Pages: 416
Published: June 14th 2013 by Dial Books for Young Readers
Series: My Life Next Door #1
Source: Gifted from Melissa
Amazon • TBD • Kobo • Goodreads
“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything.
As the two fall fiercely for each other, stumbling through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first love, Jase’s family embraces Samantha – even as she keeps him a secret from her own. Then something unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha’s world. She’s suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?
A transporting debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another.
My Life Next Door was another one of those books that was seriously hyped up, so much so that I was terrified of reading it. Contemporary is very hit or miss for me, it’s not my favorite genre and I often don’t love the same books that everyone else does but when Cass & Judith hosted the My Life Next Door readalong I knew this was my opportunity to pick it up and just do it!
I instantly loved Samantha. She was from this picture perfect household on the outside, but in reality, it wasn’t a happy home. Her mother was all about appearances, everything had to be perfect and that included her daughter. On the inside though, Sam was awkward, a bit lonely and just the perfect realistic girl next door. And The Garretts. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I fell in love with this family. I’m not sure you could read this book and not fall in love with them. They were messy, disorganized, chaotic but their family was filled with love and big hearts. George was quite possibly my favorite. Wow, that kid was just too funny. And it’s so sad because he was super paranoid and not meaning to be funny but ohmigosh I loved him. And Jase… well Jase was just sexy, and sweet and affectionate and loved his family dearly.
I loved pretty much all the characters in this book… I felt for them, I cried for them, I laughed with them. The character building was phenomenal. Especially with Sam because she really had to grow up and make a few tough decisions, so there was a lot of growth with her character.
When I went into this I thought My Life Next Door was going to be a light-hearted romance so I was stunned to find out it was so much more than that. There is a heartbreaking accident, a realistic romance and a dysfunctional family. Honestly, there was so much more to this book than I expected!
I could rave and rave about this book for hours, but really… all I have to say is if you haven’t picked this up yet, you really should. Huntley Fitzpatrick is a phenomenal author. I was completely captivated by her characters immediately and I could not put this down. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this as much as I did, really… it’s worth all the hype it gets!
YAY! I’m so glad you liked it =)
YES! Me too 🙂 I was scared of this one 😛 It’s definitely one of those books I will reread again and again though because I am ADDICTED to the Garretts!
So happy you liked it! This is one of my favourites – I thought Fitzpatrick’s writing was SO funny. Although I was kind of upset with some conclusions, overall I really liked it.
I agree, her writing is so funny! I laughed out loud so many times, and I have a ton of mini post it flags sticking out at different funny parts 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed this one! I read it a few years ago and fell in love with the Garretts, especially George. I really like the relationship between Sam and Jase too 🙂 Great review!
George was just too much for me! What a hilarious child! He actually reminded me of the little boy that’s in a Jennifer Aniston movie. Argh, I can’t think of the name of it right now but he’s basically a hypochondriac and knows WAY too much for a child, in a funny/cute sort of way!
I need to read this book like yesterday. I keep saying that, but I never do it. I have it on my Kindle. I want to meet the Garretts. They sound like an awesome family and I’ve heard such good things about this book and Huntley Fitzpatrick in general. Guess I should’ve participated in the read-along huh?
YES! You should have 😛 You totally need to read this one soon though Rebecca! Especially since you are getting into contemporary! It’s not a cry your heart out type of book, but it has a TON of emotion and EEk SO GOOD 🙂
YES! I’m so happy that you ended up enjoying My Life Next Door, which was one of my favorite reads the year that it debuted. It’s got a solid story, a sweet romance and (best of all) AWESOME characters to fall in love with.
YES! Awesome characters is right 🙂 And I agree, the story was totally solid. I just loved the family aspect, it made for a much more realistic type of story!
I was really apprehensive at first when I heard of this book because it sounded a LOT like Romeo & Juliet, and I’m not the biggest fan of seeing that play out in novels and films over and over. BUT then everyone was raving on and on about it and I love me a good contemporary. From your review, it sounds absolutely amazing!!! I love fun books with depth, especially with a strong focus on families! I love seeing families in YA! Lovely review Lauren, and this book will definitely be the next one I’m going to read!!!
YAY 🙂 I’m glad you liked it Annie! I hope you love it as well! I can’t wait to see what you think of it!
Wow this sounds awesome!
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
You should definitely give it a try!
Happy to hear that you loved this one. I love it when the hype is right. 🙂
YES! It’s so scary at first to go into the hype so it’s such a great payoff when it works in it’s favor 😛
I read & reviewed this a while back and absolutely loved it too! It was so much more than I thought it was going to be. I laughed at it and cried at it and just loved it so much. I’ll definitely be rereading this book and I can’t wait for the companion novel 🙂
OOH I cannot wait for the companion novel as well! It’s still so far away though but luckily Huntley Fitzpatrick’s next book comes out soon 😀
I’m glad you enjoyed this book so much. I have a copy on my shelf that now I need to get to.
Thanks for the great review!
OH Alexa, you haven’t read it either ?? I hope you love it too 🙂