Review : The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : The Wrong Side of Right
Author : Jenn Marie Thorne
Publication Date : March 17th 2015
Publisher : Dial
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Fans of Sarah Dessen and Huntley Fitzpatrick will enjoy this smart debut young adult novel, equal parts My Life Next Door and The Princess Diaries—plus a dash of Aaron Sorkin.

Kate Quinn’s mom died last year, leaving Kate parentless and reeling. So when the unexpected shows up in her living room, Kate must confront another reality she never thought possible—or thought of at all. Kate does have a father. He’s a powerful politician. And he’s running for U.S. President. Suddenly, Kate’s moving in with a family she never knew she had, joining a campaign in support of a man she hardly knows, and falling for a rebellious boy who may not have the purest motives. This is Kate’s new life. But who is Kate? When what she truly believes flies in the face of the campaign’s talking points, she must decide. Does she turn to the family she barely knows, the boy she knows but doesn’t necessarily trust, or face a third, even scarier option?

Set against a backdrop of politics, family, and first love, this is a story of personal responsibility, complicated romance, and trying to discover who you are even as everyone tells you who you should be.
 
Personal Thoughts 

The Wrong Side of Right wasn't a book I had heard much about until it showed up on my doorstep. As soon as I took a glance at that summary, I knew this would be a Nick kind of book. Now, I'm the last person to actively seek a book about politics, but the forbidden romance lured me in and I started reading the book immediately. It's funny how thoroughly invested I became in the political aspects now that I think about it.

The protagonist in The Wrong Side of Right was one who was easy to become attached to. I sympathized with her because she had her life uprooted and completely tossed aside when she learns that her dad is a senator running for President. Can you imagine being in her position? Being invisible and then suddenly being in the limelight? Kate handled it all really well though and I was rather proud of the girl for how calm and collected she was throughout the entirety of the book despite the numerous emotional barriers she had to face. Kate was the kind of girl who was strong, but not in your usual way. Her strength came from deep within herself and I loved that about her. She was also a character that underwent tremendous amounts of growth throughout the book, which also pleased me immensely.  If you know me, you know how much I appreciate character growth in my books. The Wrong Side of Right was very much a character and family-driven book. I really enjoyed watching Kate become accustomed to her new family and watching her bond with her step-siblings was one of the highlights of the book for me. The developing relationships were wonderfully written.

As far as the political storyline, I was initially worried that I might not enjoy it, but I found myself actually interested in it. All the campaigning, the political debates and the behind the scenes were fascinating to someone like me who has zero interest in politics. At one point though, I did feel like the politics overwhelmed the book. At 400 pages, The Wrong Side of Right was a lengthy book and I feel like parts of it could have been compacted. Plus, it didn't help that I was sorely disappointed by the lack of romance in the book. Even though the summary makes it seem like the forbidden romance is a significant part of the story, sadly, it wasn't. In fact, I personally thought there was almost no romantic development. We also never got to know the love interest really well and I would have loved to have more scenes of Kate interacting with him. Ultimately, the lack of romance kind of bogged down my enjoyment of the book. That being said, Jenn Marie Thorne has a lovely writing style that made it easy to devour this book. So even if you're not a fan of books with minimal romance, I would give this book a shot just to experience her lovely writing.

The Wrong Side of Right wasn't exactly the book that I expected it to be, but for the most part, I enjoyed the book. If you like your books with strong character development, family dynamics and a dash of originality, The Wrong Side of Right is a book you should try.

Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the ARC of The Wrong Side of Right.