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

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?

A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.

"A summer romance with depth." —The Boston Sunday Globe

"Fitzpatrick's excellent first novel movingly captures the intensity of first love." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"An almost perfect summer romance." —Kirkus Reviews

"On par with authors such as Sarah Dessen and Deb Caletti." —SLJ

• ISBN10: 0142426040
• ISBN13: 9780142426043
• Publish Date: 13 June 2013 (first published 14 June 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 25 June 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Speak
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 432
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780142426043

Reviews

[Amber]

Full review here: http://www.booksofamber.com/2012/11/my-life-next-door-by-huntley-fitzpatrick.html

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I knew going into this that I would really enjoy it. I've been on a continuous YA contemporary binge since the beginning of the year, and it's showing no signs of stopping. This book totally deserves all the hype surrounding it, and I'm so glad everyone seems to have enjoyed it as much as I did.

I loved the crazy life the Garrett family led (which was a lot like my family, tbqh) and how it contrasted in every way to Samantha's life. She was on her own a lot, and her house was always neat and tidy because of her mother's near-OCD. The Garrett house, however, was chaotic, crazy and just wonderful. I know which house I would rather live in.

Not gonna lie, I got SO. FREAKING. PISSED. OFF. with Samantha. She does something ridiculously stupid that could lead to many, many people getting their lives ruined, and... well, it's just not okay. I wanted to slap her. However, Sam is not me, and therefore I forgive her for making silly decisions that she did eventually correct.

Spoilers, in which I rage about this stupid thing that Samantha did:

HER MUM WAS DRIVING DRUNK AND HIT JASE'S DAD AND PUT HIM IN HOSPITAL AND SAMANTHA WAS STILL BLOODY CONFLICTED ABOUT TELLING HER MOTHER TO COME FORWARD AND TO TELL JASE FOR GOD'S SAKE IF MY MOTHER HAD NEARLY KILLED A GUY AND IT WAS ABOUT TO LEAD TO THE GARRETTS LOSING ALL THEIR MONEY AND THEIR BUSINESS I WOULD BLOODY WELL COME FORWARD AND HAVE NO REGRETS BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST SLFHSDIHGLDSGJ *KEYBOARD SMASH*

Anyway, other than THAT small thing (which was an awesome plot point despite the headache it caused), I really did love Sam's character. I loved her evolution from someone who is always under her mother's thumb to a pretty great person. I also loved her relationship with Jase, even if it was cheesy at times. This is YA, what do you expect? ALL THE CHEESE. ALL THE CUTE.

Jase didn't really leave a huge impression on me, to be honest. I much preferred reading about his family as a whole, and the Garretts really do leave an impression! I guess that is how it's meant to be though because if you want one Garrett then you get them all! I loved the whole family, especially George because he's the one (apart from Jase, of course) who was given the most 'screen time'. I loved the random facts he came out with after he watched the Discovery Channel, and it's totally something my little sister does as well.

Samantha's best friend, Nan, can go die in a fire. Be gone, no one likes you. Nan's brother, however, can stay. I can't remember his name, but I think it started with a T and I kind of wanted him to end up with Sam because EEP he was a great character.

I didn't read this during the summer, but this would have been the perfect summer read. You can definitely read it at any time, though, because in England we don't really have summer and so take what you can get!

Also, this review is kinda insane. I watched Supernatural last night and it basically murdered my brain cells, so don't expect anything coherent from me in a while. Did anyone else watch it? DEAN BLAMED HIMSELF OH MY GOD AND CASTIEL BLAMED *HIMSELF* TOLD DEAN IT WASN'T HIS FAULT *TEARS EVERYWHERE*

Okay, I'm going now.

[Kelly]

4.5 Stars Only due to what felt like an incomplete ending
I loved "My life next door', it's beautifully written with humor and humility. The Garrett family are endearing, realistic and you can't help but fall in love.

[Rowena]

I’ve been itching to read since before it came out so when my BBB got it for me, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait to dig right in and I was happy that Fitzpatrick didn’t disappoint. This book follows Samantha Reed as she grows close to the family that lives next door to her, without her mother knowing. Her mother is not a fan of the Garretts from next door because they’re loud, messy and there are so many of them. Compared to the colorful family next door, Samantha has known a very strict upbringing. Her mother is a single mother, in politics. She’s got goals to go national with her politics and her new boyfriend, Clay, is helping her get there.

Her mother is turning into a completely different person and the more she changes, the more Sam clings to Jase and his family. With the influence of the Garretts, Sam finds herself changing but she likes the changes she starts to see in herself. The Garretts are good people and she has totally fallen in love with the whole lot of them, from the parents, all the way down to young George. Most especially with Jase Garrett. As the story progressed, you saw the relationship between Jase and Sam grow until it was bursting with love and I totally loved it.

I really enjoyed getting to know both Sam and Jase. Sam was one the people that grew the most throughout this book and I really liked the person she grew to be. The person that grew the most was Tim (a friend of Sam’s) and man, the transformation in him was both believable and adorable. I loved the person that he grew to be as well. Who knew that the total douche in the beginning of the book would turn out to be one of the best friends that Sam could have ever had in her corner. The way that the Garretts took the both of them into their fold was great and I really enjoyed getting to know each character in this book.

I thought Fitzpatrick did a great job of fleshing each character out and even though we only get Sam’s point of view, she did a great job of making the other characters in the story just as three dimensional as Sam was.

Sam’s Mom needed a swift kick to her throat with how dumb she was but alls well that ends well. I couldn’t believe that Grace let Clay control her the way that he did, for as long as he did. After everything happens and she just let Clay tell Sam what to do, threatened Sam the way that he did, I wanted to karate chop her in the neck and choke her the heck out. How dare she let anyone talk to her flesh and blood like that. But aside from Sam’s Mom being a poopy head, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed Sam going through all of her imperfect moments to get to the ending that she deserved and I really enjoyed seeing her blossom into that happy girl at the end. Her journey was an emotional one but one that I enjoyed.

I definitely recommend this book to fans of contemporary YA and to fans of Sarah Dessen, Jennifer Echols and Susane Colasanti. This was a good one.

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

I read this on a recommendation, and although I do not claim to be a judge of romance books (having read relatively few), this is a really sweet romance. Jase and Samantha hit it off very quickly—once they actually introduce themselves after having lived next door to each other for years—but their relationship progresses very naturally afterwards. It is clear why the two are attracted to each other. Sam is wonderful immersing herself into the chaos that is Jase’s family, and Jase is an aspiring football star who likes to fix things and take care of animals—to do things that take time because he believes it makes them more worthwhile. In short, Jase is rather swoon-worthy without being the type of boyfriend that could not possibly exist.

I found the other plot, the accident to which the summary alludes, to be more problematic. It does put forth a lot of questions about loyalty to family, yourself, and your morals, but I am slightly uncomfortable with the resolution to all the problems. [Minor spoiler] Somehow, despite the efforts of several characters to do the right thing, I was left with the sense that the right thing did not quite happen.

Also, this accident results in some standard relationship drama between Sam and Jase that is resolved fairly easily. Often books go over the top, making couples absurdly angry about rather minor things just to add some “suspense,” but this is one instance where I think a little more anger would have justified.

My Life Next Door is essentially a light romantic read with a few tougher themes thrown in to make it more meaningful. Sam is trying to find herself during her teenage years, the Garretts face prejudice from those who look down on large families, and Sam’s friends are dealing with the pressure of drugs and applying to college. None of this overrides the fun, however. The book is generally sweet and uplifting, and these issues give it a little grounding.

Content Note: Sex, drugs, alcohol, swearing

This review was also posted at Pages Unbound Book Reviews.