Bright Side
by Kim Holden
5/5
Read: 1.2.2023 to 1.5.2023
Publish Date: 7.4.2014
***This review contains spoilers.***
Synopsis:
Kate Sedgwick’s life has been anything but typical. She’s endured hardship and tragedy, but throughout it all she remains happy and optimistic (there’s a reason her best friend Gus calls her Bright Side). Kate is strong-willed, funny, smart, and musically gifted. She’s also never believed in love. So when Kate leaves San Diego to attend college in the small town of Grant, Minnesota, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with Keller Banks.
My thoughts:
This book will stay with me for a very long time. The first bit was good but there are so many parts that leave you wondering how and if they’ll all tie together. There are also a lot of things left unsaid or alluded to that keep you guessing as to what is exactly going on. But oh my gosh does it all tie together so so beautifully yet tragically in the end!
"I'm not saying you shouldn't pursue dreams and goals. Just don't forsake the present for the unknowns of the future. A lot of happiness is bypassed, overlooked, postponed to a time years from now that may never come."
The book opens with Kate having just moved to Minnesota from San Diego for school. She's staying with her aunt whom she only met a few years ago. The aunt, Maddie, is allegedly a lawyer and doesn't give Kate any time of day until they go to eat sushi together. Kate is a vegetarian and after asking Maddie which of the numerous rolls she ordered were vegetables only, Maddie lies and tells her two that absolutely are not, leaving Kate with the "meat shits", as she calls it, and the bill. And that's just the tip of the iceberg with Maddie.
You learn that Kate has left her best friend, Gus, behind in San Diego where he and his band, Rook, are in the process of producing an album. Kate tells us about growing up with an unavailable mom and an older sister, Grace. They do not know their father. Grace and Kate lived in a garage apartment for the past few years with only one bed, one card table, and boxes to hold their clothes. You learn that she's moved from Grace and are left wondering what happened to make her do that. She also alludes to tests that she'll need Gus's support through and you're left wondering about that as well. She's so put off by the idea of romantic love but she and Gus share a friendly love that is unlike any other. I thought I had a best guy friend in high school, but that was nowhere near close to Kate and Gus's level of friendship.
Kate is who everyone should strive to be. She has had a hard life but she is so optimistic and looks on the bright side of everything, hence her nickname Bright Side. She's also a firecracker and hilarious! She's a feisty little thing that does not take any shit from anyone. She is wholeheartedly herself and doesn't regret a thing. She lives life to the fullest and lives in the present.
"She's the poster child for positivity. She's a freaking ray of sunshine. She doesn't just look on the bright side ... she lives there."
Gus was not my favorite at first. I thought he was kind of sketchy. I realize that that is probably an unpopular opinion, but it is what it is. I now realize it's because he was head over heels in love with her and she couldn't reciprocate the romantic feelings. And, oh my gosh, does that make me love him so much! He went and goes through so much for Kate. He seems like a badass but down-to-earth rockstar who is more passionate about his music than he is partying - the complete opposite of Billy in Daisy Jones but I still got Billy vibes.
Kate discovers Grounds, the local coffee shop, while moving into her dorm at Grant University. She's an absolute coffee addict! She eventually meets the barista, Keller.
"My life will not follow a fairy tale, and that's okay. My life is reality."
Keller is charismatic as they come! He's handsome, flirty, and intriguing. He pines over Kate and she fights it for so long but then eventually admits her love for him. He is mysterious to everyone at Grant because he travels home to Chicago every other weekend and no one knows why. One weekend, he takes Kate home to meet Stella. Kate believes this to be his girlfriend but it turns out to be his adorable four-year-old daughter who instantly falls in love with Kate and vice versa.
The supporting characters are also amazing. Shelly is the floral shop worker who hires Kate and eventually thaws her frozen heart to her. Duncan is Keller's roommate and Shelly's boyfriend and also Stella's uncle, as his deceased sister is Stella's mother. Clayton and Pete are dorm neighbors of Kate's and are the sweetest friends one could ask for in college. Reading this book, you get angry for Clayton when he gets beat up for being gay and you can't help but laugh at Pete's innocence. Gus's mom, Audrey is a saint. She cared for Kate and Grace when their mother wouldn't and cares for Kate in the end.
"Tolerance is bullshit. There's nothing to tolerate. We don't tolerate lovely people, we enjoy their company. I hate that term."
Throughout the course of the book, you learn that Grace had Downs Syndrome and died a year ago. Their mother, Janine, died a few years ago from suicide and their aunt Maddie is bulimic. Kate frequently refers to doctors' appointments and pain and you wonder what is wrong with her until you find out her cancer has returned and is terminal. This was the biggest turning point in the book. Everything comes together at this point and no sentence from that point on isn't an emotional one.
You will laugh, you will empathize, you will get angry, you will ponder, and you will most definitely cry. Do yourself a favor and read this book!
“It's a nice place to visit, denial, but you can't live there forever.”
Do epic and be brave, dudes!
(IYKYK)
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