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The Undoing of Thistle Tate
Famous teen author Thistle Tate struggles to keep her biggest secret: the real identity of the author of her bestselling books.
Thistle Tate is a glittering wunderkind--only seventeen, and a bestselling author of the wildly successful Lemonade Skies series, with the highly anticipated final book due to publish next year. She has diehard fans across the globe, flashy tours, and steep advances. And now she's finally started to date her best friend and next-door-neighbor, Liam, the only one who knows her deep dark secret: she's not the real author of the Lemonade Skies books.
Thistle's guilt about lying intensifies after she meets the surprisingly charming Oliver, who introduces her to his super-fan little sister--but how can she have friendships based on deception? All she wants is for this last book to be written so she can be done with the ruse for good.
Then with just two weeks left to deliver the manuscript to her agent and editor, a dramatic turn of events puts everything in jeopardy, and Thistle must grapple with her own identity. Is she a victim, a fraudster, or both? On top of that, Liam is increasingly jealous of Thistle's budding friendship with Oliver--a friendship that leaves Thistle more than a little confused about her own heart.
As the book deadline looms closer, the stakes ever higher, a startling family truth comes to light, and it's only a matter of time before something gives--and Thistle's world becomes undone.
For fans of Rainbow Rowell and E. Lockhart, this YA is the perfect summer read for teen bookworms everywhere, with a love triangle, an insider's depiction of the publishing world, and nonstop, page-turning action.
Thistle Tate is a glittering wunderkind--only seventeen, and a bestselling author of the wildly successful Lemonade Skies series, with the highly anticipated final book due to publish next year. She has diehard fans across the globe, flashy tours, and steep advances. And now she's finally started to date her best friend and next-door-neighbor, Liam, the only one who knows her deep dark secret: she's not the real author of the Lemonade Skies books.
Thistle's guilt about lying intensifies after she meets the surprisingly charming Oliver, who introduces her to his super-fan little sister--but how can she have friendships based on deception? All she wants is for this last book to be written so she can be done with the ruse for good.
Then with just two weeks left to deliver the manuscript to her agent and editor, a dramatic turn of events puts everything in jeopardy, and Thistle must grapple with her own identity. Is she a victim, a fraudster, or both? On top of that, Liam is increasingly jealous of Thistle's budding friendship with Oliver--a friendship that leaves Thistle more than a little confused about her own heart.
As the book deadline looms closer, the stakes ever higher, a startling family truth comes to light, and it's only a matter of time before something gives--and Thistle's world becomes undone.
For fans of Rainbow Rowell and E. Lockhart, this YA is the perfect summer read for teen bookworms everywhere, with a love triangle, an insider's depiction of the publishing world, and nonstop, page-turning action.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 23, 2019
21 people are currently reading
1055 people want to read
About the author
Katelyn Detweiler
5 books136 followersKatelyn Detweiler was born and raised in Pennsylvania, living in a centuries-old farmhouse surrounded by fields and woods—a setting that fueled her childhood imagination and, many years later, inspired her YA debut, Immaculate. Katelyn is a writer by night (and weekend) and a literary agent by day, representing books for all ages and across all genres. She currently lives, works, and writes in Brooklyn.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
November 2, 2019
A unique story with a fresh voice. This was definitely short and sweet, but was able to hit various emotional chords. I enjoyed the writing, characters and plot. I almost teared up at the end. I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars, but when compared to the other books that have recently earned 3 stars from me, this book is a 4. I'm not a big fan of the cover though.
July 1, 2019
The synopsis of the book and the MC's name are what initially drew me in. I was expecting a bittersweet Rom-Com that gives you all the feels. But, no.
Thistle Tate is a seventeen-year-old bestselling author with fans and book tours and monetary success. She is also a fraud.
She also has a crush on Liam - wait for it - the actual boy next door. Liam is her only friend and soon becomes her boyfriend. She doesn't attend public school (or school of any kind), and has no other friends or typical high school experiences.
I expected Thistle to constantly be surrounded by glittering stardom - paparazzi, screaming fans, TV interviews, book signings, and everything else that comes with fame. Meh. Not really. There's one scene at the beginning, but it's mostly to set up the meeting between her and Oliver, the third in the love triangle. Yay. For someone who's just finalized the boyfriend thing with Liam, it's odd to me that such a famously popular teen would become interested in another boy based on this description:
“Shaggy bright red hair down to his shoulders, hundreds— thousands, maybe— of freckles scattered across his pale face, his neck, his arms. He’s wearing a black T-shirt with the name of what’s probably an obscure band I’m not nearly cool enough to have ever heard of, tight black jeans, black boots.”
The first 200 pages we see Thistle repeatedly begging her father for information about her mother and juggling two boyfriends. Fluff. Then... WHAM! The story takes a complete 180 and detours to a much darker place. While I get the message and the whole coming-of-age thing, the first three-fourths of the book don't match the last quarter.
Thistle Tate is a seventeen-year-old bestselling author with fans and book tours and monetary success. She is also a fraud.
She also has a crush on Liam - wait for it - the actual boy next door. Liam is her only friend and soon becomes her boyfriend. She doesn't attend public school (or school of any kind), and has no other friends or typical high school experiences.
I expected Thistle to constantly be surrounded by glittering stardom - paparazzi, screaming fans, TV interviews, book signings, and everything else that comes with fame. Meh. Not really. There's one scene at the beginning, but it's mostly to set up the meeting between her and Oliver, the third in the love triangle. Yay. For someone who's just finalized the boyfriend thing with Liam, it's odd to me that such a famously popular teen would become interested in another boy based on this description:
“Shaggy bright red hair down to his shoulders, hundreds— thousands, maybe— of freckles scattered across his pale face, his neck, his arms. He’s wearing a black T-shirt with the name of what’s probably an obscure band I’m not nearly cool enough to have ever heard of, tight black jeans, black boots.”
The first 200 pages we see Thistle repeatedly begging her father for information about her mother and juggling two boyfriends. Fluff. Then... WHAM! The story takes a complete 180 and detours to a much darker place. While I get the message and the whole coming-of-age thing, the first three-fourths of the book don't match the last quarter.
July 2, 2020
Imagine being the best selling author of a popular series of books at age seventeen. Then imagine it’s all a lie. The world thinks Thistle Tate is a writing prodigy. Only her father, the true writer and her best and only friend Liam know the truth.
Homeschooled, Thistle is extremely isolated, surrounded by people who don’t have her best interest at heart. Her father forced her into a situation where she’s a fraud and a liar. Coming clean, Tate believes, would destroy him. She carries the weight of his friend from her mother’s accidental death as well as her own.
Katelyn Detweiler’s writing is pleasant enough, but the story is dull and uninspired. I wanted to embrace Thistle and her journey, but she lacked personality and felt not fully formed as a character. None of the characters made much of an impact on me.
THE UNDOING OF THISTLE TATE feels forgettable and I can’t think of a reason to recommend.
Homeschooled, Thistle is extremely isolated, surrounded by people who don’t have her best interest at heart. Her father forced her into a situation where she’s a fraud and a liar. Coming clean, Tate believes, would destroy him. She carries the weight of his friend from her mother’s accidental death as well as her own.
Katelyn Detweiler’s writing is pleasant enough, but the story is dull and uninspired. I wanted to embrace Thistle and her journey, but she lacked personality and felt not fully formed as a character. None of the characters made much of an impact on me.
THE UNDOING OF THISTLE TATE feels forgettable and I can’t think of a reason to recommend.
January 14, 2022
cute, not amazing, but fine.
November 26, 2019
I picked this one up for its intriguing plot, and I wasn't disappointed. But more than that, "The Undoing of Thistle Tate" slammed home, for me at least, the myriad ways children, particularly girls, are groomed to live for other people's happiness. The unreliable narrator mechanism is used to astonishing effect here, presenting two initially loving, cozy relationships--Thistle and her father, Thistle and Liam--encouraging readers to see them as healthy, idyllic, even empowering. Who wouldn't want such a supportive parent? What could be more desirable than a love interest who knows all your darker bits and adores you anyway?
Inevitably, the veneer cracks and we begin to see the ways Thistle continually compromises her personal integrity to enrich those around her. We see the ways in which she is cruelly betrayed by someone who claims to have her very best interests at heart. We see the toxic price of male entitlement--of a culture that says, "You owe me." We see the shattering force of discovery when the mythical mother Thistle cherishes turns out to be someone very different.
This could have been a real downer of a book, if it weren't for the redemptive power of Detweiler's writing. We may be subjected to the destructive nature of Thistle's closest allies, but we are blessed enough to watch her meet new and gracious people, whose respect and wisdom help her navigate a devastating, life-ruining moment. With Emma, Oliver and Dottie at her back, it's hard to imagine any other ending than one in which Thistle owns her truth and takes control of her narrative at long last.
If only living one's truth were so richly rewarded in real life...
Inevitably, the veneer cracks and we begin to see the ways Thistle continually compromises her personal integrity to enrich those around her. We see the ways in which she is cruelly betrayed by someone who claims to have her very best interests at heart. We see the toxic price of male entitlement--of a culture that says, "You owe me." We see the shattering force of discovery when the mythical mother Thistle cherishes turns out to be someone very different.
This could have been a real downer of a book, if it weren't for the redemptive power of Detweiler's writing. We may be subjected to the destructive nature of Thistle's closest allies, but we are blessed enough to watch her meet new and gracious people, whose respect and wisdom help her navigate a devastating, life-ruining moment. With Emma, Oliver and Dottie at her back, it's hard to imagine any other ending than one in which Thistle owns her truth and takes control of her narrative at long last.
If only living one's truth were so richly rewarded in real life...
August 25, 2019
I'm very torn on this book. On one hand, the premise really bothers me and I wonder what parent would EVER put their child through the situation Theo Tate put Thistle through. Theo Tate is a pretty terrible parent and a supremely selfish person. However, I get why Thistle went along with the plan and I probably would have done the same thing if I were in her shoes. I loved that the author had a character (albeit a secondary character) with Crohn's Disease as I too have that disease, though it's not as bad as Emma has it. I connected with her and could totally understand what she was going through. I enjoyed this book, despite really not liking Theo. My heart broke for Thistle on a few occasions, but it was also uplifted for her as well.
September 12, 2019
**Here be mild spoilers. Ye been warned. **
I heard about this book from the Hey Ya podcast and the idea hooked me, so I was really eager to pick it up. I found it to be an interesting concept that I personally hadn't read before so I was looking forward to it. However, up until the last quarter of the book, this was going to be a three star one and probably a begrudging one at that. A big part of this was that there were virtually no likable male characters in this book for a good chunk of it and that alone almost killed it for me. If a book is a set up to be a romance I need to like at least one of the love interests and for a good majority of the book, I just didn't.
Let's take Liam for instance. He was set up to be like the romantic interest, but I saw all the problem signs there almost right away. I really didn't jive with him at all especially since it was set up that he knew the secret because I was like "Oh well that's going to be a problem later on". Also, there was a comment that Thistle made early on about how she felt she didn't know the real him since her personality was different around his friends. I did make a lemon face at that since, I figured, it was setting up for an awkward hanging out moment later on which luckily never came to fruition. I would dare to say he was borderline abusive or at least starting down the pathway for it since his excuse for sharing the secret was to help her when he had to know that it was going to severely isolate her, not only from her fans and Oliver and Emma, but her dad as well. Then he would be the only one left for her. It was a very sh** move and there's no explaining that away.
Then there's Oliver who was set up to be pretentious from the start with the smirks he gave her at the reading. Smirks can be cute. They can be endearing. Those smirks were not. They set up him to be a stuck up jerk that looks down on all literary endeavors that are not the ones he likes. So he gave me a 'gross' feeling His quickness to turn on her when the secret broke was kind of baffling considering he had such a low opinion of the work initially. And a lot of that could be because of what they shared and that he was mad for his sister. But he failed to remember that what they shared, since it was never explicitly stated what they did or didn't do, was also an experience shared by her and likely her first one given her extremely sheltered upbringing. Although he did redeem himself a little later on with how caring he was towards Emma, his sister and that he came through for Thistle in the end he still was really only the lesser of two jerk-faces for the majority of the book and the margin was kind of slim.
And her dad. My goodness he enraged me so much. I don't know what it is but I've noticed this trend in books widowers who are terrible at being single dads in the fact that they just don't act like responsible adults. A good part of that can be blamed on grief but after awhile you have to buckle down and do what needs to be done. Thistle's comments about how he couldn't hold a CS job because of her personality was so annoying because it's like "You need to swallow that pride so you can feed your kid.". If it was just him on his own that would be one thing but he had Thistle And then to co-sign her to the lie without asking her first and expect her to keep up with it? I mean...it would be one thing to use a pen name and tell his editors that. I'm sure they would have been fine with having him be the writer and Thistle be the media person who went out. There has to have been someone in the past who did that. And then when he couldn't finish the story to have the attitude that "They work for us" it's like "Seriously are you that dumb?" And the answer was yes. Yes he was. -_-
And that's another thing that kind ticked me off. I get they lied and book nerds, while loyal as all get out, can also be hell on earth when wronged. But I refuse to believe that not one person, not a single solitary one, took a step before Thistle came out with her blog, would have been like "Hmm..there's something more to this". Like even if this had been Thistle's idea no one had the wisdom to be like "Why would a parent do this or agree to this?" Thistle was a minor when this happened, who was home-schooled with one parent, and did what she thought was best to help her dad who lacked the ability to keep a job not because he was incapable but because he was too full of himself. Again it was annoying. I'm not pooh-poohing being a single parent by any means; what I'm saying is he was a poor example of one since he was selfish, he didn't really think about his daughter until it was almost too late, and he didn't pull himself up by his bootstraps and do what needed to be done to get Thistle to age 18.
You know who rocked? Mrs. Rizzo. She was the bee's knees and I would have eaten all the parakeet cookies with her. I also enjoyed how she pretty much summed up Theo and Thistle's relationship perfectly by saying it was toxic. Not in an abusive way but in an unhealthy way and I did enjoy that at the end that they both realized it enough to know that a break was needed. And I do like how Thistle and her got close towards the end because I think she had a great view on it all and was probably the only person who looked the situation pragmatically.
Thistle as a character made dumb mistakes but they are ones that you would expect a sheltered teenager to make. And I think that is one of the things that kept her from being completely vilified at the end. Another thing was her stark honesty. When caught she didn't continue to lie, mince words, or try to redirect or anything of that. Her stance was she did what she thought was best for her family at the time. And I respect that. And honestly if someone can't respect that I don't know that I can respect them.
I know what you're probably thinking. With all these harsh words, why the four stars? And honestly it was the last quarter of this book including how it ended because it was realistic. Liam and Thistle weren't friends again and it was highly unlikely they ever would be. Thistle had to make do with a local college. Her relationship with her dad was still strained. The last book was published but there was some blow back on it and that was handled pretty much the way I would expect a publishing house to try to handle something like that. In fact the only thing that felt hokey to me was she ended up with Oliver since I thought that at best they would end up just friends. Life isn't always a happily ever after and while I am not one who likes unhappy endings I do enjoy realistic ones which this one definitely was. That being said would I re-read this? Probably not but I don't regret reading it a first time because it was entertaining even if it did push a quite a few of my buttons throughout.
I heard about this book from the Hey Ya podcast and the idea hooked me, so I was really eager to pick it up. I found it to be an interesting concept that I personally hadn't read before so I was looking forward to it. However, up until the last quarter of the book, this was going to be a three star one and probably a begrudging one at that. A big part of this was that there were virtually no likable male characters in this book for a good chunk of it and that alone almost killed it for me. If a book is a set up to be a romance I need to like at least one of the love interests and for a good majority of the book, I just didn't.
Let's take Liam for instance. He was set up to be like the romantic interest, but I saw all the problem signs there almost right away. I really didn't jive with him at all especially since it was set up that he knew the secret because I was like "Oh well that's going to be a problem later on". Also, there was a comment that Thistle made early on about how she felt she didn't know the real him since her personality was different around his friends. I did make a lemon face at that since, I figured, it was setting up for an awkward hanging out moment later on which luckily never came to fruition. I would dare to say he was borderline abusive or at least starting down the pathway for it since his excuse for sharing the secret was to help her when he had to know that it was going to severely isolate her, not only from her fans and Oliver and Emma, but her dad as well. Then he would be the only one left for her. It was a very sh** move and there's no explaining that away.
Then there's Oliver who was set up to be pretentious from the start with the smirks he gave her at the reading. Smirks can be cute. They can be endearing. Those smirks were not. They set up him to be a stuck up jerk that looks down on all literary endeavors that are not the ones he likes. So he gave me a 'gross' feeling His quickness to turn on her when the secret broke was kind of baffling considering he had such a low opinion of the work initially. And a lot of that could be because of what they shared and that he was mad for his sister. But he failed to remember that what they shared, since it was never explicitly stated what they did or didn't do, was also an experience shared by her and likely her first one given her extremely sheltered upbringing. Although he did redeem himself a little later on with how caring he was towards Emma, his sister and that he came through for Thistle in the end he still was really only the lesser of two jerk-faces for the majority of the book and the margin was kind of slim.
And her dad. My goodness he enraged me so much. I don't know what it is but I've noticed this trend in books widowers who are terrible at being single dads in the fact that they just don't act like responsible adults. A good part of that can be blamed on grief but after awhile you have to buckle down and do what needs to be done. Thistle's comments about how he couldn't hold a CS job because of her personality was so annoying because it's like "You need to swallow that pride so you can feed your kid.". If it was just him on his own that would be one thing but he had Thistle And then to co-sign her to the lie without asking her first and expect her to keep up with it? I mean...it would be one thing to use a pen name and tell his editors that. I'm sure they would have been fine with having him be the writer and Thistle be the media person who went out. There has to have been someone in the past who did that. And then when he couldn't finish the story to have the attitude that "They work for us" it's like "Seriously are you that dumb?" And the answer was yes. Yes he was. -_-
And that's another thing that kind ticked me off. I get they lied and book nerds, while loyal as all get out, can also be hell on earth when wronged. But I refuse to believe that not one person, not a single solitary one, took a step before Thistle came out with her blog, would have been like "Hmm..there's something more to this". Like even if this had been Thistle's idea no one had the wisdom to be like "Why would a parent do this or agree to this?" Thistle was a minor when this happened, who was home-schooled with one parent, and did what she thought was best to help her dad who lacked the ability to keep a job not because he was incapable but because he was too full of himself. Again it was annoying. I'm not pooh-poohing being a single parent by any means; what I'm saying is he was a poor example of one since he was selfish, he didn't really think about his daughter until it was almost too late, and he didn't pull himself up by his bootstraps and do what needed to be done to get Thistle to age 18.
You know who rocked? Mrs. Rizzo. She was the bee's knees and I would have eaten all the parakeet cookies with her. I also enjoyed how she pretty much summed up Theo and Thistle's relationship perfectly by saying it was toxic. Not in an abusive way but in an unhealthy way and I did enjoy that at the end that they both realized it enough to know that a break was needed. And I do like how Thistle and her got close towards the end because I think she had a great view on it all and was probably the only person who looked the situation pragmatically.
Thistle as a character made dumb mistakes but they are ones that you would expect a sheltered teenager to make. And I think that is one of the things that kept her from being completely vilified at the end. Another thing was her stark honesty. When caught she didn't continue to lie, mince words, or try to redirect or anything of that. Her stance was she did what she thought was best for her family at the time. And I respect that. And honestly if someone can't respect that I don't know that I can respect them.
I know what you're probably thinking. With all these harsh words, why the four stars? And honestly it was the last quarter of this book including how it ended because it was realistic. Liam and Thistle weren't friends again and it was highly unlikely they ever would be. Thistle had to make do with a local college. Her relationship with her dad was still strained. The last book was published but there was some blow back on it and that was handled pretty much the way I would expect a publishing house to try to handle something like that. In fact the only thing that felt hokey to me was she ended up with Oliver since I thought that at best they would end up just friends. Life isn't always a happily ever after and while I am not one who likes unhappy endings I do enjoy realistic ones which this one definitely was. That being said would I re-read this? Probably not but I don't regret reading it a first time because it was entertaining even if it did push a quite a few of my buttons throughout.
August 15, 2019
I fell in love with this book from the first page. It is one of those books that is so well-paced that it keeps you flipping pages and won't let you put it down, but it doesn't sacrifice anything: not character, not story arc, not tough moral decisions and questions and what it means to be part of a family, and most certainly not extremely well-executed prose. This book manages to be both fun and full of so much heart. Highly recommend.
July 28, 2019
Love, love, loved this book! Fresh and engaging with the perfect amount of swoony romance, I devoured this book!
December 4, 2019
This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
Actual Rating: 2.5
MY THOUGHTS
The premise of this book just immediately caught my attention. I'm a sucker for books about books and this is a book featuring a teen author, except she's not the real writer. It sounded really intriguing, but, unfortunately, not a lot of interesting things happened in this book
At seventeen, Thistle Tate is the bestselling author of the YA series Lemonade Skies. Except, she's not the real author. Only her father and her neighbor/best friend, Liam, know the truth. With the last book set to come out, Thistle feels like she will soon be free of Lemonade Skies. When she strikes a friendship with Oliver, the brother of a superfan, she feels guilty, because he thinks she's a talented author. At the same time, her relationship with Liam is growing to be more.
It's probably not too surprising that I like reading books and books. I obviously love to read. I'm a book blogger, I'm a writer, and I'm just now starting a career in book publishing. All of that was shown in this book. The concept of a teen author not being the real author drew me to this book in the first place. I think I expected more mystery or more drama, but there wasn't really any of that. There was drama closer to the end, but most of the book didn't really have anything to keep my interest. There was so much focus on the love triangle (more on that later) and I just didn't feel inclined to keep picking up the book just for that.
I did like that there was a little focus on family. Thistle has pretty much been raised by her dad and we see some of their relationship, but it has become a little strained thanks to the bestselling author thing. Her dad never talks about her mom, who died when Thistle was little, so Thistle knew nothing about her mom. I liked seeing Thistle try to connect with her mother, but I wasn't sure why it took seventeen years for them to talk about Thistle's mom. I understand why the dad didn't want to talk about it, but it shouldn't have taken that long. Also, the basis of Thistle becoming an author didn't make sense. By the way, we learn really early on in the book who the actual author is: Thistle's father. This is not a spoiler. I understand why Thistle agreed, as they were struggling with money and she wanted to help her dad, but I don't know why her dad thought Thistle's name would get them the money. Maybe having a teenage author would be more of a marketing strategy for the publisher and it helps the book stand out, but it later said that the book would have been acquired even if Thistle weren't the author. Thistle's father didn't know that, he had undergone multiple rejections, but I kind of wondered how his thought process went there.
Okay, now for the romance. Maybe I should have read the synopsis more carefully, but I read the first paragraph and decided I wanted to read this book. If I read further, I would have seen "love triangle". I'm not a fan of love triangles. They're really hard to do well, especially in contemporary. It didn't feel believable in this book and I think it's mostly because this is supposed to be realistic. Every time Thistle was with the other guy and lying, I wanted to ask her "What are you doing???" I actually said "What the hell?!" out loud when she kissed one of the guys shortly after kissing the other. Part of it was also because I didn't feel the romance in either relationship, so whenever it went to kissing, it was a complete shocker. Since this took up most of the middle plot of the book, it really affected my enjoyment of the book.
The ending did add the drama I expected, and that was also when we got to know more of Thistle's mother, but it didn't feel focused and the ending wrapped up too nicely.
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, this book wasn't what I expected. There are things I liked and things I didn't like, but it overall couldn't keep my interest. I've read other reviews that say that this book might have more appeal to actual teenagers, so maybe others will find it interesting. It also might be more interesting to folks who aren't already aware of what goes on behind the scenes in the book world. Even though this book did not completely wow me, I do have another book from the author on my TBR and I still would like to read it.
Actual Rating: 2.5
MY THOUGHTS
The premise of this book just immediately caught my attention. I'm a sucker for books about books and this is a book featuring a teen author, except she's not the real writer. It sounded really intriguing, but, unfortunately, not a lot of interesting things happened in this book
At seventeen, Thistle Tate is the bestselling author of the YA series Lemonade Skies. Except, she's not the real author. Only her father and her neighbor/best friend, Liam, know the truth. With the last book set to come out, Thistle feels like she will soon be free of Lemonade Skies. When she strikes a friendship with Oliver, the brother of a superfan, she feels guilty, because he thinks she's a talented author. At the same time, her relationship with Liam is growing to be more.
It's probably not too surprising that I like reading books and books. I obviously love to read. I'm a book blogger, I'm a writer, and I'm just now starting a career in book publishing. All of that was shown in this book. The concept of a teen author not being the real author drew me to this book in the first place. I think I expected more mystery or more drama, but there wasn't really any of that. There was drama closer to the end, but most of the book didn't really have anything to keep my interest. There was so much focus on the love triangle (more on that later) and I just didn't feel inclined to keep picking up the book just for that.
I did like that there was a little focus on family. Thistle has pretty much been raised by her dad and we see some of their relationship, but it has become a little strained thanks to the bestselling author thing. Her dad never talks about her mom, who died when Thistle was little, so Thistle knew nothing about her mom. I liked seeing Thistle try to connect with her mother, but I wasn't sure why it took seventeen years for them to talk about Thistle's mom. I understand why the dad didn't want to talk about it, but it shouldn't have taken that long. Also, the basis of Thistle becoming an author didn't make sense. By the way, we learn really early on in the book who the actual author is: Thistle's father. This is not a spoiler. I understand why Thistle agreed, as they were struggling with money and she wanted to help her dad, but I don't know why her dad thought Thistle's name would get them the money. Maybe having a teenage author would be more of a marketing strategy for the publisher and it helps the book stand out, but it later said that the book would have been acquired even if Thistle weren't the author. Thistle's father didn't know that, he had undergone multiple rejections, but I kind of wondered how his thought process went there.
Okay, now for the romance. Maybe I should have read the synopsis more carefully, but I read the first paragraph and decided I wanted to read this book. If I read further, I would have seen "love triangle". I'm not a fan of love triangles. They're really hard to do well, especially in contemporary. It didn't feel believable in this book and I think it's mostly because this is supposed to be realistic. Every time Thistle was with the other guy and lying, I wanted to ask her "What are you doing???" I actually said "What the hell?!" out loud when she kissed one of the guys shortly after kissing the other. Part of it was also because I didn't feel the romance in either relationship, so whenever it went to kissing, it was a complete shocker. Since this took up most of the middle plot of the book, it really affected my enjoyment of the book.
The ending did add the drama I expected, and that was also when we got to know more of Thistle's mother, but it didn't feel focused and the ending wrapped up too nicely.
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, this book wasn't what I expected. There are things I liked and things I didn't like, but it overall couldn't keep my interest. I've read other reviews that say that this book might have more appeal to actual teenagers, so maybe others will find it interesting. It also might be more interesting to folks who aren't already aware of what goes on behind the scenes in the book world. Even though this book did not completely wow me, I do have another book from the author on my TBR and I still would like to read it.
August 30, 2020
Rating: 3.5 stars
Thistle Tate is the teenage worldwide bestselling author of the Lemonade Skies series. Her books have been sold in thirty-five different countries. Thistle is a beloved author, and her fans go crazy for her. Only there's a catch: she didn't write the Lemonade Skies. Faced with the deadline of her last "novel", Thistle doesn't know what to do, and she risks exposure to the world about who she truly is. The Undoing of Thistle Tate is a story about, well, what the title suggests, Thistle Tate's undoing of the lie of the century.
I didn't particularly love The Undoing of Thistle Tate, but I didn't hate it either. To be honest, it felt very bland to me. Like, I couldn't get into it. All of the circumstances that Thistle gets herself into are all a result of her wanting to make someone happy. I do think it's awful, once she was exposed, all the things that happened to her, but again, this could've been avoided if Thistle never gone along with claiming to write the books. Also, her relationship with Liam and her relationship with Oliver, I could see it from a mile away that she was going to end up with . I know I'm sounding really negative in my review, but there were some parts that I liked. I can't remember which parts, and I did feel aggression to a large majority of this book, but I did like some parts. Please do let me discourage you from reading this novel. I'm sure you'll like it even more than I did. I did like, though, that the process of a book being published was shown. I thought that was very interesting. Again, I did not love The Undoing of Thistle Tate, but then again, I didn't hate it. It was a very fairly well-written novel.
Thistle Tate is the teenage worldwide bestselling author of the Lemonade Skies series. Her books have been sold in thirty-five different countries. Thistle is a beloved author, and her fans go crazy for her. Only there's a catch: she didn't write the Lemonade Skies. Faced with the deadline of her last "novel", Thistle doesn't know what to do, and she risks exposure to the world about who she truly is. The Undoing of Thistle Tate is a story about, well, what the title suggests, Thistle Tate's undoing of the lie of the century.
I didn't particularly love The Undoing of Thistle Tate, but I didn't hate it either. To be honest, it felt very bland to me. Like, I couldn't get into it. All of the circumstances that Thistle gets herself into are all a result of her wanting to make someone happy. I do think it's awful, once she was exposed, all the things that happened to her, but again, this could've been avoided if Thistle never gone along with claiming to write the books. Also, her relationship with Liam and her relationship with Oliver, I could see it from a mile away that she was going to end up with . I know I'm sounding really negative in my review, but there were some parts that I liked. I can't remember which parts, and I did feel aggression to a large majority of this book, but I did like some parts. Please do let me discourage you from reading this novel. I'm sure you'll like it even more than I did. I did like, though, that the process of a book being published was shown. I thought that was very interesting. Again, I did not love The Undoing of Thistle Tate, but then again, I didn't hate it. It was a very fairly well-written novel.
July 22, 2019
For a more in-depth review watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ3xT...
Thistle Tate is the internationally bestselling author of The Lemonade Sky Series, or is she? The reality is that Thistle's father wrote the book and put her name on it to get it published. Thistle hates living a lie but she understands that the consequences of the secret coming out would be devastating for her family. However, Thistle's life begins to change when she meets super fan, Emma, and Emma's brother Oliver. Thistle begins to connect with the siblings and she doesn't want to lie anymore.
This book had a great premise but it never grabbed me. I found Thistle and her story to be quite flat and never cared about any of the characters. The only part that I really enjoyed were the excerpt from the Lemonade Sky books but those were to sparse to really make an impact.
I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Thistle Tate is the internationally bestselling author of The Lemonade Sky Series, or is she? The reality is that Thistle's father wrote the book and put her name on it to get it published. Thistle hates living a lie but she understands that the consequences of the secret coming out would be devastating for her family. However, Thistle's life begins to change when she meets super fan, Emma, and Emma's brother Oliver. Thistle begins to connect with the siblings and she doesn't want to lie anymore.
This book had a great premise but it never grabbed me. I found Thistle and her story to be quite flat and never cared about any of the characters. The only part that I really enjoyed were the excerpt from the Lemonade Sky books but those were to sparse to really make an impact.
I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
January 27, 2020
First sentence: I have lots of dreams, but I’ve only ever had one nightmare and it’s always exactly the same.
Premise/plot: Thistle Tate is super popular bestselling author living a lie. She is not the real author of the books—her father is. When her father has a horrible accident just a week away from a deadline for the last book in the trilogy, Thistle has good reason to panic. She could try to write on her own, or, she could come clean to the agent and publisher. But can she tell the truth after living a lie for three years?
Thistle’s love life is also up in the air. Does she love Liam? Does she love Oliver? Does she like like both of them equally?
My thoughts: This one has a nice enough premise. But it was just an almost for me. I almost cared about the characters; I almost cared about the story. I liked everything just well enough to keep reading. But it wasn’t compelling. I found myself skimming the quotes of the bestselling series. I can’t imagine making it through those books. I definitely would not call it tense and gripping like the jacket copy reads.
Premise/plot: Thistle Tate is super popular bestselling author living a lie. She is not the real author of the books—her father is. When her father has a horrible accident just a week away from a deadline for the last book in the trilogy, Thistle has good reason to panic. She could try to write on her own, or, she could come clean to the agent and publisher. But can she tell the truth after living a lie for three years?
Thistle’s love life is also up in the air. Does she love Liam? Does she love Oliver? Does she like like both of them equally?
My thoughts: This one has a nice enough premise. But it was just an almost for me. I almost cared about the characters; I almost cared about the story. I liked everything just well enough to keep reading. But it wasn’t compelling. I found myself skimming the quotes of the bestselling series. I can’t imagine making it through those books. I definitely would not call it tense and gripping like the jacket copy reads.
May 27, 2019
I adored this book!! Thistle is such a fantastic main character--I loved her fierce devotion to her dad (even though their relationship is messy and full of resentment) and the moral dilemmas the story examines are so compelling. I felt so sorry for certain characters while kind of hating them at the same time, which is such a hard balance to achieve!
The romance aspect was really well done and there are some seriously swoony scenes! I especially loved the excerpts from Lemonade Skies. It was so fun to have that fantasy world reflecting Thistle's real world. Also, the author has an amazing ability to incorporate difficult issues and darker themes while still keeping the story fun and heartwarming at the same time. Such a tricky balance and masterfully done. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!
The romance aspect was really well done and there are some seriously swoony scenes! I especially loved the excerpts from Lemonade Skies. It was so fun to have that fantasy world reflecting Thistle's real world. Also, the author has an amazing ability to incorporate difficult issues and darker themes while still keeping the story fun and heartwarming at the same time. Such a tricky balance and masterfully done. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!
June 22, 2019
** A copy of The Undoing of Thistle Tate was provided by the publisher and Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review **
First off, what drew me to the book was its premise. I adore bookish books. What kept me reading was Thistle and her moral dilemma: does she keep lying because it makes her father happy? We've all been in situations where lying is not black or white when it comes to family and friends. I also enjoyed that each chapter began with an excerpt from Marigold's world. Oliver and Emma was a breath of fresh air and kept the book light. I wish we had gotten more of Theo and Liam's point of view. I would have appreciated getting to know more about their though processes. Overall, this is a quick summer read with surprising depth!
First off, what drew me to the book was its premise. I adore bookish books. What kept me reading was Thistle and her moral dilemma: does she keep lying because it makes her father happy? We've all been in situations where lying is not black or white when it comes to family and friends. I also enjoyed that each chapter began with an excerpt from Marigold's world. Oliver and Emma was a breath of fresh air and kept the book light. I wish we had gotten more of Theo and Liam's point of view. I would have appreciated getting to know more about their though processes. Overall, this is a quick summer read with surprising depth!
November 3, 2020
This was a different kind of grief and loss story, which took quite a turn at one point, and I really enjoyed it. You know one way I measure my enjoyment is by how many tears I shed, and there were tears. The romance was a bit messy, but I was happy with the ending.
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June 30, 2019
I had such a fantastic time with this book, a fun, quick and addictive read :)
Full review coming soon!
Thank you to Holiday House - Margaret Ferguson Books for the e-ARC of this book. This did not, in any way, influenced my thoughts and rating.
My Blog - Drizzle & Hurricane Books - Twitter - Bloglovin'
Full review coming soon!
Thank you to Holiday House - Margaret Ferguson Books for the e-ARC of this book. This did not, in any way, influenced my thoughts and rating.
My Blog - Drizzle & Hurricane Books - Twitter - Bloglovin'
March 25, 2024
"Thistle Tate is only seventeen, and a bestselling author. It's too bad she's also a liar."
This is a YA novel which is an intriguing tale about honesty and family. How far will one go to protect their family. In a way, it is a new take on grief and loss.
This is a YA novel which is an intriguing tale about honesty and family. How far will one go to protect their family. In a way, it is a new take on grief and loss.
August 12, 2019
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*Thank you so much to Holiday House Publicity and the Publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!*
I've been a fan of Katelyn Detweiler's since I read her debut novel, Immaculate, which explored themes of faith, religion, and miracles in modern society. I found it incredibly well written and thoughtful in its approach to question the inexpiable. So when I was offered the opportunity to read her newest novel that provided an inside look into the publishing world, I quickly accepted.
The Undoing of Thistle Tate follows Thistle, a prolific teen author who has penned a famous YA series, Lemonade Skies. As a book blogger, the plot rang true from reading about Thistle's promotional tours to her worry and anxiety about reviews rolling in. It's a YA book about the YA book community in a lot of ways which was fascinating and fun to read about. The story also included excerpts from the fictitious Lemonade Skies series which was a fun touch that paralleled what was going on in Thistle's life.
However, as mentioned in the synopsis, Thistle has a secret- she's not actually the author of the bestselling series, and it's actually being ghost written by somebody else. Thistle's "fame" has alienated her from most of the outside world and coupled with her mom's death at a young age, she pretty much only has one friend (her next door neighbor and inevitable love interest, Liam).
In a turn of events that will probably surprise no one, Thistle's ghost writer is unable to meet her final deadline and it's pretty much all downhill from there. She frantically tries to extend deadlines and put out fires, hoping no one asks too many questions while secretly penning her own ending to the trilogy. Meanwhile, she's juggling a love triangle with Liam and the older brother of one of her super fans, and making mistakes and generally just trying to be a teen who is in WAY over her head. It was actually refreshing to see a teen protagonist who was allowed to make mistakes but wasn't completely vilified either- I found Thistle to be a mostly neutral character with both positive and negative attributes that didn't make me love her nor hate her. She's just a person in a really bizarre situation that escalated WAY TOO FAR and is trying to do damage control when she should really just be hanging out with friends and doing homework like any other 17 year old.
A huge theme of The Undoing of Thistle Tate that I as a reader found to be most important was the manipulation and exploitation of a teen by adults. Though Thistle's arrangement may seem glamorous at first (she gets to reap the rewards of being a teen author prodigy, is semi famous, will probably get into any college of her choice etc) it becomes clearer and clearer throughout the book how insidious and uncomfortable the arrangement is and how there's likely no end in sight to the charade. As the synopsis states, readers have to reconcile whether Thistle is a fraud, a victim, or perhaps a little bit of both. The narrative also brings up a dialogue about exploitation by family members, how guilt and grief can live in such a similar space, and how suffering loss does not make one immune to being hurtful or cruel to others.
Overall: The Undoing of Thistle Tate was an interesting look at the behind the scenes processes of the YA book publishing world. While the love triangle felt like it weighed down the story a bit for me, it overall had a unique premise that I enjoyed, especially as a book blogger.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
I've been a fan of Katelyn Detweiler's since I read her debut novel, Immaculate, which explored themes of faith, religion, and miracles in modern society. I found it incredibly well written and thoughtful in its approach to question the inexpiable. So when I was offered the opportunity to read her newest novel that provided an inside look into the publishing world, I quickly accepted.
The Undoing of Thistle Tate follows Thistle, a prolific teen author who has penned a famous YA series, Lemonade Skies. As a book blogger, the plot rang true from reading about Thistle's promotional tours to her worry and anxiety about reviews rolling in. It's a YA book about the YA book community in a lot of ways which was fascinating and fun to read about. The story also included excerpts from the fictitious Lemonade Skies series which was a fun touch that paralleled what was going on in Thistle's life.
However, as mentioned in the synopsis, Thistle has a secret- she's not actually the author of the bestselling series, and it's actually being ghost written by somebody else. Thistle's "fame" has alienated her from most of the outside world and coupled with her mom's death at a young age, she pretty much only has one friend (her next door neighbor and inevitable love interest, Liam).
In a turn of events that will probably surprise no one, Thistle's ghost writer is unable to meet her final deadline and it's pretty much all downhill from there. She frantically tries to extend deadlines and put out fires, hoping no one asks too many questions while secretly penning her own ending to the trilogy. Meanwhile, she's juggling a love triangle with Liam and the older brother of one of her super fans, and making mistakes and generally just trying to be a teen who is in WAY over her head. It was actually refreshing to see a teen protagonist who was allowed to make mistakes but wasn't completely vilified either- I found Thistle to be a mostly neutral character with both positive and negative attributes that didn't make me love her nor hate her. She's just a person in a really bizarre situation that escalated WAY TOO FAR and is trying to do damage control when she should really just be hanging out with friends and doing homework like any other 17 year old.
A huge theme of The Undoing of Thistle Tate that I as a reader found to be most important was the manipulation and exploitation of a teen by adults. Though Thistle's arrangement may seem glamorous at first (she gets to reap the rewards of being a teen author prodigy, is semi famous, will probably get into any college of her choice etc) it becomes clearer and clearer throughout the book how insidious and uncomfortable the arrangement is and how there's likely no end in sight to the charade. As the synopsis states, readers have to reconcile whether Thistle is a fraud, a victim, or perhaps a little bit of both. The narrative also brings up a dialogue about exploitation by family members, how guilt and grief can live in such a similar space, and how suffering loss does not make one immune to being hurtful or cruel to others.
Overall: The Undoing of Thistle Tate was an interesting look at the behind the scenes processes of the YA book publishing world. While the love triangle felt like it weighed down the story a bit for me, it overall had a unique premise that I enjoyed, especially as a book blogger.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
August 26, 2019
Thistle Tate signed her name and lost control of who she was. In The Undoing of Thistle Tate by Katelyn Detweiler, Thistle is the “it” girl of young adult literature. She has amazing fans who all love her stories about magic and finding her mom after her passing. But the only problem is, she doesn’t write these stories. And sadly enough, she has a story behind that.
I started this book in early July and finished it so quickly. It took me a while to write this review, because I wasn’t sure how to fully express how much I feel about this book. This book wrecked me. I connected to Thistle in such a deep level, that I couldn’t fathom what was happening until I finished. I’ve cried already, and I’m not even done yet. Guys, this book has my heart.
“I have lots of dreams, but I’ve only ever had one nightmare and it’s always exactly the same.”
This quote? It’s the first line. Katelyn Detweiler grabs you from the first few pages, introduces you to Thistle and her father, explains their situation, and pretty much allows the reader to take the story from there.
Okay, let’s get into some specifics, shall we?
Thistle’s father wrote the story and penned the books in Thistle’s name because the same stories under his name didn’t sell. Thistle has lived this life under this pseudo-life because of reasons that are explained in the book. There is this fine morally grey line that had me swinging in my compassion meter. I saw both sides of the coin and I just didn’t know what to do what all of those feelings.
There is a bit of a love triangle in this story. Oliver and Liam. Both who I saw her with, but also hated for her. I felt so strongly about the friendships that she had and made, and at one point it angered with the direction of the stories.
Having said that, I am still enamored by this story. It really touched me, and I am grateful for that reading experience. Make sure to add The Undoing of Thistle Tate to your TBR.
*Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.*
I started this book in early July and finished it so quickly. It took me a while to write this review, because I wasn’t sure how to fully express how much I feel about this book. This book wrecked me. I connected to Thistle in such a deep level, that I couldn’t fathom what was happening until I finished. I’ve cried already, and I’m not even done yet. Guys, this book has my heart.
“I have lots of dreams, but I’ve only ever had one nightmare and it’s always exactly the same.”
This quote? It’s the first line. Katelyn Detweiler grabs you from the first few pages, introduces you to Thistle and her father, explains their situation, and pretty much allows the reader to take the story from there.
Okay, let’s get into some specifics, shall we?
Thistle’s father wrote the story and penned the books in Thistle’s name because the same stories under his name didn’t sell. Thistle has lived this life under this pseudo-life because of reasons that are explained in the book. There is this fine morally grey line that had me swinging in my compassion meter. I saw both sides of the coin and I just didn’t know what to do what all of those feelings.
There is a bit of a love triangle in this story. Oliver and Liam. Both who I saw her with, but also hated for her. I felt so strongly about the friendships that she had and made, and at one point it angered with the direction of the stories.
Having said that, I am still enamored by this story. It really touched me, and I am grateful for that reading experience. Make sure to add The Undoing of Thistle Tate to your TBR.
*Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.*
June 9, 2022
Very very good story. The characters actions and how the lying started just seemed unnecessary to me but it still made for some important comments on how much children want their parents love and support. Has anyone ever reacted this intensely to an author before? Unsure but its a story it can be made up.
December 30, 2019
What if the author of your favorite book series is faking it? Hmmm? That's the premise of this one! It was interesting, but a little slow in parts for me.
June 6, 2019
A DRC was provided by Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.
We've all had our fandom moments where enjoyment, identification, love and ownership issues with a beloved book intersect to teeter a reader on the brink of weirdness and beyond. A Rowell, a King, a Martin and a Rowling all know the highs and lows of being the sort of contemporary author who attracts a readership following that puts the fan in fanatical. Thistle Tate knows this journey well since she is the all too popular and under pressure author of a twee fantasty series - but is she? Or is she a child who has been manipulated into a terrible position by her exploitative father? This could have been an interesting study of the YA Lit world, the entitlement of fans, the brutal world of publishing and the warping of talent into product, but instead it is a bit of a mess, with Thistle bouncing between longing for her dead mother, her best friend turned possesive boyfriend, her attraction to the sibling of a sick superfan, and most of all, the push and pull of her relationship with her father, who is downright scary in his bad parenting. No one is particularly likeable or interesting, and not even the Tates' fiction seems very appealing to warrant all the fuss. Everyone does need a therapist, not bibliotherapy, and Tate is not the charismatic author we want to learn more about, just a thistle who has been plucked from the weedpile and thrust into the limelight only to wilt.
We've all had our fandom moments where enjoyment, identification, love and ownership issues with a beloved book intersect to teeter a reader on the brink of weirdness and beyond. A Rowell, a King, a Martin and a Rowling all know the highs and lows of being the sort of contemporary author who attracts a readership following that puts the fan in fanatical. Thistle Tate knows this journey well since she is the all too popular and under pressure author of a twee fantasty series - but is she? Or is she a child who has been manipulated into a terrible position by her exploitative father? This could have been an interesting study of the YA Lit world, the entitlement of fans, the brutal world of publishing and the warping of talent into product, but instead it is a bit of a mess, with Thistle bouncing between longing for her dead mother, her best friend turned possesive boyfriend, her attraction to the sibling of a sick superfan, and most of all, the push and pull of her relationship with her father, who is downright scary in his bad parenting. No one is particularly likeable or interesting, and not even the Tates' fiction seems very appealing to warrant all the fuss. Everyone does need a therapist, not bibliotherapy, and Tate is not the charismatic author we want to learn more about, just a thistle who has been plucked from the weedpile and thrust into the limelight only to wilt.
August 9, 2019
I received this as an eARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
After Thistle's mother died in a car accident, she and her father have retreated from the world. The only other person in her life is her next door neighbor and crush, Liam. Thistle is the world-famous Lemonade Skies author, the only problem is, she never wrote the books. Her dad did. The two have kept this secret and Thistle can't wait to be done with the books, so that she can move on and be free from the lies. It becomes more and more difficult to keep up the lies as Thistle meets and befriends a super fan and her brother. Thistle is going to decide whether the lie is more important than being herself.
I never really liked the characters. In fact, I found myself more invested in the Lemonade Skies world. I would like to read that book. The plot was an interesting concept and there were interesting layers. It did take some time for me to become interested.
After Thistle's mother died in a car accident, she and her father have retreated from the world. The only other person in her life is her next door neighbor and crush, Liam. Thistle is the world-famous Lemonade Skies author, the only problem is, she never wrote the books. Her dad did. The two have kept this secret and Thistle can't wait to be done with the books, so that she can move on and be free from the lies. It becomes more and more difficult to keep up the lies as Thistle meets and befriends a super fan and her brother. Thistle is going to decide whether the lie is more important than being herself.
I never really liked the characters. In fact, I found myself more invested in the Lemonade Skies world. I would like to read that book. The plot was an interesting concept and there were interesting layers. It did take some time for me to become interested.
March 15, 2020
Cross-posted from my blog: quietandbusy.blogspot.com
I continued my little break from the classics this week with The Undoing of Thistle Tate, a young adult contemporary novel I've had sitting on my shelf for a while now. I initially picked it up on a Barnes and Noble run based on the summary on the inside flap. With my school cancelled for the next two weeks due to the Coronavirus, I found myself with an excess of reading time and figured that now was as good a time as any to pick it up.
The plot follows the eponymous Thistle Tate, a seventeen-year-old author living with her dad in Philadelphia. She has rocketed to international fame with the "Lemonade Skies" series of young adult fantasy novels. She has authored two books in the series so far and is currently working on the third and final one. Both her age and the quality of her book have won her thousands of fans and earned her plenty of money. There is one problem though. She isn't the one actually writing the books. Her whole life is a lie.
Thistle is very uncomfortable with the lie, and longs for the final book in her series to be released so that she can go off to college and start living a normal, low-profile life. However, things veer off course when the real writer of the books suffers a serious injury and is unable to finish the manuscript of the novel. Thistle is left with an increasingly impatient publishing team who can't understand why she is taking so long to finish. To complicate matters further, she starts a romantic relationship with her oldest friend and neighbor, Liam, which starts to sour surprisingly fast. Thistle told him about the true author of the books long ago, and he begins to pressure her to come clean about everything. Thistle is afraid to do this. There might be legal consequences for the deception, and the fallout online from her fans would surely ruin her life. Stuck in her lie and completely miserable, she must decide how to proceed. Should she find a way to continue the lie, or risk telling the truth?
This summary is very bare-bones, because to go into more detail would necessarily spoil some of the reveals, and I enjoyed this story enough that I don't want to do that. I was consistently engaged in this novel throughout my reading, but how much I truly liked it really sneaked up on me. I knew that I had actually grown quite attacked to Thistle once I started getting angry on her behalf at the way certain characters were treating her. This is not just a story about a girl who lied about something big. It is a story about how girls are often asked to sacrifice their well-being to serve the needs of others. How they are often asked to provide support or care at the expense of what is best for them, and the terrible emotional toll that takes. Thistle is asked to take on this lie to make someone else feel better, and she feels so guilty about the prospect of saying no that she agrees to something that she knows is wrong and that she is very uncomfortable with. As a people-pleaser myself, I understand this pressure, and it was interesting to see a young adult novel take this idea on. I enjoyed watching her character grow and change as she dealt with the fallout of her decision to lie.
I also really enjoyed the ending of this novel, which was great because it was not completely perfect. Several characters in this novel behave badly, and their actions are not all forgiven by the end. The situation has a satisfying conclusion, but does not tie up every single thread neatly, which I thought was fairly realistic. Well, at least as realistic as a young adult novel can reasonably get, anyway. Thistle's emotions consistently felt genuine as well. There were definitely teenage dramatics included, and too much weight placed on romantic relationships, but that makes sense for a character that is seventeen years old. I thought the author did a nice job of creating a believable young girl, and I liked following her journey.
I ended up finishing this story in two days, and I mostly enjoyed my experience. The pacing in the middle felt a bit slow, and I didn't really connect with the romantic elements (typical for me and young adult novels), but I liked the main story enough to still really like the book as a whole. This is the kind of book I will definitely recommend to some of my upper level readers, as it has enough drama to keep them engaged and themes that are worth exploring. This was a surprising little gem to get lost in during my unexpected quarantine, and honestly, that's exactly what I needed at the moment.
I continued my little break from the classics this week with The Undoing of Thistle Tate, a young adult contemporary novel I've had sitting on my shelf for a while now. I initially picked it up on a Barnes and Noble run based on the summary on the inside flap. With my school cancelled for the next two weeks due to the Coronavirus, I found myself with an excess of reading time and figured that now was as good a time as any to pick it up.
The plot follows the eponymous Thistle Tate, a seventeen-year-old author living with her dad in Philadelphia. She has rocketed to international fame with the "Lemonade Skies" series of young adult fantasy novels. She has authored two books in the series so far and is currently working on the third and final one. Both her age and the quality of her book have won her thousands of fans and earned her plenty of money. There is one problem though. She isn't the one actually writing the books. Her whole life is a lie.
Thistle is very uncomfortable with the lie, and longs for the final book in her series to be released so that she can go off to college and start living a normal, low-profile life. However, things veer off course when the real writer of the books suffers a serious injury and is unable to finish the manuscript of the novel. Thistle is left with an increasingly impatient publishing team who can't understand why she is taking so long to finish. To complicate matters further, she starts a romantic relationship with her oldest friend and neighbor, Liam, which starts to sour surprisingly fast. Thistle told him about the true author of the books long ago, and he begins to pressure her to come clean about everything. Thistle is afraid to do this. There might be legal consequences for the deception, and the fallout online from her fans would surely ruin her life. Stuck in her lie and completely miserable, she must decide how to proceed. Should she find a way to continue the lie, or risk telling the truth?
This summary is very bare-bones, because to go into more detail would necessarily spoil some of the reveals, and I enjoyed this story enough that I don't want to do that. I was consistently engaged in this novel throughout my reading, but how much I truly liked it really sneaked up on me. I knew that I had actually grown quite attacked to Thistle once I started getting angry on her behalf at the way certain characters were treating her. This is not just a story about a girl who lied about something big. It is a story about how girls are often asked to sacrifice their well-being to serve the needs of others. How they are often asked to provide support or care at the expense of what is best for them, and the terrible emotional toll that takes. Thistle is asked to take on this lie to make someone else feel better, and she feels so guilty about the prospect of saying no that she agrees to something that she knows is wrong and that she is very uncomfortable with. As a people-pleaser myself, I understand this pressure, and it was interesting to see a young adult novel take this idea on. I enjoyed watching her character grow and change as she dealt with the fallout of her decision to lie.
I also really enjoyed the ending of this novel, which was great because it was not completely perfect. Several characters in this novel behave badly, and their actions are not all forgiven by the end. The situation has a satisfying conclusion, but does not tie up every single thread neatly, which I thought was fairly realistic. Well, at least as realistic as a young adult novel can reasonably get, anyway. Thistle's emotions consistently felt genuine as well. There were definitely teenage dramatics included, and too much weight placed on romantic relationships, but that makes sense for a character that is seventeen years old. I thought the author did a nice job of creating a believable young girl, and I liked following her journey.
I ended up finishing this story in two days, and I mostly enjoyed my experience. The pacing in the middle felt a bit slow, and I didn't really connect with the romantic elements (typical for me and young adult novels), but I liked the main story enough to still really like the book as a whole. This is the kind of book I will definitely recommend to some of my upper level readers, as it has enough drama to keep them engaged and themes that are worth exploring. This was a surprising little gem to get lost in during my unexpected quarantine, and honestly, that's exactly what I needed at the moment.
August 13, 2021
I ABSOLUTELY loved the beginning of this novel. I feel like we as readers are thrown into the story in a fantastic way. I was disappointed that Also
I despised
I loved The ending was mostly satisfying.
I did not see any chemistry between
I loved the concept of this novel and the execution was very good. I enjoyed the writing and the story as a whole.
I despised
I loved The ending was mostly satisfying.
I did not see any chemistry between
I loved the concept of this novel and the execution was very good. I enjoyed the writing and the story as a whole.
August 31, 2020
"Colton is the dream, Jonah is the reality. And reality doesn't have to be a bad thing."
I was really excited when I started the book, but I ended up being a little disappointed about the development of the plot and the ending.
First, the good stuff. I loved the inclusion of excerpts from Lemonade Skies. It totally sounds like a book I'd want to read. The excerpts also tie in nicely with the main story since Marigold's story was inspired by Thistle's experiences and Marigold is pretty much the Lemonade Skies counterpart of Thistle. I love how the ending of the last Lemonade Skies book also tied in with Thistle's closure regarding what happened to her mother too.
Thistle was also a pretty relatable 17-year-old girl. Her life back home is mundane and I totally related to her homebody-ness. I loved watching her start stepping out of her comfort zone and forming connections with more people. I especially loved her newfound friendship with Mrs Rizzo. Thistle realising that Mrs Rizzo isn't the grumpy old lady she always thought she was reminded me that people are not always as they seem, and most times they are friendlier than you think they will be.
Okay, now for the not so good parts.
Going into The Undoing of Thistle Tate, I expected to see more about the fame Thistle experienced as an author. I expected more stuff about fans and paparazzi and getting recognised everywhere. However, like I mentioned before, it feels like Thistle leads a normal teenage life back at home for the most part. The only major fan interaction we see is with Emma. And her relationship with Emma felt like the focus of the story for a shorter part than I expected.
Up until she met Emma and Oliver, Thistle's only relationships consisted of that with her father, and that with her neighbour Liam. At the start, these relationships seemed pretty close. However, we see both Thistle's relationship with her father and with Liam quickly turn sour and both of these relationships sort of fade into the background halfway through the book, which felt a little fast to me.
Furthermore, at the start of the story, Thistle had liked Liam for a long time, and he finally started to show interest in her. However, soon after Thistle starts dating Liam and feeling like it was the best thing that ever happened to her, she quickly starts realising that he isn't the most supportive and understanding person and starts doubting their relationship. Which feels weird to me. Because Thistle has know Liam for 13 years, and somehow these problems only become apparent to her now. And then Thistle pretty much immediately starts becoming interested in another guy. The love triangle was not really written well, in my opinion. Tbh, I'm more interested in Marigold's love triangle than Thistle's love triangle. Still, I'm glad Thistle didn't end up with Liam.
Lastly, Thistle's realisation about her mother was quite sudden and abrupt to me. I think it had potential, and I appreciate the meaning behind it, but it just happened so fast and not enough time was given to this part of the story.
Overall, The Undoing of Thistle Tate has a unique plot and an interesting main character that I really did like and empathise with. However, I wish the events and relationships were more developed and focused.
I was really excited when I started the book, but I ended up being a little disappointed about the development of the plot and the ending.
First, the good stuff. I loved the inclusion of excerpts from Lemonade Skies. It totally sounds like a book I'd want to read. The excerpts also tie in nicely with the main story since Marigold's story was inspired by Thistle's experiences and Marigold is pretty much the Lemonade Skies counterpart of Thistle. I love how the ending of the last Lemonade Skies book also tied in with Thistle's closure regarding what happened to her mother too.
Thistle was also a pretty relatable 17-year-old girl. Her life back home is mundane and I totally related to her homebody-ness. I loved watching her start stepping out of her comfort zone and forming connections with more people. I especially loved her newfound friendship with Mrs Rizzo. Thistle realising that Mrs Rizzo isn't the grumpy old lady she always thought she was reminded me that people are not always as they seem, and most times they are friendlier than you think they will be.
Okay, now for the not so good parts.
Going into The Undoing of Thistle Tate, I expected to see more about the fame Thistle experienced as an author. I expected more stuff about fans and paparazzi and getting recognised everywhere. However, like I mentioned before, it feels like Thistle leads a normal teenage life back at home for the most part. The only major fan interaction we see is with Emma. And her relationship with Emma felt like the focus of the story for a shorter part than I expected.
Up until she met Emma and Oliver, Thistle's only relationships consisted of that with her father, and that with her neighbour Liam. At the start, these relationships seemed pretty close. However, we see both Thistle's relationship with her father and with Liam quickly turn sour and both of these relationships sort of fade into the background halfway through the book, which felt a little fast to me.
Furthermore, at the start of the story, Thistle had liked Liam for a long time, and he finally started to show interest in her. However, soon after Thistle starts dating Liam and feeling like it was the best thing that ever happened to her, she quickly starts realising that he isn't the most supportive and understanding person and starts doubting their relationship. Which feels weird to me. Because Thistle has know Liam for 13 years, and somehow these problems only become apparent to her now. And then Thistle pretty much immediately starts becoming interested in another guy. The love triangle was not really written well, in my opinion. Tbh, I'm more interested in Marigold's love triangle than Thistle's love triangle. Still, I'm glad Thistle didn't end up with Liam.
Lastly, Thistle's realisation about her mother was quite sudden and abrupt to me. I think it had potential, and I appreciate the meaning behind it, but it just happened so fast and not enough time was given to this part of the story.
Overall, The Undoing of Thistle Tate has a unique plot and an interesting main character that I really did like and empathise with. However, I wish the events and relationships were more developed and focused.
November 30, 2020
What if every day of your life wasn’t truly yours? It all started with a grim homeschool writing prompt that turned into a national bestselling trilogy. This was the regular for 17 year old Thistle Tate, a popular young author of the fictional series Lemonade Skies. Living in her sparkly brand new life as a celebrity came with a cost- she wasn’t the real author of the bestselling books. Right in the midst of a looming deadline for her final book, she meets Oliver, whose younger sister is her biggest fan. As her friendship with Oliver blossoms, her best friend starts to suspect there’s something more than just friendship. Suddenly her entire career is in question when someone she trusted turns on her. Throughout the book Thistle learns the importance of friendships and family, love and loss, and being true to herself.
I would recommend this to teens around ages 13-16. It covers a lot of diverse topics so it’s difficult to pin to a specific genre, but it does fit into romance, young adult, coming of age, drama and a little suspense to spice it up. Since it is a single book and not part of a series or trilogy, if you are looking for a somewhat quick read full of emotion, this book is definitely for you.
When I began reading The Undoing of Thistle Tate, I immediately wanted to keep reading. There is never a boring part of the novel, and many topics are covered in the 260 pages that were so well written by Detweiler. She talked about loss of a family member, friendship, betrayal, tragedy, young love, and much more. I truly enjoyed the book, but I do wish she covered her relationship with Oliver more, possibly in another book. I think another book would do the first justice, because Detweiler left a few aspects of the book unfinished. In the end, I would rate The Undoing of Thistle Tate as 5 stars. I highly recommend this novel and I’d 100% read it again.
I would recommend this to teens around ages 13-16. It covers a lot of diverse topics so it’s difficult to pin to a specific genre, but it does fit into romance, young adult, coming of age, drama and a little suspense to spice it up. Since it is a single book and not part of a series or trilogy, if you are looking for a somewhat quick read full of emotion, this book is definitely for you.
When I began reading The Undoing of Thistle Tate, I immediately wanted to keep reading. There is never a boring part of the novel, and many topics are covered in the 260 pages that were so well written by Detweiler. She talked about loss of a family member, friendship, betrayal, tragedy, young love, and much more. I truly enjoyed the book, but I do wish she covered her relationship with Oliver more, possibly in another book. I think another book would do the first justice, because Detweiler left a few aspects of the book unfinished. In the end, I would rate The Undoing of Thistle Tate as 5 stars. I highly recommend this novel and I’d 100% read it again.
January 20, 2024
Although I like the concept of this book, it feels like it was done completely wrong.
The premise is that a 17-year-old girl, Thistle Tate, is the supposed author of a bestselling book series now reaching its finale. The real author is her dad who wasn't able to get publishers to accept his books using his own name. Thistle has never really connected with the books, which are meant to explore the grief she experienced after her mother's death in a fantastical setting, because they aren't real reflections of her experiences. The plot establishment was quick and well done, interspersed with a cute subplot of her falling in love with her childhood friend and neighbor Liam.
My positive feedback ends there. About halfway through the book she "falls for" the brother of one of her biggest fans, cheating on Liam and ruining all of my connection to her in the process. In one of the most uncomfortably written love-triangles I have ever read Thistle destroys all the plot development leading up to that point as Liam reveals her secret to the world. Suddenly another subplot appears as she finds her mom's diary and discovers that her mental state had been less than fine in the time leading up to her death, but this feels unnecessary as the book is already past the climax and coming to a close. The ending, meant to be positive, leaves me feeling more upset than happy as she leaves everyone behind except for her new boyfriend (the worse of the two, in my opinion) and has no real repercussions for faking her authorship. her father receives all the blame and his writing career is ruined forever.
This book felt like a downward spiral to read. As it jumped between multiple subplots and morals it seemed to fail at each one individually. The story was unnecessarily complicated by unimportant details of Thistle's life and the number of unrealistically idiotic choices she made ruined any chance of connection. Would not recommend unless you have literally nothing else to read.
The premise is that a 17-year-old girl, Thistle Tate, is the supposed author of a bestselling book series now reaching its finale. The real author is her dad who wasn't able to get publishers to accept his books using his own name. Thistle has never really connected with the books, which are meant to explore the grief she experienced after her mother's death in a fantastical setting, because they aren't real reflections of her experiences. The plot establishment was quick and well done, interspersed with a cute subplot of her falling in love with her childhood friend and neighbor Liam.
My positive feedback ends there. About halfway through the book she "falls for" the brother of one of her biggest fans, cheating on Liam and ruining all of my connection to her in the process. In one of the most uncomfortably written love-triangles I have ever read Thistle destroys all the plot development leading up to that point as Liam reveals her secret to the world. Suddenly another subplot appears as she finds her mom's diary and discovers that her mental state had been less than fine in the time leading up to her death, but this feels unnecessary as the book is already past the climax and coming to a close. The ending, meant to be positive, leaves me feeling more upset than happy as she leaves everyone behind except for her new boyfriend (the worse of the two, in my opinion) and has no real repercussions for faking her authorship. her father receives all the blame and his writing career is ruined forever.
This book felt like a downward spiral to read. As it jumped between multiple subplots and morals it seemed to fail at each one individually. The story was unnecessarily complicated by unimportant details of Thistle's life and the number of unrealistically idiotic choices she made ruined any chance of connection. Would not recommend unless you have literally nothing else to read.
July 24, 2019
Readers will have a good idea of how things are going to proceed in this YA novel for its title. But they won't know the specifics or the premise, aspects that made me excited to read this one. As I read it, I couldn't help asking myself how many situations like that of seventeen-year-old Thistle Tate and her father are out there in the publishing industry and what I might have done in her shoes. The plot concerns Thistle, who has written two successful YA books, part of the Lemonade Skies series, which is due to conclude soon. But Thistle has been living a lie for a long time. After Thistle's mother died at a young age, her father struggled financially, and every manuscript he sent out was rejected. When he sent out the manuscript for Lemonade Skies, he put her name on it, and the book was snapped up, becoming wildly successful. Although she longs to tell the truth about the book's author and the deceit, she also knows it would destroy her father and ruin their finances. But when he is injured while cleaning and repairing the gutter, he is no longer able to write, and the book's deadline is missed. Despite her attempts to finish the book, the gig is up when the truth about Thistle Tate is revealed by an unexpected source. Although many readers will love the way Thistle vacillates in her feelings for Liam, her long-time crush and next-door neighbor, and her growing attraction to Oliver, whose little sister adores her books. In addition to the original concept for this book, my favorite parts were the excerpts from Lemonade Skies and the after-world it imagines that begin each chapter. Thistle's imperfections make her ever so relatable as she realizes just how sheltered her life in Philadelphia has been as well as what she's lost and gained through this hoax. When she learns the truth about her mother, it is heartbreaking.
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