Review: The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler

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Check out my review below...

The Truth About Us
by Janet Gurtler
YA Contemporary Romance
Paperback, 304 Pages
April 7th 2015 by Sourcebooks Fire    

Summary

Flynn’s from the wrong side of the tracks, but he may be just right for Jess…

The truth is that Jess knows she’s screwed up. She’s made mistakes, even betrayed her best friend, and now she’s paying for it. Her dad is making her spend the whole summer volunteering at the local soup kitchen.

The truth is that she wishes she was the carefree party girl everyone thinks she is. She pretends it’s all fine. That her “perfect” family is fine. But it’s not. And no one notices the lie…until she meets Flynn. He’s the only one who really sees her. The only one who really listens.

The truth is that Jess is falling apart, and no one seems to care. But Flynn is the definition of “the wrong side of the tracks.” When Jess’s parents look at him, they only see their differences, not how much she and Flynn need each other. They don’t get that the person who shouldn’t fit into your world might just be the one who makes you feel like you belong.

      Indigo Chapters

My Review

The Truth About Us started out pretty rough for me. I didn't like what was going on and I didn't like the main character. I kept on reading in the hopes that when Jess meets the boy from the wrong side of town, Flynn, that things would change, and thankfully they do once she starts working at a shelter in a shadier part of town. I ended up loving the parts of the story where Jess and Flynn were together, when Jess was with her family, and when she's at the shelter.

I still am a little torn about how I feel after finishing this. I've never been into the crazy, drunken, making-out, partying kind of setting. It was prevalent at the beginning of the story and then twice afterwards. Eventually Jess does become confident enough in who she is becoming or when she remembers who she really is that by the end she handled the party scene much better, thank goodness. I liked seeing how she changed and how her family changed. It was a fairly good coming-of-age story in that regard. 

There were a lot of issues between Flynn's family and Jess's and a lot going on. They each had baggage from all of that, but they could be themselves with each other and talk about things they couldn't talk about with anyone else. I loved that. I also loved Jess and her relationship with Wilf. I was really mad at Flynn at one point. I can't say more than that for those who haven't read this, but you'll know what I mean when you do. From there to the end the story felt slightly rushed and too easy. I wanted a little more development, maybe some more time passing. It did pull on my emotions and I was happy with how things ended. 

I'd recommend The Truth About Us to those who enjoy contemporary YA romance, who won't mind the content, and enjoy stories with plenty of ups and downs, family and friendship issues, but where the characters pull together in the end. It was a sweet, yet intense romance. If that's what you love reading, then this one is for you.

Content: (Highlight to read.) Swearing (including the F-word multiple times), profanity, innuendo, some topless girls, smoking, drinking.

Source: I would like to thank Sourcebooks Fire for my complimentary ARC through NetGalley, which did not affect my review in any way.


What's your favorite YA contemporary right now?

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