{Review} My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

My Life Next Door
by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Pages: 394
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: June 14, 2012
by Dial (an imprint of Penguin)

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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.

This book is so much more than a fluffy contemporary.  This book is dark, sad, emotional, uplifting, romantic, and amazing.  It is easily one of my favorite contemporaries ever!  I’m telling you guys, Huntley Fitzpatrick is the new Sarah Dessen – only maybe a bit better.  This book was so well done!  For one, I absolutely LOVED the Garrett family!  Those guys were a riot.  The writing was so amazing, and I loved the humor and the dialogue.  This book had so many things going on, and I couldn’t believe the twists and turns that happened.  And that ending! It broke my heart!  I think Fitzpatrick did a really great job of developing the romance, which I sometimes find lacking in contemporary books.  But I loved how the romance grew and was so sweet, and the writing just topped off the amazing story perfectly.

Let’s spend a while talking about these crazy Garretts, shall we?  This pretty much describes a normal day at the Garrett house:

We walk into the living room to find Alice and her Brad sprawled on the brown sectional couch, Brad rubbing Alice’s feet.  George is fast asleep, naked, facedown, on the floor.  Patsy is wandering around in a purple terry cloth footie pajamas, plaintively saying “Boob.”

Yep,  That’s them.  And they’re freaking awesome.  So many things about the Garretts I really love and support, like the fact that Mrs Garrett breastfeeds, and that she has kids but not for religious reasons.  They’re just an all-around awesome, crazy family.

Then we get to the main characters, Jase and Sam.  They’re freaking perfect for each other!  Jase is such a sweet, nice, cute guy, and Sam is kind of a victim of her mother, but I think she is a very strong character because of the way she handles her situation.  And then we have Tim, the drug addict who’s trying to give it up, and Clay, Sam’s mom’s evil boyfriend, and a ton of other people, all of who affect the story line, and make the story interesting.

I know this is kind of a bad review ( I can’t concentrate because my own crazy brothers are loudly playing Transformers next to me.  Ugh ), and I don’t do the book justice with this horrible review, but seriously guys, I love this book!  The complex story, sweet romance, and awesome characters make it such an enjoyable read, and the perfect summer book.  I highly recommend it!

5 pink flowers