The Wrong Side of Right

by Jenn Marie Thorne

[Sam@WLABB]

Kate had been mourning her mother's death for about a year, when her whole life was changed in the wake of a political scandal. She found herself, once again, in a new home with new surroundings, but this time, she was among strangers. While dealing with this new information regarding her mother, Kate had to also learn how to play the role of a presidential candidate's daughter, as she also tried to get to know her new "family" and stay true to herself.

Though I am not a fan of politics in books, I knew what I was getting myself into when I cracked this one open. As much as this was about a girl, who finds herself immersed in a presidential campaign, Thorne did not let Kate's story get lost in the political firestorm. The focus of this tale was Kate.

Since her mother never mentioned anything regarding her paternity, Kate was led to believe her father was dead, and to then learn that not only was he a presidential candidate (and a Republican), he had also been married at the time of her conception. Kate struggled a great deal with this information. Her mother seemed to always hold such high standards and ideals, and Kate couldn't imagine her having an affair with a married man. This kind of shook her foundation a bit, and coupled with her feeling out of place and unwanted in her new home, it was a very emotional experience for her.

I loved the exploration of the family dynamic, and all the behind the scenes political stuff was wild, as expected, but you know what I liked most - the romance. Notice, I did not classify this book as a romance, and that is because it was such a small part of Kate's story. However, I was all over this pairing. The stolen and secret moments Kate shared with the love interest were fun and swoony and I absolutely wanted more of them together.

The other thing I really loved, was that Thorne appears to have a Dessenverse sort of world thing going on. I read this book right after Night Music, and easily picked out those things connecting the two books. Oscar happened to attend the same school as Kate, and his viral YouTube video was a reworking of the music of Kudzu Giants, the band Kate went to see. Kate also found herself watching the same reality show, that was mentioned by Ruby's friend. You know how much I adore "Easter eggs", and I was giddy when I uncovered these.

Though the ending was wholly predictable, I did enjoy this journey with Kate and the opportunity to see our political campaign process through a teen lens.

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