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A review by heather4994
Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn
5.0
Okay, first I want to protest that there is an entire year before the sequel to this comes out and there is another sequel after that! I wish I had been aware there was a sequel going into this one. I am sure I have read a review that said there was one, but I let it slip my mind. So beware, there will be sequels and you will want to read them tomorrow!
Characters- Gemma/Sophie- Gemma who tells everyone she is Sophie to keep from getting into a messy situation from the past is actually trying to make up for some past mistakes. At 11 she did something really awful, damaging her father emotionally, as well as another family, practically ruining a woman's career and all for nothing, the inevitable happened anyway. She has been ashamed of it for years and never told anyone. Had she told, she probably would have needed therapy. Since she didn't, she's lived her life trying to make up for her mistakes. Her intentions are in the right place, but she is a bit blind to the fact of what is actually happening with all her mishaps.
Hallie- The girl that Gemma/Sophie hurt all those years ago. They were best friends. And then Gemma did the unforgivable things and left Hallie standing there crying. Hallie is .....complicated.
Josh- The innocent bystander in all of this. He is Hallie's brother and the guy that Gemma/Sophie falls for during the summer. He falls for her. He is so sweet. SO SWEET! Any girl would love a boy like him.
The setting/world- The Hamptons- Okay, it's the beach, it's summer, very little parental supervision, and THE HAMPTONS! I haven't been there, but I have heard enough to know I'd love to go!! So what's not to love about the place? Gemma/Sophie has a choice of all kinds of fancy cars because she is staying with her father who is staying with his friend a famous movie director who has a mansion right on the beach. Life is good!
The Story- As the title suggests, it's about mending fences and broken hearts and other things. But that is always easier said than done. Certainly mending a broken heart takes time, and Gemma's and Hallie's have been broken in different ways. Fence mending, well truth should be told first, Gemma has to fess up that she isn't Sophie. And both Hallie and Gemma need to do minimum damage to Josh's heart.
My Take- I thought this was a fun beach read going in and that's exactly what I got. There are a lot of mishaps and yes, I could see through almost every "accident" and who was behind it and even who Hallie's boyfriend was. It didn't take much to figure that out. But this was a fun book. Yes, what Gemma did when she was 11 was bad. And I feel like there will be a confession involved somewhere along the line, but she was 11 and in a panic about her parents divorcing. I think kids do anything to keep their parents together. And they blame themselves. I laughed at Gemma/Sophie's naivety. I laughed at how far she went to keep the charade up. At how far she went to try to be a good friend. But I did sober up at a few points in the story. I have even already figured out how Hallie and Josh's mom made her money. (This is not revealed in the story so far). But it was all just a fun read to me. And I can't wait for the next book!
The only thing I didn't like was that I didn't realize it was a series!!
Great for a summery, beach read. YA contemporary, very PG read. I read this one in record time.
Thanks to Feiwel and Friends for the E-ARC for review. This in no way influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Characters- Gemma/Sophie- Gemma who tells everyone she is Sophie to keep from getting into a messy situation from the past is actually trying to make up for some past mistakes. At 11 she did something really awful, damaging her father emotionally, as well as another family, practically ruining a woman's career and all for nothing, the inevitable happened anyway. She has been ashamed of it for years and never told anyone. Had she told, she probably would have needed therapy. Since she didn't, she's lived her life trying to make up for her mistakes. Her intentions are in the right place, but she is a bit blind to the fact of what is actually happening with all her mishaps.
Hallie- The girl that Gemma/Sophie hurt all those years ago. They were best friends. And then Gemma did the unforgivable things and left Hallie standing there crying. Hallie is .....complicated.
Josh- The innocent bystander in all of this. He is Hallie's brother and the guy that Gemma/Sophie falls for during the summer. He falls for her. He is so sweet. SO SWEET! Any girl would love a boy like him.
The setting/world- The Hamptons- Okay, it's the beach, it's summer, very little parental supervision, and THE HAMPTONS! I haven't been there, but I have heard enough to know I'd love to go!! So what's not to love about the place? Gemma/Sophie has a choice of all kinds of fancy cars because she is staying with her father who is staying with his friend a famous movie director who has a mansion right on the beach. Life is good!
The Story- As the title suggests, it's about mending fences and broken hearts and other things. But that is always easier said than done. Certainly mending a broken heart takes time, and Gemma's and Hallie's have been broken in different ways. Fence mending, well truth should be told first, Gemma has to fess up that she isn't Sophie. And both Hallie and Gemma need to do minimum damage to Josh's heart.
My Take- I thought this was a fun beach read going in and that's exactly what I got. There are a lot of mishaps and yes, I could see through almost every "accident" and who was behind it and even who Hallie's boyfriend was. It didn't take much to figure that out. But this was a fun book. Yes, what Gemma did when she was 11 was bad. And I feel like there will be a confession involved somewhere along the line, but she was 11 and in a panic about her parents divorcing. I think kids do anything to keep their parents together. And they blame themselves. I laughed at Gemma/Sophie's naivety. I laughed at how far she went to keep the charade up. At how far she went to try to be a good friend. But I did sober up at a few points in the story. I have even already figured out how Hallie and Josh's mom made her money. (This is not revealed in the story so far). But it was all just a fun read to me. And I can't wait for the next book!
The only thing I didn't like was that I didn't realize it was a series!!
Great for a summery, beach read. YA contemporary, very PG read. I read this one in record time.
Thanks to Feiwel and Friends for the E-ARC for review. This in no way influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.