Synopsis
"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." (Goodreads)
Classic YA Contemporary
After my heart was destroyed (in the best way) by Mud Vein, I decided I should probably go in a different direction and pick up a light-hearted read. YA contemporary romances are the usual go-to for me, and I have had My Life Next Door on the shelf for a couple of years now (I know, I know). I figured I would finally pick it up. It has everything you would want in a "first love" tale: it is summertime, the boy is cute and sweet, and there's a bit of a forbidden aspect to it. This book would fit perfectly with your glass of lemonade by the pool. (Speaking of which, Samantha's mom's lemonade sounds delicious!)
Sweet First Love
A lot of people hate "insta-love" in books and I think many people critique young love in real life. The thing is, attractions can happen quickly and our hearts do most of the thinking for us at that time. That being said, I didn't get insta-love vibes. The attraction felt organic and these two people have lived next to each other for a large portion of their lives, so it's not as though they weren't aware of the other. Fitzpatrick really captured the warm, glow-y feeling of falling in love. There's excitement and urgency, but also a tenderness to it. I adored the way she handled their relationship.
The Garretts
I love stories about big families, so I really adored the Garretts. I loved the unconditional love (whether it was between the mom & dad, who clearly still have the hots for each other after all these years, or the children who all have to fight for some space) they share. I also loved that we got to see the judgement that can happen with a large family. People are nosy and want to know why/how you manage it all and it's not their business. The Garretts are loving, honest, strong-willed, and welcoming and continue to do what they want because it makes them happy.
But what about...?
At it's heart, My Life Next Door is a story of first love. I didn't know this going into it, but it tackles so much more than that. Or, at least, it attempts to. What I appreciated about this story is that I was so ready for something to happen that didn't happen and completely surprised by something I wasn't expecting. That's my spoiler-free way of saying that. Anyway, the story has a lot of angles and many complications were faced or brought up and at least one of them was never resolved.
TEENSY SPOILER (PROCEED TO NEXT CAPS SECTION IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED): In the book, we learn that Samantha's best friend is a girl named Nan. She has a screw-up twin brother named Tim, who seemed like a real background character at first. Nan and Samantha have a pretty big fight (or, really, Nan just yells at Samantha for being everything that Nan isn't) that leads Samantha (on top of many other things) to question herself in a variety of ways, not a small thing. Their fight never gets resolved. Tim gets more play than Nan for the remainder of the book. I'm not saying every friendship needs to be mended, but maybe give us a little closure on that?
OKAY BACK NOW!
Overall
3 stars
The story is good and it dealt with more than just first love, something that pleasantly surprised me. I enjoyed the characters and I would definitely check out another book by Huntley Fitzpatrick (which is good, because I own another one!). It isn't exactly the most original story out there, but it was an enjoyable read and it definitely hit the spot for what I craved at the time.
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