My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Released: 2012
Publishers: SPEAK, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 394
My Rating: 5/5

A boy. A secret. A choice.



On one summer night, everything changed.

Life in Samantha Reed's home is neat and clean and orderly - precisely planned by her local politician mother. Next door, at the Garrett's, things are loud, messy, and irresistible. And when gorgeous Jace Garrett climbs the trellis outside her bedroom and enters her life, she finds herself falling passionately in love with him and everything he brings with him. The only hitch is, she's got to hide it from her mother. Then something unthinkable happens, and Samantha is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?
*****************
Holy Moly! I had seen a lot of hype surrounding this book from the BookTube community and it was recommended on GoodReads to me too; but I was not expecting this masterpiece of a contemporary! At first I thought it would be similar to 'Amy and Roger's Epic Detour' in the sense that it is a contemporary chick-lit. But 'My Life Next Door' is so much more. The narrative surrounds issues of judgement and choosing right over wrong and the main character Sam has a lot of difficulties to overcome and secrets to hide which eats her up inside. This story was truly amazing and written superbly.

What I loved most was the character's personalities, they have been so cleverly thought out and created, in which we get to understand why people fall out and others don't agree with political ideas. Samantha's struggle with her mother and fighting the political life over the comfort life of the Garrett's next door is really shown throughout the novel. Even with the massive plot twist (which I won't reveal) that was so huge of a dramatic occurrence that I had to stop reading and acknowledge what just happened just goes to show how amazing Fitzpatrick is at writing and captivating her audience.

Another thing I really appreciated was that Sam and Jace were still quite young but compared to other young adult novels they actually acted and were treated like young adults. Yes they broke the rules a couple of times but dominantly they acted respectfully and were treated like adults, I mean with this kind of story of the events that play out Fitzpatrick has chosen the right kind of characters to write about. If these characters were completely different then we wouldn't have the same story and wouldn't enjoy it or hype about it as much as we have!!
Sam and Jace have to deal not only with school but part time jobs, family, money problems and investing in their futures individually and together.
When you read 'My Life Next Door' you might understand why I compared it to the likes of 'Amy and Roger's Epic Detour' in the sense that Amy and Roger face similar difficulties to what Sam and Jace face.

Honestly if you are looking for a good young adult novel that is contemporary and maybe slightly girly but not at all overtly girly then this should be the next book you pick up. I really could go on for ages about how amazing this book was for me and I really hope you pick it up and enjoy it as well.
Let me know in the comments if you do read it and tell me what you thought on 'My Life Next Door'.

Enjoy x

My Review of: 
Amy and Roger's Epic Detour 

Author's Website:  Huntley Fitzpatrick
GoodReads:  My Life Next Door  

Available in most book stores and online now.

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