{YA Review} My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

{YA Review} My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

"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, 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.(Blurb via Goodreads)

{Details} Hardcover, 394 pages. Published June 14th 2012 by Dial Books For Young Readers. Source: library

{Rating} 3/5

{Review} I had high expectations about My Life Next Door, I'd read tons of glowing reviews, but my opinion was just 'eh'. It was okay. I felt bad for Samantha, having to live with her mother and her expectations, I felt Samantha's loneliness, her strained friendships and how she watched the Garretts next door - seeing all she wanted there the joy, spontaneity, messes and acceptance, just across the fence.

I liked watching the relationship between Samantha and Jase develop, seeing how they navigated all the firsts. And then, when they're all happy they're faced with an enormous roadblock to their relationship, there are warring loyalties and hard decisions to make. I liked the way Fitzpatrick handled things, it felt real and true to the characters and their growth throughout the book.