Book Blog #130: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Title: My Life Next Door
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
# of Pages: 394 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: 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?
Review: Well, I suppose it lived up to my expectations.

I had seen this book in an ad one day, and it's cute, refreshing-looking cover stayed in my mind ever since.  Now, over a year later, I have finally gotten my hands on a copy and took the time to read it. I was hoping for a romance that was squeal worthy at least, but I didn't get my hopes up very high for a book who's focus is the romance.

Now, if you compare it to other YA romance books, such as Shiver, this one was quite good. Jase and Samantha's relationship is very cute (I'm not marking this as a spoiler because this fact is mentioned in the synopsis, and I would have hoped the anyone who hasn't read the book yet would have already assumed that the main guy and girl would get together in a romance novel)!

However, when it's compared to all the other books I've read in my life time, this one is just decent. The romance didn't satisfy me as much; I was a bit exhausted of romance in general from young adult novels. The ending had a lot of drama in it that, while making the book much more interesting, did not match the flow of the rest of the book.

Now, after I finished the book, I felt incomplete. Not all of the conflicts that arose were finished. When I found that there was going to be a sequel, I was relieved, but only for a moment. The second book would be from a different character's point-of-view, and any kind of POV change (whether it's in the middle of a book or in the middle of a series) bothers me.

One of the biggest unresolved conflicts was Samantha's relationship with Nan. I would have liked them to either have been friends again, or both come to the understand that their relationship could not go back to the way it was.

Other than the ending, I was disappointed of the lack of confidence Samantha had in herself. She knew what the right thing to do was, yet she caved into Clay and tried to distance herself from Jase and his family. Sure, I understand why she didn't speak up about her mother's wrong doing, but she shouldn't have let Clay try to control her.

Everyone in the book is always telling Sam about how smart she is, and yet she isn't even smart enough to realize that distancing herself from the Garretts isn't going to help anything? The least she could have done was stuck around to support the family.

If you are really into romance, then, yes, I recommend this book to you. However, if you want a good read that has a broader focus, I would look elsewhere.