Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Dial
Type: Hardcover
Pages: 304
Publication Date: June 14, 2012
Rating: 4 Stars
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The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them. . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything.
As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?
The thing I liked about My Life Next Door is it embodied everything it set out to. It was all about summer, finding yourself, and falling in love. I love books that take place during the summer. I don’t live by the beach because, well I suck, and so reading about summer fun is my next best option. When I first started reading, I didn’t think I would even enjoy Samantha’s character. She seemed really bland and lost in her own story with no distinct voice—which looking back on it was kind of the point Fitzpatrick was trying to make on how Samantha fit into her world.
However, she changed my mind. The more I read, the more I found Samantha to be very sarcastic and real. Her personality really came out when in the presence of Jace and the Gallagher Family—who to be frank made the book for me. Their family dynamic and realness rubbed off on Samantha—and also made me want to become a part of their family. Samantha really started to bloom into her own person outside of being the daughter of a politician, a little sister, and best friend to one of the smartest girl’s in town.
Although I enjoyed this book, the one thing I didn’t like was how late the plot’s climax came so close to the very end—I’m talking three chapters before the book ended. I personally would have preferred for it to come earlier and maybe spear-head the book. I think it would have made a much harder impact on me as a reader if that were the main focal point from the very beginning. Because to be quite honest, it didn’t have a big impact on me like I think it would have if it were to come at the beginning of the book. Because of the late climax, it left a lot of issues unresolved in my eyes. Overall, My Life Next Door was an amazing book with a love story sweeter than a dozen cupcakes.
