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adamantly_andrea 's review for:
Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend
by Katie Finn
Truth be told, the synopsis of this book made me a little iffy. I have a hard time getting behind books where someone fakes their identity and lies to try to make up for a past transgression. I mean, it what universe does this scenario work out for all parties. (Spoiler alert: No universe.) But when I found out that Katie Finn is a pen name for Morgan Matson, I found myself willing to give Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend a chance. Best decision!
The story starts out with Gemma at Target with her boyfriend, Teddy, who promptly dumps her within the first chapter. Harsh. Instead of wallowing, Gemma has convinced herself that Teddy is confused and will come back to her apologizing and they'll laugh it off. Poor, sweet, delusional Gemma. (Unfortunately for Gemma, this statement pretty much applies to her throughout the entirety of Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend and not just this situation.)
After returning to the Hamptons to stay with her father over the summer, Gemma finds herself face-to-face with a terrible act she committed as an eleven-year-old and a strong desire to make amends to those she wronged. However, instead of saying "Hey, can we talk about how I was an awful kid five years ago?" she jumps on the mistaken identity opportunity and runs with it.
While I liked Gemma as a whole, this is such a major flaw in this character. She re-friends Hallie and Josh under her new identity in an attempt to show them that she's not a horrible person. She was eleven and she made a huge mistake - something she regrets - and she just wants to make things okay again. How she thinks lying about it is going to help, I don't know. But it did make for a good story!
The romance with Josh is cute and innocent - with the exception of Gemma's boldfaced lie. I like Josh; he comes across very genuine and cares for Gemma and I feel bad for him. This is another instance where I wanted to shake Gemma and say "This is going to blow up in your face!" I would have liked to see more of Sophie, Gemma's best friend. Gemma kind of blows her off a bit while dealing with the whole Hamptons thing and while she does make more of an appearance in the end, I'm hoping to see more of her in the subsequent books.
Overall, Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend is a fun and quick read. While there were moments where I couldn't help but roll my eyes and Gemma's naivety, I'm hoping she'll wise up in Revenge, Ice Cream, and Other Things Best Served Cold.
The story starts out with Gemma at Target with her boyfriend, Teddy, who promptly dumps her within the first chapter. Harsh. Instead of wallowing, Gemma has convinced herself that Teddy is confused and will come back to her apologizing and they'll laugh it off. Poor, sweet, delusional Gemma. (Unfortunately for Gemma, this statement pretty much applies to her throughout the entirety of Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend and not just this situation.)
After returning to the Hamptons to stay with her father over the summer, Gemma finds herself face-to-face with a terrible act she committed as an eleven-year-old and a strong desire to make amends to those she wronged. However, instead of saying "Hey, can we talk about how I was an awful kid five years ago?" she jumps on the mistaken identity opportunity and runs with it.
While I liked Gemma as a whole, this is such a major flaw in this character. She re-friends Hallie and Josh under her new identity in an attempt to show them that she's not a horrible person. She was eleven and she made a huge mistake - something she regrets - and she just wants to make things okay again. How she thinks lying about it is going to help, I don't know. But it did make for a good story!
The romance with Josh is cute and innocent - with the exception of Gemma's boldfaced lie. I like Josh; he comes across very genuine and cares for Gemma and I feel bad for him. This is another instance where I wanted to shake Gemma and say "This is going to blow up in your face!" I would have liked to see more of Sophie, Gemma's best friend. Gemma kind of blows her off a bit while dealing with the whole Hamptons thing and while she does make more of an appearance in the end, I'm hoping to see more of her in the subsequent books.
Overall, Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend is a fun and quick read. While there were moments where I couldn't help but roll my eyes and Gemma's naivety, I'm hoping she'll wise up in Revenge, Ice Cream, and Other Things Best Served Cold.