My Life Next Door: Huntley Fitzpatrick

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Samantha is faced with doing the right thing when she realizes that her mother has affected the Garrett family in which she has become a pseudo-member. Jase and Samantha’s relationship was adorable, snarky, and well done and I’m excited to find another great author. The story wasn’t too young for my tastes but just the right amount of first love, summer fun, and villain drama. Sam’s mom was… AGH! I don’t even have words, not to mention her boyfriend and all that happened with the accident Sam's sister was okay. I hated Sam's mom and her moms young boyfriend, Clay that is helping her on her campaign on becoming a senator. My Life Next Door is the kind of story that you expect to be light and fluffy . . . but then it surprises you. And Tim . . . I can't believe a debut author made me fall for a drug addict. Seriously. If the author decided to write a companion novel about Tim (maybe like Marchetta did with Thomas after Saving Francesca) and, hopefully, Alice, I'd be forever grateful to the Powers That Be.

I’m not going to lie – I was quite impressed by this story at first. Samantha was an interesting protagonist, one who was suffering underneath her perfect disguise, yet she never let that get in the way of her interactions with others. She constantly tried to be the perfect daughter, the perfect neighbor, the perfect best friend, the perfect girlfriend, and I think that is something everyone can relate to. Yet, Samantha paled in comparison to the Garretts. In some ways, this novel reminded me of Cheaper by the Dozen – two loving parents with a large family of children do their best to make it work. Furthermore, these kids, despite their vastly different personalities, all love one another and seem to mesh perfectly as siblings. Seeing Samantha fit into this equation was nothing short of entertaining and only increased my respect for her.This story's pace is slow and steady. Jase and Sam build an instant friendship that leads slowly to young love. Samantha is a sweet, determined young woman who is showcased, yet sheltered by her mother. After many years of observing the family next door, she finally meets Jase, the third oldest in the Garrett clan. He approaches her as she’s sitting on the roof ledge by her window, observing the life going on next door, so different from the one she lives. This loving, loud, energetic family embraces and welcomes her into the fold, and Sam thrives on it. She falls in love with them and Jase. He is the type of boy parents dream that their daughter will bring home, but Samantha’s mother can’t see past the image of the large family with the unkempt yard and their somewhat chaotic life. She can’t see how good and loving these people are because her mind is clouded by the stereotype; messy yard, large brood equates to trailer trash! WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!! Fortunately Sam is a better person than her mother could ever dream to be, and sees the Garrett's for what they really are; a messy yard, large brood, chaotic life and an overabundance of LOVE for each other and living! I’m this many.” George holds up four, slightly grubby fingers. “But Jase is seventeen and a half. You could. Then you could live in here with him. And have a big family.” The humor! The wit! The complexity! This book was funny like I didn't expect, and heartwarming in ways I never imagined. The only reason (and I mean ONLY) that this book gets a 4.95 instead of a full 5 stars is because I felt like the ending didn't wrap up enough. How did you get so good at everything?" I ask Jase as he wipes his greasy hands on a rag from his tool kit.

The main character wasn't likable either. Till the very end, I couldn't decide if she was a good or bad person. She was described as having a perfect life, with perfect looks, perfect body, good grades and she's rich. But the main character fell flat for me, and there isn't much of an adjective I can use to describe her...except maybe vanilla. Bland. Perhaps cardboard. Definitely not memorable. While the story didn't necessarily blow me away, it certainly held my interest and warmed my heart.The thing is, I did not really hate this one. Jace does have an interesting family. One kid named George that I'm gonna marry one of these days. George saved this book. I thought it would be about a romance. A contemporary novel that usually explores the values of family, friendship, life etc. And yeah… I have a tiny complain. Where the hell is the end??? Seriously!!! I am missing it. I know I have an imagination and blah blah blah but come on!!! I felt like Jase and Samantha's relationship moved too fast, though I did believe there were genuine feelings for each other. I really like how they dealt with sex. It wasn't a split second decision in a hazy moment of lust. Instead, they talked about it and went shopping together for the necessary things, which was nice to read about. I will be a son of a biscuit eater!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was supposed to be my cute little fluffy book!

You and me on this, girl. Wait - NO! I didn't blush! What I mean is that I have no clue about why this (wonderfully profound as always) sentence is blush worthy. NOT A FREAKING CLUE (explanations in comments are welcome). That SOMETHING though. And yes, the romance is absolutely lovely: This is how first love feels like: a bit clumsy, out of place, unpredictable (and supposedly world-shattering), but also damn cute. It made me smile, scratch that, it made me giggle like a child. I like their sweetness and their cuteness and i could savor this love-story forever.My Life Next Door is everything I want from a YA contemporary novel: a close-knit American town setting; a realistic and believable romance; a supportive and loving family (especially toddler George!); intense friendships; and quite a bit of drama. I'm part of a small family and struggle to imagine what it must be like to be one of eight children, but I loved reading about the Garretts, and watching Samantha figure out how to navigate their world. Aside from the wonderful romance between Jase and Samantha – which develops slowly and naturally, and is a lot fun to read – friendship is also important to the story, particularly how the two teenagers deal with twins Tim and Nan, both struggling in their own ways. After having a bad meeting with Clay, her mother's new campaign manager and boyfriend, Samantha retreats to her balcony where she's spent years watching her neighbors, the Garretts. As a family with eight children, Grace distanced herself and her daughters from them due to her belief that they are chaotic and irresponsible people. For Samantha however, the Garretts provided an escape from her boring, micro-managed life. Although she's spent years watching them, Samantha has never interacted with the Garretts because she doesn't want to disobey her mother. However whilst up there, Samantha meets one of the Garretts who climbs the tendrils to join her. The boy introduces himself as Jase Garrett, the third oldest child, and from this point, they begin growing closer as friends. P.S. My older sister read this book in two days... and she hasn't read another book in six months! Now try and TELL ME that the amazingness of this book is just in my head! x)