives of other people.
Nic, Gwen's cousin, is a talented swimmer who wants to be accepted into the Coast Guard Academy more than anything. He has high hopes and big dreams, and wants to be swim captain of the school's team. Of course, this causes rifts between him and Cass, who is a very talented swimmer who just might be better than Nic. Aside from this, Nic has been dating Gwen's best friend, Vivien since they were little (like, five). It's always been them three, with Gwen third-wheeling but not uncomfortably or awkwardly. However, both Nic and Vivien express desires for a change in their relationship but don't know how to communicate it to the other, leaving Gwen in the middle as a confused buffer.
Emery needs to learn how to swim, after an alarming but in-the-end-all-right accident. Cass agrees to teach him, and this was the most heartwarming part of the book for sure. I loved reading about how Emery got adjusted to the water with the help of Cass.
Grandpa Ben, with his Italian pieces of wisdom and love of lobster-catching, no matter how illegal, played an integral role in the story as Gwen's mentor in a way. Although he was a very minor character, I liked seeing his advice for Gwen in her troubles.
I loved reading all of the flashbacks because we got to see more about Gwen's past. She has had several one-night-relationships with multiple boys, most specifically Cass and his friend, Spence Channing. She refers to it as "just sex" but this incident is brought up multiple times, signifying her regret and the overall importance of that one night. I really loved how this book did not have any slut-shaming, because that is a pretty common thing in YA novels with girls who partake in any form of relationship (sadly).
Fitzpatrick is brilliant at creating atmosphere and setting that makes it feel so real and summer-reckless and tense.
I hated Henry Ellington. He was despicable. I don't care of we're meant to forgive him by the end. I could not deal with him.
I loved this book. While I was not the largest fan of the previous novels of hers that I've read, this book was definitely different. I would recommend it to all readers looking for a important, deep, and romantic summer read.
Main Character: Gwen
Sidekick(s): Cass, Emery, Vivien, Nic, etc
Villain(s): Money, class, misunderstandings, mistakes, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book is very real to life.
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