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 review is on the slow track to getting written because T introduced me to a game on the iPhone called SongPop and I’ve been playing rounds back and forth with my hubs all evening. The free version in the app store is pretty robust (you’re welcome, btw, I’ve just help you waste precious hours that you could be spending curing cancer or inventing the flying car).
Where was I? Oh yes, Jase...*sigh*
Frequently, T or I will troll the book lists on Goodreads to figure out what we want to read next and finding My Life Next Door was the result of one of these occasions. (These sessions usually happen Saturday night/Sunday morning and end with us tweeting each other book links) The premise is basically the girl next door who comes from an affluent family and money spends her whole life watching the family next door. What happens when what you’ve watched as an outsider for so long suddenly becomes a part of your life? That’s what happens to Samantha Reed when the girl next door finally crosses the yard and meets the boy next door.
When I decided I wanted to read this book, I remember telling T, “I want to read that Sarah Dessen-like book. You know the one NOT by Sarah Dessen?” I really hope Huntley Fitzpatrick understands that it’s an ultimate compliment to be compared to Sarah Dessen as we ADORE Sarah Dessen. (See my review of her latest book here) Well not only did this book turn out making us feel all smooshy like a Sarah Dessen book, but in true SD style we have now added Jase Garrett to the pile of fictionary boyfriends we’d like to ______ . (Just use your imagination to fill in that blank, this is a family blog, after all.)
This is a typical boy-meets-girl story with a tragic plot twist that upon closer inspection goes slightly sideways. The twist turns the story into a more serious-than-it-was-supposed-to-be plot and it succeeds in growing up the plot a bit. Thankfully, the depth of this plot twist doesn’t hinder the main character’s growth, in fact, it assists in many areas to help both main characters come to a better understanding of family, love and who really stands next to you when the chips are down.
My Life Next Door actually does a one-up move on lots of YA conventions that in other books offer to “do the right thing” and ties it all up in a pretty bow. For example, Samantha and her best friend have a huge falling out and even in the end, they never fully fix their issues. So odd to see this. I mean, really, whatever happened to Sisters before Misters? (although their issues ran deeper than that) There’s a side story about cheating that doesn’t really have a consequence, another about drug use that is slightly glossed over, the list goes on and on. Let’s just say that nobody reading this book should really count on it to give them a life lesson about these things. Then again, this is a story of fictional fantastical events and any similarities or resemblances to real life people is merely coincidental (that was for our legal department).
One of the best things this book does do, however, is bring about the swoonsational hunkiness that is Jase Garrett, the boy next door. Jase is the middle son in the family of 8 (yes, 8) Garrett kids. Using his final year in highschool as an opportunity to snag a football scholarship so his family isn’t burdened by the costs of sending him to school, he trains relentlessly to get himself in shape to play. This includes various shirtless workouts, usually at the beach. *sigh* But aside from the physical hotness that is Jase, he’s also a sensitive, fix-it guy that takes care of his family with a fierce loyalty that is enviable in any family. And when he and Samantha fall in love, you fall in love right along with them. And while I am talking about Jase’s family, I have to mention the rest of the Garrett family which I promise you will grow to love just as much as Jase. From the bohemian breastfeeding Mrs. Garrett to the quirky adorable George, each Garrett has a personality that Huntley Fitzpatrick does a phenomenal job of writing on the page and into our hearts.
Well we loved this book, each giving it a solid four star rating on Goodreads. Imagine our surprise when weeks after reading this wonderful book our timelines all of sudden lights up like a Christmas tree proclaiming Jase as the new Hottie McHotterson? We were kinda high-fiving each other for knowing that already and finally not feeling late to the party on something. It just so happens I bought the book for us on the day it was released and we read is within a couple days of that. Nothing special there, nope. Nope, authors not sending us ARCs just yet....(hint hint).
It’s hard to believe but this is Huntley Fitzpatrick’s very first book but I have the feeling we haven’t heard the last from her, in fact, soon and very soon I’ll be asking T, “I wanna read that Huntley Fitzpatrick-like book!”
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