Wednesday, August 15, 2012

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another
“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, 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?


This book was okay. I'm not head over heels for it, but I don't dislike it. This is the typical coming-of-age romance that includes disobeying parents and a perfect life for happiness. Of course, these types of books have a good message and all, but most of the time, they tend to fall flat with normalcy. And that was the case with this book.

Samantha did have everything except maybe a loving family, so that's why she creepily watched the Garrett's. Of course, it's normal to be jealous, but I find it sort of refreshing that she wasn't looking for a boyfriend, just a loving family, when she found Jase. Jase and Samantha are both relatively well-rounded characters, made by a woman, so they have that air of perfectness to them. On the back cover with the Praise's, there was a comment that said that "Every girl will envy [Samantha's and Jase's] relationship", but I found myself thinking that I didn't envy them. Their relationship seemed a little awkward to me for some reason. Maybe Samantha would fall for the mysterious, blase' guy, but I wouldn't. And some of the events in their relationship, were uncomfortable.

The climatic scenes in this book seemed forced. I mean, they happened well, but the way the author stressed it made them a little over-rated. Though most of this book flowed really well and was giving up a good fight, I just felt detached from the story. Maybe if you readers read this story, you'd feel differently, but I'm not really impressed considering I've read other, better books.

Cover: 4.5/5 stars
Plot: 3.5/5 stars
-Love, Katie

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