Huntley Fitzpatrick

When Samantha, the seventeen-year-old daugher of a wealthy, perfectionistic, Republican state senator, falls in love with the boy next door, whose family is large, boisterous, and just making ends meet, she discovers a different way to live, but when her mother is involved in a hit-and-run accident Sam must make some difficult choices.

My life next door

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 Life Next Door

Cody Nicole

alya adlina

okay wow. this book is basically more to family and the romance is just a sub-plot. i ain’t complaining. it’s very well written. i LOVE AND ADORE THE PLOT SO MUCH. jase and samantha’s relationship in this book is just everything. but samantha’s relationship with her mother really get me mad every second time. like her mother is annoyed me i know that her husband left her but she just can’t say some bad things to her daughter like oh god i’m so MAD. and samantha is just toooo nice…. i adore jase’s family SO MUCH LIKE I LITERALLY CANT STOP SMILING THINKING ABT THEM :(( overall this book is very good to read on summer i love it and i enjoyed it!!!

julia

This book was not that great, but it wasn't terrible either. It was sort of cliche and sometimes the characters acted really abnormally. I thought it was just average, nothing special about the story.

Raven K

I honestly thought that this book was going to be a romance, but it was so much more than that. I loved the Garrett Family so much. I also loved the relationship between Sam and the family, it was honestly really sweet. Tim was also a very funny and reliable character. I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. I enjoyed this more than ever.

becky oh

"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙙𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮, 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙄’𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛."

Uhhh, whatever.

This book was just a plain romance. It included: love, friendship, angst (a lot), drama, some nice background of romance. Oh, and summer. But not really a book I would've praised.

This book really went fast. It was like Jase and Samantha knew each other long before they actually met for the first time, facte-to-face. Huntley Fitzpatrick really went for insta-love. I would've much prefered getting to know each other slowly and THEN falling in love, but instead, it's like they are like magnet, pulling each other together.

Even though it's meant to have this feel of forbidden romance, it didn't. Since Samantha's mum (Grace) goes out a lot because of her work, Samantha was pretty free. But having her mum near Samantha would've made the story complicated anyway, since the Garretts are next door. But I couldn't help but ask Samantha's mum to be more suspicious. She's too all over that stupid Clay guy.

“𝙃𝙚𝙮,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣, 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡. “𝙉𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙜?”

This book's pretty simple. The Garretts move next door to Samantha's family, and the mum obviously don't like it. Too loud, too crazy, too lazy and too many kids. But, Samantha is interested in them, and one day, she meets one of the Garretts boys. Jase. 

I don't really have a crazy family next door, so I have no idea what it feels like to have one like the Garretts. I think it would be pretty funny. What would it feel like to have so many brothers and sisters? Quite crazy, and I can agree with Samantha that spying on them would be like watching a silent movie.

“𝙄 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨. “𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙜 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮?” 
𝙄 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠. 
“𝙂𝙚𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙣.”
𝙂𝙚𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜, “𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙙’𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩.”

I loved George. He's so cute, seriously young but has a wide imagination. He made me laugh so much that I thought Jase would've been better off with George's humour! I mean, come on. He's a brother I would've wanted.

I never really liked Clay from the beginning. He was too bright, too much. And turns out he's a total jerk. Plus, I hated how Samantha's mum was all over him. I still hate her about what she did, and I don't think I would've forgave her. Samantha deserves much more.

I quite liked Tim throughout the book. Yes, he does drugs and smokes. But that doesn't mean has a soft side. He has this thing with someone, who, I think is just right for him. Cold, hard and quite crazy, but probably hot (as Tim would say).

"𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩."

I really tried to love this book. I really wanted to, only, there was some big holes in the book I couldn't really know about. When I finished it, I didn't really feel happy about everything. The drama was too much for me to handle, the characters betrayal was just, a stab in the heart. I don't know what to say, but it wasn't the style I wanted it to be. It was quite, hard for me to really see the point. Still, it was an OK read.

Alexa M

Ivy X

I really enjoyed this book. It was such a fun read and everything flowed so perfectly. It's a very cute romantic read. 

(view spoiler)[
I love the Garretts family because of how dysfunctional yet happy they are. Each of them had their own stories and had their own little traits to them that made them all very memorable. I really liked George. He always seemed to have this constant fear of death and constantly talks about the different possibilities one could die and then worry about the probability of it happening to him or his loved ones. His innocence and his paranoia of death just made him all the more endearing. I also liked how George was constantly welcoming Sam regardless of the situation. 
I liked Alice and how cool she can be in serious situations and how she gives off this protective badass sister vibe. I did find it kind of funny when Flip was talking to Jase about how at least his current girlfriend doesn't cheat on him with his tennis partner and Jase just basically said, "You knew what you were getting into with Alice." 
I also really liked Andy and how Sam and Jase went to go spy on Andy's first date. It was really cute and it made me really want an older brother like Jase. Jase also made such a fantastic boyfriend. He was family-oriented, kind, supportive, patient, and honest. He brought the best out of Sam and really opened her eyes to a messier world but also a happier world. I liked how during their small sex scene, it showed them preparing together and also experiencing everything together. I enjoyed their relationship growth a lot more than I did in books like Forever by Judy Blume. While that book was educational, it failed to really capture what a young romance looked like. In this book, Huntley Fitzpatrick made the "buying condoms" ordeal seem funnier and light hearted. It made the consent part serious and both of them were very careful with one another in fear of doing something the other might not want. I also really liked how much love and care there was between them like when Jase said he felt like it was unfair that it would hurt Sam but not him and so forth. I really liked that. 

I loved the characters. They were very individual and unique. Tim really redeemed himself throughout this book and I could see him slowly coming back out of this downward spiral he had been on. It also gave some insight that people that you think are "bad" may actually be very intelligent and in their own ways. I didn't really like Nan from the beginning because she did feel like she was trying to constantly compete and compare herself to Sam and she was awfully bitter. At the end, she's mad at things that she chose for herself and bitter at Sam for having a hot boyfriend and a rich family. However, like Sam, I wanted to tell her, "You chose your own boyfriend for yourself. If you aren't happy...then leave." 

Sam's mother seemed to be manipulated by this man named Clay. Clay made me very uncomfortable throughout the entire book. I was really glad to see Sam's mother start to come back to her senses instead of just hide away behind a smile. I was glad to see that she actually went to solve what she did wrong. 

 (hide spoiler)]

Jeannette Ordas

A likeable summer read. I admit to having my back up reading about another perfect, beautiful, rich character, but there's all the other interesting characters going on as well that balance things out. Good characters and enjoyable.

Trish

This book was so so cute. I love Jase's large family dynamic in contrast to Sam's family life. The romance was a little bare but I appreciate all the moments with the Garrett family and even with Tim. The two characters I couldn't stand were Nan and Clay who were great villains in the book and I love that Tim rose from underdog to rising star by the end of the novel. Overall, a cute YA romance with a focus on family values and morally blurred situations.

Nicole Goldstein

Finally a book where I didn't hate the protagonist. This was beautiful and realistic. I loved the Garretts and their family. Jase was everything a leading boy should be but while he was perfect, his family gave him character and color. The first love of it all just made me feel warm inside and the trouble that arises was realistic and fit well within the story. I wished there was more but the ending was just as beautiful as a rising sun.

Sarah S

This book was cute a bit dark as well ngl. But it hasn't got any smut but still a good book 

Hana 

Menna Khaled

My life next door is a simple easy contemporary read. It effortlessly lifted my mood and made me laugh many times. 
This book is honestly the best summer read ever. Reading it I could almost imagine myself lounging on a beach chair under a big umbrella with the wind in my face with the golden sand and clear beach water as my view.

 

In one house we have the reed family consisting of Grace and her 2 daughters Tracy and Samantha. Senator grace reed is a perfectionist clean uptight woman and that is how she thinks everyone should be starting with her own 2 daughters.

Next door we have the Garret’s family. They are everything Grace despises in a family.
Mr. and Mrs. Garret are so in love with each other that even birth control can’t control them.

 

Since they have resided the house next door the number of their kids almost doubled. Thus now we have a total of 8 kids ( maybe more who knows, those garrets will never stop reproducing). The kids are ALICE, JOEL, JASE, DUFF, ANDY, HARRY, GEORGE, AND PATSY.

You have probably guessed by now that a big family like this will have a very noisy house with toys all over the house and the yard. This of course freaks the lights out of senator Grace reed. she looks outside her kitchen window to their backyard and that's her after one look

 

If you have already read the book you know what Grace just saw mrs Garret do :) 
If you still haven't read the book then read it or the curiosity to know what Grace saw will kill you. ( i know that's evil but i had to make you read the book one way or the other LOL ) 

To Samantha the garrets are real life tv show (just like when we watch modern family but to smaller limits =D) 
She sits there and watches them, trying to imagine what does it feel like to be a member of their family. 
Let me remind you of how does "modern family" look aka the garret's in this book 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This all changes when Jase comes over and takes to Samantha. 

This book basically consists of a lot of funny conversations with George and Andy plus Funny Situations with everyone especially Patsy.

Like any other book, this book has drama in it which is seen at the end. 

Samantha has undergone character developments as in she came to understand who she is much more clearly.

Nan and Tim, the twins, are great characters in the book. Tim had a huge positive character development. Nan; however, turned out to be such a disappointment in my opinion.
I also didn’t appreciate the obvious unexplained ignorance of Tim and nan’s parents.

I didn’t like the ending of the book. It should have been more specific, more confirmed. I could end the back any way I want which isn’t a great aspect for this book as I could easily ruin all the character development as it was never set in concrete.


All in all this book was a one-night-stand book but slightly on the heavy side. It is pg-13 as language and scenes present are very mild and undetailed.
 

 Xx Menna Khaled Xx

Shan

Absolutely loved this book. Honest, relatable, sweet, and surprising. This is the perfect summer read and I can't wait to read more from Fitzpatrick.

Savannah Garrit

This has got to be one of my favorite YA books ever. I love the chemistry and the story behind Jase and Samantha. Also George is the cutest thing ever. Not to mention the whole Garrett family. Overall a great read. :)

Cassidy

When I first started this book, it seemed like your typical secret-summer romance. Boy was I wrong. This book has so much substance and could never ever be classified as a typical, unoriginal, run-of-the-mill book. This belongs in a category of its own and I love it.

Steysha

3.5 Interesting, but not exactly amazing.

Jaclyn

This was such a GREAT book! I loved the romance of course but I also loved the family dynamic! It was such a cute story & I couldn't get enough of the amazing character development. All of the characters,the plot, and the rawness of everything going on just seemed so REAL and honest. ahhhh I'm so in love with this book & the Garrets ❤️❤️❤️

Julie D.

Tom Holland 

It was a wonderful quick romance. It describes the feeling of first love and family. Would recommend, however the plot is a lot like most other romances. 

Nicole Bruno 

Such a cute and easy read. Needed something light hearted after the previous book I read

Kathryn 

This book is the perfect summer read! 

This book has some pretty great character development which was amazing. One thing I really loved about this book was the family aspect! Huntley Fitzpatrick managed to make the family incredibly important to the story without taking away from the romance side of the story. I would definitely recommend this to everyone especially to read on the Beach or during the Summer. It's perfect!

Reread on Feb.14 and loved it just as much as I did the first time. I honestly forgot how much I love this story and the characters and I really cannot wait for the next one in this companion series!

Emma Snäll

This book was a fun and easy read that still managed to have a little bit of depth to it!

Christelle

Georgia Carr

This is such a refreshing YA book, as it doesn't focus solely on drama and gossip. Jase and Sam are really likeable characters, and I found Tim's growth throughout the book to be both inspirational and portrayed well. The lesser characters, Clay, George and Nan, each have their own stories that are explored in depth without taking away from the main two characters. I've never seen that done so effortlessly before, especially as the whole book is so interesting. George is such a great character, actually. He's awesome. The storyline is solid, with no gaping holes or unanswered questions left. I think it's a true testament to the brilliance of this novel that although there are no burning questions I have, a sequel would be so much appreciated right now.

My life next door

Reviews

Highlights