My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 Synopsis:

           17 year old Samantha ends up dating her next door neighbor, Jase Garrett. Jase is from the family Samantha's mother warned her about. The family who has tons of kids running around, backyard littered with toys, and a mother who is always breastfeeding out in the open where people can see her.
    But Samantha is curious about the Garrett family. It's a life so different from the one she lives.
    However, things start happening in the Garrett family. More than just the daily hustle and bustle. Can Samantha handle it?

Likes:

    I got sucked into the writing of this book immediately. The style was very relative and appropriate for the ages. The dialogue between the characters was well developed and flowed naturally. I loved the humor and I think Fitzpatrick did an awesome job of distinction and personalization with each Character. For a girl who has everything she wants and is labeled a princess, Samantha does a good job of not annoying me to death like most female characters do, especially the leads. She is level headed and aware of her advantages, but does not use them against other people.
 

Dislikes: 

There's a reason I only gave this a 4 star rating. A couple loose ends were left & I feel like those loose ends could have been tied at the end of the story, or at least shown a glimpse of it so we could determine the outcome ourselves. What happened between Samantha and Nan? or Nan and Daniel? What was going to happen with Samantha's mom? Or Mr. Garrett? I would have also liked to see more emotion and opinion on what Jase thought about Samantha moving. I actually didn't hear his opinion at all; only Samantha's and how she thought it would turn out.
   Overall, I enjoyed the story. Just thought these minor adjustments could have made the book all the more better.

Favorite Quotes:

           "It's a good thing to keep your eyes on the guys that think they know the one true path," Jase says reflectively. "They might just mow you down if you're in their way." 

       

"No, because of instinct. You can tell who to trust. People can, just like animals. We don't listen as well as they do, always, but it's still there. That prickling feeling when something's not right. That calm feeling when it is." 

       

"But you got what it takes Gracie, and you need to take that where it's meant to go." 

   


 "I wanna reach into her argument and pull out the thread that's wrong, but it all seems like a tangle." 

   


 "... because even the most important ones-- I love you. I'm sorry. Forgive me? I'm here--are only stand-ins for what you can say better without talking at all."