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A review by britsreadinglife
The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler
4.0
Find the original review here at This is the Story of My(Reading) Life
This my second Gurtler read and the second time I've been pleasantly surprised by how much dimension she adds into what I expected to be on the more fluffy side of YA contemporary. It was definitely cute but also did a really great job showing how obtuse and meddling adults can be. Apparently Jess and Flynn have no right falling for each other. Because apparently coming from different "classes" is still a thing. Gurtler did a good job of making me posses off a few times throughout the book. It's mind boggling that people still believe what half the adults in this book believe; that just because you don't come from the same walk of life than you can't mix. The Truth About Us also proved how much the adults in a kids life do influence their thinking and behaviour. Even when Jess and Flynn know they can make it work there's still the niggling feelings of what will my friends think. Or my parents. But I really loved how they would tease each other with stereotypical truths. You think it's teasing but you can tell they're really trying to figure out how the other one does live.
This could have a totally cheesy other side of the tracks romance, but of course it's not. These are very real characters struggling to push through standards. Jess showed a bunch of growth. She went from this girl doing stupid stupid crap as a cry for attention to a more understanding and forward thinking girl. A girl who fought to get her life back to the way she wanted it. I enjoyed not only Flynn helping her see through the fog but also Wilf and the other fantastic supporting characters. Another hit out of the park for Gurtler.
This my second Gurtler read and the second time I've been pleasantly surprised by how much dimension she adds into what I expected to be on the more fluffy side of YA contemporary. It was definitely cute but also did a really great job showing how obtuse and meddling adults can be. Apparently Jess and Flynn have no right falling for each other. Because apparently coming from different "classes" is still a thing. Gurtler did a good job of making me posses off a few times throughout the book. It's mind boggling that people still believe what half the adults in this book believe; that just because you don't come from the same walk of life than you can't mix. The Truth About Us also proved how much the adults in a kids life do influence their thinking and behaviour. Even when Jess and Flynn know they can make it work there's still the niggling feelings of what will my friends think. Or my parents. But I really loved how they would tease each other with stereotypical truths. You think it's teasing but you can tell they're really trying to figure out how the other one does live.
This could have a totally cheesy other side of the tracks romance, but of course it's not. These are very real characters struggling to push through standards. Jess showed a bunch of growth. She went from this girl doing stupid stupid crap as a cry for attention to a more understanding and forward thinking girl. A girl who fought to get her life back to the way she wanted it. I enjoyed not only Flynn helping her see through the fog but also Wilf and the other fantastic supporting characters. Another hit out of the park for Gurtler.