Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark

Title: Finding Mr. Brightside
Author: Jay Clark
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Goodreads Summary: 

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. 

Review:

"He's the best thing she happens to be avoiding."

Abram and Juliette fit together. They make each other better. I ship them!

Except for the fact that they're actually neighbors, their lives were connected by their parents. They've tried really hard to put their lives back to normal after the car crash and the revelations. After meeting at the neighborhood pharmacy (which was a coincidence), he decides to invite her to Taco Bell, then she agrees. Juliette soon realizes that Abram isn't really someone to avoid.

The plot actually looks like something that's some sort of cliche, but the characters cancel that out (especially Abram's mom!).

I can't find the right words for Abram, but all I can say is: he's a good person. And, for Juliette, what I can say is: she's fabulous! That was pretty shallow, but I really do think that it's the exact word to describe my opinions. She just seemed so real to me. She doesn't seem like some girl from a fantasy story.

After what they've been through, it's good that the story didn't become full of grief and bitterness and all.

Now, let's talk about their [living] parents.
Suzy, Abram's mom, was not like the typical-bitter-parent-like-the-ones-in-cliche-stories (when I talk about typical-bitter-parent-like-the-ones-in-cliche-stories, I'm talking about those moms that think that the like-mother-like-daughter or the like-father-like-son principle is true). Therefore, if Suzy's that kind of mom, she would go hating on Juliette and think that Juliette doesn't deserve Abram because she's totally like her mother. She's not like that, so I'm satisfied. She couldn't be better.

Ben, Juliette's father, has been writing The Dollhouse Killer for ages. Now, plus points for Juliette being the good daughter not slamming the fact that her father's story was "like a written version of a CSI episode he doesn't remember watching" on Ben's face. But sorry, I kind of think that he doesn't pay enough attention to Juliette and her life, but I guess it's a side effect of their loss.

This story is a well-written one narrated through two perspectives. The cover is such a masterpiece! It looks good and it fits the book as well. You'll know what I mean once you read it, so I want you to get your hands on the book right.now.


RATING: 4.5/5
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