Review: 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?

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

My Review:

My Life Next Door is a book I've wanted to read for months, but my library hadn't had it yet.  I finally got my copy this weekend and read through the whole book in  two days or so.  The topics of family, romance, and friendship dealt with in this book are amazing.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Samantha is a great character.  Her mom has taught her to stay away from the family next door, but she has always been envious of them.  She wishes she could have a loving family like that.  Instead, she has her older sister, who is away for the summer with her boyfriend and some friends, and her mom, Grace Reed, the state senator.  Grace is only worried about winning the next election.  She starts dating a man named Clay Tucker, who becomes her campaign manager.  It becomes clear to Samantha that he isn't just managing the campaign, he's managing Grace as well.

I loved Jase's family.  They were all such great characters.  From oldest to youngest, his siblings are Joel, Alice, Jase, Andy, Duff, Harry, George, and Patsy.  They all have their own personalities and play into the story in their own way.  Andy experiences her first relationship as a fourteen-year-old.  George watches a lot of Discovery Channel and learns many facts.  Patsy has two words - boob and poop.  Alice is in nursing school.  The parents are loving and care about all of their kids.

The romance that develops between Jase and Samantha is very sweet.  He happens to climb up her trellis one night and meet her.  One day, he asks her over to his house to help babysit the kids.  Soon, the kids love her, and she becomes like part of the family.  At the same time, she begins to fall for Jase.  The two fall in love fairly quickly, yet it also seems sweet and realistic.  They are a great book couple.

If you like contemporary YA, read this book.

Katie 

Waiting on Wednesday #33: OCD Love Story

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine.

My pick for this week is:

When Bea meets Beck, she knows instantly that he's her kind of crazy. Sweet, strong, kinda-messed-up Beck understands her like no one else can. He makes her feel almost normal. He makes her feel like she could fall in love again.
But despite her feelings for Beck, Bea can't stop thinking about someone else: a guy who is gorgeous and magnetic... and has no idea Bea even exists. But Bea knows a ton about him. She spends a lot of time watching him. She has a journal full of notes. Some might even say she's obsessed.
Bea tells herself she's got it all under control, but this isn't a choice, it's a compulsion. The truth is, she's breaking down... and she might end up breaking her own heart.

---

This sounds like an interesting story.  I can't wait to read it and meet the characters once it's released on July 23rd.  I also like the color scheme of the cover.

What are you Waiting On this Wednesday?

Katie

Review: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND ...

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen-year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey's younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and the girls are found by their father, a stranger, and taken to re-enter the "normal" life of school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must come to terms with the truth of why their mother spirited them away ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won't let her go ... a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn't spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

IF YOU FIND ME is a riveting mix of psychological tension and page-turning mystery that asks profound questions about family, truth and love.

My Review:

I won an ARC of If You Find Me in a contest back in July, and I've been eagerly waiting to read it since then.  I received my signed ARC and immediately made it the next book I would read as soon as I finished the one I was reading.  I had high expectations for this book, and it definitely did not disappoint.  I finished it within a day, loving the story, the characters, and the writing.  

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Carey is a great, strong character.  She had to deal with many difficult things while living in the woods, so she matured early.  She grew up having to pretty much raise her younger sister, Jenessa.  Some things that happened in the woods are things she can't forget, and she can't erase them.  She tries to fit into her new life in modern society, but there are many things she doesn't understand.  After so long in the woods, everything is unfamiliar to her.

The family relationships in this book are very well-written.  It is clear from the start that Carey's father really cares about her and Jenessa.  Carey's mom has told her some lies about her father, and she thinks they are true so she has to get past them.  Carey's father cares equally for Carey and Jenessa, despite the fact that only Carey is his daughter by blood.  Jenessa is Carey's half-sister, the daughter of her mom and some man who isn't in the book.  Carey's stepmom, Melissa, is a great parent.  She becomes like a mother to the girls when they move in.  She seems to care about them as much as she cares about her own daughter, Delaney.  The only person who isn't welcoming to Carey and Jenessa is Delaney, Melissa's fifteen-year-old daughter.  She resents them taking attention away from her.

There is also a well-done friendship with hints of romance in the book.  Carey meets Ryan on her first day of school, and he helps her find her way to homeroom.  He comes out to her when she is playing her violin at lunch in the courtyard.  She begins to open up with him, and they become friends, and possibly more.  Later, he tells her that they actually knew each other as kids.  Their relationship is developed slowly, without becoming a romance right away.

If you like emotional contemporary YA, read this book.  It is going to be released in March 2013.

Katie 

Cover: Severed Heads, Broken Hearts by Robyn Schneider

 

The cover for this book was revealed last week.  The book sounds awesome, and I like the cover too.  This book is releasing on June 4th, 2013, and I look forward to reading it then.  

Here's the description:

 Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

Robyn Schneider’s Severed Heads, Broken Hearts is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

Katie

November Releases I'm Most Excited For

November 13th:
Miss Fortune Cookie by Lauren Bjorkman - This book sounds like it will be an interesting.  Also, I enjoyed My Invented Life by the same author, so I hope this one is just as good.
Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill  - This looks like a cute read.  I'm hoping it will have good characters and a good romance.





Katie