The Wrong Side of Right

I am in the best of moods right now after reading this. I enjoyed The Wrong Side of the Right, and judging from the cover, it may sound really cutesy at first, but it tackles heavy personal and political issues. Kate is a normal high school girl who suddenly finds out she's the lovechild of a Senator who is also a presidential candidate with a family of his own. As a political science major, it was a surprise to see politics layered into a YA novel. Even when I didn't necessarily agree with some choices being made, it made the entire book realistic and humanized. It offers insight behind the scenes of dirty, modern politics. All of it was incorporated into the book very naturally. The campaign staff sounded so authentic, too! Reading about the inner workings of a political campaign makes me wanna be part of a real one, all that planning and strategies and the lovely chaos of it all. But rather than following Kate's life politics-wise, it also provided another angle on her family life and how she copes with the new scene. We begin to see how the people who run for office aren't just the people we see on TV, they have messed up lives too behind those camera-ready smiles. I know some readers found Kate a bit dull and boring, but to me she was very likable. It's great how she handles herself and the struggles she faces daily. She makes wise choices, is very strong and independent, but still manages to be kind and understanding to everyone around her. It did take her a fair amount of time to object to being pushed around, but I think that's part of her novelty, seeing her learn to eventually stand up for herself. There were so many supporting characters here, but Jenn Marie Thorne doesn't just shove them out of the way. She provides us insight into their individual personalities through the eyes of Kate. We have her new siblings who have their own ways of giving Kate space to enter their lives. Her stepmother, Meg, was very admirable. Instead of taking the easy way out and turning her into the obvious evil stepmom choice, Thorne gives us a complex character doing her best to do the right thing. Meg quickly became one of my favorite character in this book, and I think she gave it a little more depth. Even her dad's campaign staff were interesting. And my favorite part was the romance. It was not overdone, it did not take up too much of the plot, and Andy plays a minor- role, but is still very swoon worthy. He's misunderstood, thoughtful, kind of a trouble maker but very genuine. They have very few scenes together, but when they do, it's all very intense and romantic. In fact, not EVERY young adult book needs romance, right? Just because it's classified under YA, doesn't mean it needs to have a romantic relationship involved. For a debut novel, this was unexpectedly good! Very clever and emotional, all the themes coming together to create this perfect novel. I think a lot more people should acknowledge Jenna Marie Thorne, and I'm really looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.

I could not put this book down. It was a bit of a farfetched story, but it was written so well that I was sucked into Kate's story and was cheering for her to come into her own. I don't think that this would have been such a gripping book of Kate hadn't been such a likeable character. Sure, she needed to stand up for herself more, but she was just a kid who needed to figure herself out and going through a bit of a tough situation, you get why she was scared to rock the boat. This book got a 5 star rating, which maybe I'll question later on, because it was so damn enjoyable that I couldn't not.

3.5 stars! THIS COVER! Yes, I have to admit, this cover totally won me over. If the synopsis didn’t sound entertaining enough, this cover had READ ME written all over it. This is a book I had wanted to read for so long, and even featured it as a Waiting on Wednesday pick a few months back. I was so excited to finally hold the gorgeousness in my hands. The characters in The Wrong Side of Right were a lot of fun. Kate Quinn is the kind of MC that readers will instantly fall for. After recently losing her mother, she is uprooted from her uncle and aunt’s house to live with her new “family”, which just so happens to be a senior, who’s running for president, and his family. I can’t even imagine being put in this kind of situation, especially in the teenage years when life is already so difficult. Kate does wonderful in school and has dreams of attending Harvard, but after being relocated she’s unsure about what her future now has in store for her. I guess you could say there was a little romance in this book, but it was such a minor aspect of the story it really didn’t sink in for me. I had a few issues with it, but overall I was happy it was there. I really enjoyed how Kate’s “new family” was portrayed in this story. I thought for sure it would have a Cinderella-and-her-evil-stepsisters vibe, but it was so the opposite. No, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but the family came off in a very realistic light. I was worried about the political aspect of the story line being too much for me too. I guess you could say I’m not a huge fan of politics. Okay… I strongly dislike politics, to be honest. But aside from the campaigning and political jargon here and there, this story was so much more than that. I really liked the added illegal immigrant aspect as well. I found it very interesting how accurately this story seemed to be written. Aside from it feeling a bit long at times, I had a lot of fun reading this book. The Wrong Side of Right is a very cute contemporary story that I think many will enjoy. (Thanks to Dial for the review copy!) Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!