Thursday, March 12, 2015

The Truth About You and Me by Amanda Grace

The Truth About You and Me by Amanda Grace
Source: Library
Pages: 229
Publisher: Flux
Release Date: September 8th 2013
Series: Standalone
Verdict: Pass

SummaryMadelyn Hawkins is super smart. At sixteen, she's so gifted that she can attend college through a special program at her high school. On her first day, she meets Bennett. He's cute, funny, and kind. He understands Madelyn and what she's endured - and missed out on - in order to excel academically and please her parents. Now, for the first time in her life, she's falling in love.
There's only one problem. Bennett is Madelyn's college professor, and he thinks she's eighteen - because she hasn't told him the truth.
The story of their forbidden romance is told in letters that Madelyn writes to Bennett - both a heart-searing ode to their ill-fated love and an apology.

Review: I normally don't read these kinds of books because of the nature of the content. The plot can be cliche and annoying. However, I decided to pick this up because the concept of the story being unraveled through a novel sized letter from Madelyn to Bennett was a unique one. 

From the beginning, it's already known that the relationship is doomed and done. Madelyn writes to Bennett as she's alone in her room, on house arrest after everything fell apart. She writes about the circumstances and how she met Bennett, who she refers to as "you," creating the rarely seen story told in first person point of view intermingled with second person point of view. She writes about why she lied, how she lied, how everything came together, and how everything fell apart. 

Personally, I couldn't grasp the plot line of the book. Within what seems to be a few weeks, Madelyn claims to be in love even though she knows the extreme predicaments of their blooming relationship. Age differences, positions of power, and secrets don't seem to faze Madelyn. 

While reading, I felt bad for Bennett, because even though what he thought he was doing was already bad, he never imagined for a second that the situation was actually so much worse. Madelyn's character was selfish through her actions. She never thought once of the consequences, but that just showed lack of maturity. But that was the case because although she was smart, she was naive and immature. I could understand her desperation and conflict, but as she tells her story, she comes off as whiney as she complains about her parents, her future, or lack thereof, and her life. 

The reality is that both parties acted rashly and without thought of the possible consequences, and because of that, everything was set to come crashing down from the very start. The story was interesting and unlike any other one that I've read because it wasn't as cliche as I thought it would be. There were moments where I was transported into the scene, reliving what Madelyn was reliving through her writing. Yet there were also moments where I just wanted to knock some sense into Madelyn, and into Bennett. 

I thought The Truth About You and Me was well written and beautifully told. Despite my disappointments with the context, I was happy with the writing. And much to my surprise, the ending was an enjoyable one, bittersweet and inevitable. 

But ultimately, the actual contents of the book—the plot line, the conflict, the portrayal of the characters—left much to be desired. If I could turn back time knowing everything I now know, I would probably skip this one. Since that's not quite possible though, I'm glad I discovered this book even though I won't be reading it again. 


Could've been better

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