What I Thought Was True

Starred review from January 20, 2014
Fitzpatrick’s thoughtful and genuine love story shows the clash between classes in a New England beach community that’s home to two types of people: those who live in mansions, and those who serve them. After junior year, Gwen, whose mother is a house cleaner, has done more “serving” than she’d like to admit, earning her a less-than-pristine reputation among the members of the boys’ swim team, including rich Cass, whom Gwen secretly admires. After a humiliating run-in with him at a party, it’s hard for Gwen to believe that he wants more from her than a quick fling, but over the course of the summer, he gradually wins her trust and her heart as their paths cross on the island. Meanwhile others—Gwen’s hardworking father, her ambitious cousin and his girlfriend, and her summer employer—shock and disappoint Gwen, further upending her life. Tracing Cass’s coming of age as she faces some harsh realities, Fitzpatrick (My Life Next Door) once again evokes the dizzying heights of adolescent passion while remaining down-to-earth. Ages 14–up. Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency.

March 1, 2014
A teenage girl struggles with class divisions, sex and the tricky art of communication. Gwen, whose family struggles to make ends meet, is an islander, while Cass Somers is a rich boy who lives across the bridge on the mainland. The two have had some romantic moments, but miscommunication, misinterpretation and fear keep them from moving forward. Complicating things is the well-known fact that Gwen has had sex with Cass' best friend. Despite Gwen's deep regrets, the damage has been done. But now it is the summer before their senior year, and among Gwen's hopes for the summer is to forget Cass. But it seems fate has thrown them together: Cass' father has ordered him to do yardwork on the island, while Gwen has been hired to care for a funny, feisty elderly woman whose lawn needs tending. On her first day of the job, Gwen discovers Cass is also there for the duration of the summer. What starts out as snappy chick-lit writing quickly becomes deeper and more complex, as Fitzpatrick beautifully portrays a teenager's wobbly foray into sex as well as her dawning awareness of the power that actions and incautiously chosen words have to hurt others. A late revelation will surprise readers as much as it does Gwen; natural dialogue and authentic characters abound. Much deeper than the pretty cover lets on. (Fiction. 14 & up)

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March 1, 2014

Gr 10 Up-Seventeen-year-old Gwen Castle has lived in Seashell, Connecticut her whole life, waiting hand and foot on the rich clientele who come to the island every year for a picturesque summer. And she's tired of it. The summer means getting to spend time on the beach, but it also means working long shifts at her dad's restaurant, being the third wheel to her best friend Vivien and her cousin Nico who are madly in love, and taking care of her younger brother with special needs. Suddenly, Gwen is given the opportunity to work as a caregiver for a rich elderly woman, and everything starts to change. She's forced to spend more time with the well-off and charming Cass, with whom she had a one-night stand last year. Gwen knows she should hate him after everything that happened, but the more she gets to know him, the more sparks fly. The teen begins to question what she thought was true-about Cass, about her family and friends, and about herself. This novel tells a beautiful story of first love and although some of the background information is slow to be revealed, Gwen's character has the kind of depth and voice that will enchant teens. Those with regrets of their own will find hope in this coming-of-age romance that will appeal to fans of Deb Caletti and Sara Zarr.-Candyce Pruitt-Goddard, Hartford Public Library, CT

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2014
Grades 9-12 Gwen Castle feels like her future is sealed for myriad reasons: because of the working-class family she was born into; because of the beach town where she grew up and where her family owns a ramshackle summer business she can't get away from; and, cringingly, because of some ill-fated decisions she made around a group of richer guys from the mainland back in the spring. But then Gwen is offered a ritzy summer job taking care of a wealthy elderly vacationer, and gorgeous Cassidy Summers, one of her spring hookups, is hired to be the island's yard boy. Individually, Gwen and Cass each begin to reconsider how much control they actually have on the direction of their lives. Fitzpatrick (My Life Next Door, 2012) offers a sometimes steamy and very believable account of how it feels to discover how important it is to take responsibility for oneself and the decisions that shape one's life. A must for collections that can't keep Sarah Dessen, Stephanie Perkins, or YA summer romance titles on the shelves.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)