Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
My Life Next Door
Book One
400 Pages
Release Date: 06/14/2012
Publisher: Penguin Books | Imprint: Speak | Series: My Life Next Door
Genre: Teen/YA | YA Contemporary | YA Romance
Source: Amazon Purchase | Format: E-book
“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.
From the Publisher: A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another.
Praise for My Life Next Door
“A summer romance with depth.” —The Boston Sunday Globe
“On par with authors such as Sarah Dessen and Deb Caletti.” —SLJ
“Will connect with your heart—guaranteed!”—Lurlene McDaniel, bestselling author of Heart to Heart
“Serious swoonsville.”—iHeartDaily.com
First Impression: Extremely well-written, fantastic characterization and setting descriptions. Fast-paced, with the kind of beautiful language and sentence structure that pulls you right into the story and keeps you there.
I absolutely adore this book. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick reminds me of my own youth, the hopes and dreams I used to have, the moments I shared with friends and family, the way I used to stargaze and think about this vast world that seemed so much bigger than me. This book was everything I hoped it would be and more, because I related to these characters, and rooted for them to find a way through the confusion and self-doubts they faced.
Every once in a while, you run across a book that is just pure, raw magic. Everything in it feels right and true and natural, and the characters are people you know, used to know, or maybe simply wish you knew. This was one of those books for me.
I loved Samantha and Jase. I loved Samantha’s fascination with the family next door, and her confusion when Jase finally breaks and approaches her one night. It’s the best kind of romance, innocent as it is deep, beautiful as it is unique, and unbelievably realistic and true-to-life. This book had depth, and substance, and amazing character insights that made me think on people in my own life, or that were in my life when I was a teenager, some of which changed the very foundation of who I was back then. Not many books can take me there, but this one did, and I love it for that alone, but also for the excellent characterization and the beautiful, well-told story of a wonderful summer romance with a great first-love.
If you’re looking for an incredible read with the power to consume you, My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick is that and more. When you read this book, you aren’t thinking of anything else but the characters and that special, innocent time in life when nothing made sense and everything you ever wanted was right there, only a short, quick, handhold away.
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Huntley Fitzpatrick grew up dreamy and distracted in coastal Connecticut. She flourished in a family of bookworms where everyone always had their nose in a book. She kept an exhaustively thorough journal which frightened her boyfriends but has proved very useful in her career as a writer. Her debut contemporary Romance, MY LIFE NEXT DOOR, was published in June of 2012 by Penguin-Dial for Young Readers. Now she laughs with and eavesdrops on her six children who provide her with perspective and material. She is represented by the amazing Christina Hogrebe of the Jane Rotrosen Agency.