Mol Reads Books: Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark Published by Henry Holt & Co on March 24, 2015
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Buy @ Barnes&Noble • Buy @ Amazon • Genres: young adult contemporary
Source: Galley from the publisher
Abram and Juliette know each other. They’ve lived down the street from each other their whole lives. But they don’t really know each other—at least, not until Juliette’s mom and Abram’s dad have a torrid affair that culminates in a deadly car crash. Sharing the same subdivision is uncomfortable, to say the least. They don’t speak.
Fast-forward to the neighborhood pharmacy, a few months later. Abram decides to say hello. Then he decides to invite her to Taco Bell. To her surprise as well as his, she agrees. And the real love story begins.
Confession: Sometimes I read books, then I want to talk about them. But I don’t want to write super formal reviews like I did when I first started blogging. I want my reviews to be fun and hopefully make YOU want to read the book. So…here goes!
Y’all, so there’s this book called FINDING MR. BRIGHTSIDE. I was curious from the time I first read the synopsis. Our main characters have a connection that makes their first interaction anything but a meet-cute. Abram’s dad had an affair with Juliette’s mom, and then both of them died in a car crash. Fast-forward a year later, and no one is really doing well. Everyone is just sort of faking normal, and yet somehow Abram and Juliette, who have been ignoring each other’s existence, are drawn together.
MOLLI BAIT. Seriously. I was excited but nervous, and luckily, I. Was. Hooked. From the first chapter, sitting on my back porch in the sunshine reading, I was totally hooked.
First of all, we need to talk about the characters and their voices. Juliette is so snarky and hidden in her tower, and Abram is all LET ME CLIMB YOUR WALLS. Every time they were in the same room, or texting, I was basically falling all over myself giggling. Somehow his exuberance and her attitude melded together to form something I loved way more than I thought I would. And the way Jay Clark wrote both characters, I felt like I knew them. More than that, I felt like I was there, getting a peek into their day to day lives, watching their experiences shape them.
Obviously I loved the writing. It was sharp, clear, and easy to read. Easy to get lost in. I’d read 100 pages before I even looked up, and that doesn’t happen with just any book. Jay Clark did a fantastic job writing two easily distinguishable characters. Juliette and Abram both felt really authentic, not overly romanticized, nor overdone in an attempt to be cool.
The feels. They were there, and always unexpected. I’d be laughing at one of the funny remarks, then BAM, feels explosion. I really enjoyed them though. FINDING MR. BRIGHTSIDE has some heavy moments, and there’s an undercurrent of grief, but it’s eventually mixed with learning how to breathe around that grief.
What else…I dug the dual point of view, and the fact that BRIGHTSIDE started after the accident that killed Juliette’s mom and Abram’s dad. I liked that both remaining parents had a big presence in the story, and I liked seeing how they dealt. I think my favorite part was the super organic character growth. This book doesn’t span years, but I could really SEE both Abram and Juliette changing for the better.
FINDING MR. BRIGHTSIDE is a sweet, poignant read, and won’t be my last Jay Clark book. I’d recommend it to fans of Stephanie Perkins and Morgan Matson.
