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hellomadalyn's review against another edition
5.0
It's currently 1:54 AM, I just finished The Wrong Side of Right, and my heart is so, so full. This book is full of truth and life and heart. The characters jump right off the pages, and I found myself instantly immersed along with Kate into the uncharted territory of the campaign trail. Loved the family dynamics, the friendships, and, of course, the romance (which actually plays quite a small part in the story, all things considered). Everything felt so REAL. I laughed, I cried, I cringed, and, most of all, I never wanted it to end. What a fantastic debut novel.
cstoeger's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this novel by a debut author. Read my full review here: http://cbookbabblings.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-wrong-side-of-right-by-jenn-marie-thorne.html
wanderlostsoul's review against another edition
4.0
OH MY GOD. I can't explain how much I loved this book. I mean, I did stay up til three in the morning just to finish it. I tried putting it down so I could get some sleep, but I couldn't seem to do it. It was hard to do it. I just related to the MC so much—not because my father's running for president or I'm being ordered around like some dog. I related to her because she is human—but then mostly because she's sixteen and I'm sixteen. You get the point. It's just that everything about Kate was so relatable.
I honestly thought this was going to be focused more on the romance but I thought wrong yet again. It focused more on the family aspect of the book and I think that's what I loved the most about it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I honestly thought this was going to be focused more on the romance but I thought wrong yet again. It focused more on the family aspect of the book and I think that's what I loved the most about it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
gotobedmouse's review against another edition
5.0
Sweet little story where the Republican presidential candidate is not bat shit insane. Awww..simple times
chelsbethbaute's review against another edition
4.0
3.5. I found this book to be pretty original. Kate, our main character, and the senator were pretty vanilla. But Meg, Kate’s stepmother, was the true star. She had depth and wasn’t the cliche stepmother character.
ajcollignon's review against another edition
4.0
A bit predictable, but I enjoyed the characters a lot.
maggiemaggio's review against another edition
5.0
I used to love politics. The intrigue, the scheming, the personalities. But as I get older I just can't stand it. The intrigue, the scheming, the personalities. However, one of the things that still interests me, about politics and people in the public eye for whatever reason, is what it's like for the bystanders. The politician or celebrity makes the choice to put themselves out there, but the spouse/kids/friends are sometimes thrust into the spotlight, for good or bad, through no choice of their own.
Kate is the ultimate bystander. Until a year ago she was just a normal girl, daughter of a middle-class single mom living in southern California. Then her mom passes away suddenly and Kate is forced to move to South Carolina to live with her mom's brother and his wife. Then, at the end of junior year, just as Kate is kind of sort of starting to settle into her new school, news breaks that she's the daughter of the most-likely Republican nominee for president and all hell breaks loose. Literally before that point she had no idea who her father was and her father had no idea about her.
Rather than spending a quiet summer in South Carolina Kate is swept up by her father's campaign and trotted out into the limelight. Not only is she dealing with a new father and new found fame (with lots of rules, opinions, and a makeover along with it), she also has a step-mom (who is the victim of her mother and father's affair) and twin eight-year-old siblings. The great thing about Kate is that while she's certainly concerned with how she appears to the entire country (she obsesses about the initial picture of her the press has and about the article that broke her true identity), she's also really concerned about what her new family thinks of her. She's incredibly nervous to meet her step-mom, but Meg ends up being great and Kate trusts her more than she trusts her father. Her half-siblings are both incredibly different, Gracie is very percousious and loves the spotlight while Gabe is shy and hates all the attention that comes with their father's position.
One of the amazing parts about this book (and there are lots of amazing parts) is how normal Kate is and how normal her reactions are. At first there's disbelief, confusion, and even some anger at her mother for never telling her the truth and for being the type of woman to sleep with a married man. Then there's the wanting to know her father (even though he sometimes seems like kind of an idiot) so she goes along with things that really aren't her (but also stands up for herself when she really feels strongly about something). At the NYCTAF back in March there was a discussion about strong characters and whether a strong character is someone who makes things happen and a weak character is someone who things happen to. For much of The Wrong Side of Right Kate is a character that things happen to, but her reactions, even when I just wanted her to stand up for herself, were never weak. Maybe they weren't strong in the traditional sense, but she certainly had a sense of self that helped carry her through a lot of crazy things happening to her.
Since this is a book about a presidential campaign it also touches on politics. Kate was raised in a liberal household and she's firmly pro-choice and in favor of things like immigration reform (something that is particularly near and dear to her). Her republican father, on the other hand, takes a hardline about things like immigration and Kate has to reconcile who her father is as a person with his political beliefs. Even though Kate is more liberal there was never a demonizing of conservatives and, if anything, Wright did a great job of showing both sides of issues and that there is no right or wrong in many cases.
There's also a romance in the book, with the son of the current president, aka Kate's dad's opponent. If the story had a weak point it would probably be the romance. Kate and Andy cross paths fairly often, but their romance is still very much on the back burner. They text each other, but Kate is never quite sure she can trust him and obviously they both have a lot going on. The fact that the romance got pushed to the back of the story ended up being great because it let Kate really shine on her own. Yet there were times I either wanted more romance or no romance rather than kind of a half romance. However, for a half romance it was still pretty good.
Bottom Line The Wrong Side of Right was on my list of most anticipated books of 2015 and I am so pleased to say it completely lived up to my expectations. The character of Kate is a dynamic, interesting, flawed protagonist who I couldn't help by stand behind. Throne's take on politics and what it's like to be behind the scenes of a campaign were realistic and fascinating. A must-read book of 2015.
This review first appeared on my blog.
Kate is the ultimate bystander. Until a year ago she was just a normal girl, daughter of a middle-class single mom living in southern California. Then her mom passes away suddenly and Kate is forced to move to South Carolina to live with her mom's brother and his wife. Then, at the end of junior year, just as Kate is kind of sort of starting to settle into her new school, news breaks that she's the daughter of the most-likely Republican nominee for president and all hell breaks loose. Literally before that point she had no idea who her father was and her father had no idea about her.
Rather than spending a quiet summer in South Carolina Kate is swept up by her father's campaign and trotted out into the limelight. Not only is she dealing with a new father and new found fame (with lots of rules, opinions, and a makeover along with it), she also has a step-mom (who is the victim of her mother and father's affair) and twin eight-year-old siblings. The great thing about Kate is that while she's certainly concerned with how she appears to the entire country (she obsesses about the initial picture of her the press has and about the article that broke her true identity), she's also really concerned about what her new family thinks of her. She's incredibly nervous to meet her step-mom, but Meg ends up being great and Kate trusts her more than she trusts her father. Her half-siblings are both incredibly different, Gracie is very percousious and loves the spotlight while Gabe is shy and hates all the attention that comes with their father's position.
One of the amazing parts about this book (and there are lots of amazing parts) is how normal Kate is and how normal her reactions are. At first there's disbelief, confusion, and even some anger at her mother for never telling her the truth and for being the type of woman to sleep with a married man. Then there's the wanting to know her father (even though he sometimes seems like kind of an idiot) so she goes along with things that really aren't her (but also stands up for herself when she really feels strongly about something). At the NYCTAF back in March there was a discussion about strong characters and whether a strong character is someone who makes things happen and a weak character is someone who things happen to. For much of The Wrong Side of Right Kate is a character that things happen to, but her reactions, even when I just wanted her to stand up for herself, were never weak. Maybe they weren't strong in the traditional sense, but she certainly had a sense of self that helped carry her through a lot of crazy things happening to her.
Since this is a book about a presidential campaign it also touches on politics. Kate was raised in a liberal household and she's firmly pro-choice and in favor of things like immigration reform (something that is particularly near and dear to her). Her republican father, on the other hand, takes a hardline about things like immigration and Kate has to reconcile who her father is as a person with his political beliefs. Even though Kate is more liberal there was never a demonizing of conservatives and, if anything, Wright did a great job of showing both sides of issues and that there is no right or wrong in many cases.
There's also a romance in the book, with the son of the current president, aka Kate's dad's opponent. If the story had a weak point it would probably be the romance. Kate and Andy cross paths fairly often, but their romance is still very much on the back burner. They text each other, but Kate is never quite sure she can trust him and obviously they both have a lot going on. The fact that the romance got pushed to the back of the story ended up being great because it let Kate really shine on her own. Yet there were times I either wanted more romance or no romance rather than kind of a half romance. However, for a half romance it was still pretty good.
Bottom Line The Wrong Side of Right was on my list of most anticipated books of 2015 and I am so pleased to say it completely lived up to my expectations. The character of Kate is a dynamic, interesting, flawed protagonist who I couldn't help by stand behind. Throne's take on politics and what it's like to be behind the scenes of a campaign were realistic and fascinating. A must-read book of 2015.
This review first appeared on my blog.
emilygrafton8's review
4.0
more of a 4.5**
I did really enjoy this book. It was a little slow in the beginning and took a while to pick up. However by the end I really liked it. I am such a big fan of politics and the insight of it so I thought that aspect was really cool. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Kate but as time grew on I started to like her more. except when she was tried to make these random decisions like honey what. Besides Kate I did like the cooper family and they were so fun. and then there was Andy. omg I loved this kid. he was so cute and so fun. definitely my favorite character from the book. loved him. overall this book was a good read!!
I did really enjoy this book. It was a little slow in the beginning and took a while to pick up. However by the end I really liked it. I am such a big fan of politics and the insight of it so I thought that aspect was really cool. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Kate but as time grew on I started to like her more. except when she was tried to make these random decisions like honey what. Besides Kate I did like the cooper family and they were so fun. and then there was Andy. omg I loved this kid. he was so cute and so fun. definitely my favorite character from the book. loved him. overall this book was a good read!!
madhatter360's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a huge fan of the West Wing, so I was excited to read this book. I think Thorne did a really good job accurately portraying eight year olds. I really liked the way Meg and Kate interacted.