Review: Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark

Title: Finding Mr. Brightside

Author: Jay Clark

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. 

Publishing Date:  March 24th 2014

Pages: 2247

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Series: Stand Alone

Source: Audio

  

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.

I loved this book!!!! I kept seeing it around and wasn’t so sure about it. sounded bit more a romance than i normally go for. I am not a big contemporary romance girl. If I am going to do contemporary romance - I like cute and fluffy otherwise I go for more  – heavy realistic fiction – or chic lit….. so its not just about the romance. This book sounded more about just romance but not on the cute and fluffy side. I was a bit surprised to be honest. There was quite a bit of depth that made me take it serious and feel for the characters but, it had some humor that made  my light and fluffy side happy … and there was a bit of family drama to add a bit well drama. So it hit all the marks for me in one single book. The romance was awesome too. So it was a wonderful read that totally left me satisfied yet yearning for more.

The main characters, Abram and Juliette, had issues. Some real serious addictions to prescription drugs and some crazy family drama issues. Their parents.. her mom his dad… had an affair and on one of their trysts, a car accident happened, killing them both. These two had been neighbors for a long time but really never hung out in the same crowds. So when this happened it made things even more awkward between them. Well they met up by accident in the CVS and things just started happening, a challenge, a friendship, some free therapy, and eventually a romance. It’s their love story and how it helped them cope with their issues.

For starters love the cover…oh so pretty and bright and fun. Love the title. Is there anything about this title that would not beg you to read this book. The cover and the title fit the book perfectly. That was the very first win for me.

Now on to the read. If I could just say it was wonderful and I loved it and that would be it… I would but the book deserves more. So I will do my best to keep my thoughts coherent during this review.

This read was great everything. There was  nothing I didn't love about this read. I loved the characters, the oh so flawed and crazy characters. There were really only two, Abram and Juliette. I also loved the writing, the humor, the easiness of the read. I loved the story it was cute and wonderful and hopeful and sunny. (no it didn’t start off sunny but it made it there eventually). I loved the realism and the truth of the characters issues. I adored the romance and its sweetness. It was all spot on for me.

The two main characters were just awesome for me. They were real and they were flawed and they were so dang lovable despite their many flaws. There were many too. Juliette has some OCD issues, some control issues, and an addiction to Adderall. What she didn’t have was ADD. She used Adderall to get over her mothers death, to feel connected to her mother, to go through life not hurting but still able to accomplish what she needed to accomplish. She had no friends, she never ate (due to Adderall) and she had to make sure her father was taken care of.  

Abram was addicted to an anti anxiety medication (can’t remember but I think it may have been Paxil ). This in turn made him not care, lazy, sleeping all the time, and when he wasn’t sleeping he was eating… but that was about it. 

Both of these characters had a crazy brain that was fun but sad. They both many coping mechanisms but never really learned to cope. They were easy to connect to from the very start and I loved being with them as they developed and grew.

Their romance… well the book didn’t focus on the romance, that was very interesting to me. This was a romance book, it was their love story, but it never felt like it focused around their romance. Their romance just happened. It developed over time sweetly and slowly and even in the midst of the passion it was still sweet and slow. It was amazing, I am not playing, AMAZING. I felt apart of something wonderful. In the time their romance began to form, their issues came out and were dealt with. In each other they found strength and hope and learned to cope and look towards a future.

The story was just wonderful. It touched on so many subjects that teens could be facing without making it burn and tear at heart, just a tug and a realization. There was no heartbreaking moments. The tragedy that happened to these two happened months before this story takes place so I never had to face the heart shatter of it all. Just the healing. Which was what I enjoyed, the hope and the healing. This book had plenty of that. There were also no ah ha moments where it all came together. It just happened and it felt like every piece was in place all the time. Everything that happened as just supposed to happen. It flowed ridiculously well.

I am really trying to keep it all straight. Its hard. This book just took me to a place I had not been in a long time with a book and it for sure caused a huge book hangover. The only issue I had… it ended. I really would love to have more of these two. More story, more events, more romance… but I think their story really was completed in this book. Sad thing really, for me anyways.

LOVED IT. if you like contemporary romance or want to try it or never really liked …. Read this book. Its well worth the short time it will take you to ravish it.

Jay Clark is the author of Finding Mr. Brightside, which author Jerry Spinelli (Stargirl) calls “one of my favorite YA books ever,” and The Edumacation of Jay Baker, which Booklist praised in a starred review.