Book Review: What I Thought Was True, by Huntley Fitzpatrick

What I Thought Was True is the first book I’ve read by Huntley Fitzpatrick, but it definitely won’t be my last one. After swooning my way through … I mean reading my way through this book in one I am itching to get my hands on her other book (My Life Next Door) and can’t wait for her future novels. I stayed up half the night reading this one. I’d try to go to sleep but I was too excited, so I’d turn the lamp back on and keep going. The next thing I knew it was 4 am and I had less than 20 pages left. As you can tell from my enthusiastic opening, the book was worth the tiredness I felt the next day.

There is nothing that felt particularly revolutionary about this book. It is a story that in terms of basics I’m not only familiar with, but that I’ve probably read lots of versions before. A townie girl with an undeserved bad reputation loves/hates/loves-to-hate/hates-to-love the rich boy. But there is something more to reading this story. The plot might not be unique, but the characters are incredibly relatable and likable. The story is told with lots of detail and good writing. And the romance is so filled with tension, even though I basically knew how the book was going to end, I couldn’t stop reading. Gwen Castle’s mom cleans houses and her dad flips burgers. When she’s not working, Gwen’s taking care of her little brother who was born prematurely and has a host of problems. Cassidy Sommers – the rich boy from across the bridge who she thinks of as her biggest mistake – is only on the island this summer because his dad made him get “responsibility teaching” job mowing lawns. He’s the last person Gwen wants to see, but somehow they keep ending up together with sparks flying and their memories of what really happened between them last March clashing.

As their romance progresses, the secrets behind Gwen’s bad girl reputation and her mistrust of Cassidy (and all boys) are revealed. There are also subplots with Gwen’s family, her summer job taking care of an older rich lady who’s son might be trying to swindle her, and her best friend’s romance with Gwen’s cousin. For me some of these were interesting, but they remained secondary to the romance (which is kind of how it should be in a summer beach read, no?).

I definitely think this book would be perfect for the summer, but it was equally fun reading it during the snow this week. Highly recommend!