Pages:
394
Publisher:
Dial Books
Release
Date: 14th
June 2012
Edition:
US hardcover,
purchased copy
“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 night Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and everything changes. 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
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 the one person you love without betraying another.
Huntley Fitzpatrick’s debut is
a book that I saw glowing reviews for everywhere I turned so I knew I had to
have it. And, boy am I glad I did!
My
Life Next Door has
all the elements of my favourite type of contemporary YA: lovable and complex
characters, a sultry summer in a small American town setting, a healthy dose of
life-altering drama and an intense first love. Perfection. It’s all-consuming
and so vividly real and I devoured it.
I adore the Garrett family. I immediately
understood Samantha’s fascination with them. The chaos and sheer aliveness in
that house is infectious and I wanted to be a part of their family. I have a
big family like Jase – the exact same number of siblings actually – but we all
live in different places as the ages are quite spread out! I love the noise,
the energy and the love between them all. For such a big cast of characters,
Fitzpatrick kept them all distinct and easy to tell apart without them being caricatures
which was fantastic. Apart from Jase, I have to say that George was by far my
favourite Garrett. He’s adorable.
The prejudice that Mrs Garrett
faced for her choice to have a large family was surprising. She loves them all,
looks after them and they’re all happy so I really couldn’t see why she got all
of the snide comments and looks that she did. It was an unexpected, but very
interesting. Another part of My life Next
Door I didn’t expect was the inclusion of a political figure in Samantha’s
mum in the novel. As her campaign continued and her agenda became even more
serious and severely Republican, everything began to fall to the way side. I really
didn’t like her.
As we got in to My Life Next Door and Samantha and Jase’s
relationship began to heat up. They slept together for the first time and it
was awkward and sweet and fumbling and so brilliantly written. The new adult
genre should really take note. After they had cemented their relationship I was
constantly dreading that something or someone would come along and shatter
their perfect summer. I honestly didn’t expect things to pan out like they did,
but it put a really strong challenge to the characters and I couldn’t stop
reading.
My
Life Next Door is
one of the best books I’ve read so far this year and I can’t believe I waited
so long to read it! Bring on Huntley Fitzpatrick’s next book.
Sophie
I really love the sound of this one - I think I have the paperback on pre-order :)
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard of this one but it looks really good :D
ReplyDeleteHuh. I tend to be a bit picky when it comes to contemporary, but this sounds great. I'm definitely adding it to my TBR :)
ReplyDeleteIt's brilliant isn't it!
ReplyDeleteIt's brilliant isn't it!
ReplyDeleteI love contemporary and have wanted to read this for a while so I'll definitely have to check it out now. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. :)
ReplyDeleteOoh. One of the best books you've read this year? Yay! I have a copy and I'm dying to read it after such praise..
ReplyDelete