Our first book discussion! This is the book that started it all for us. Our love for this book gave us the idea and focus to start this book club/blog and now we would like to share it with you.
"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?
1. How did you experience the book? Were you engaged immediately, or did it take you a while to "get into it"? How did you feel reading it?
Keira: I went into this book engaged because Nikki raved about it, so from page one I was all in and no disappointed in the least. The writing style was fluid. Not one place in this book did I stop and say, "Get to it already.", like I so often do. While reading My Life Next Door I went through an array of emotions. I was smitten, saddened, enraged, annoyed, happy to the point of physically smiling, and sometimes all at once.
Nikki: The book had been on my to-be-read list for a while. I had seen a lot of good things said about it so my hopes were high. I was sucked in from the moment it started. Reading it I felt very connected to Samantha and her reactions became my reactions. I am with Keira, I was smiling so much while reading. I actually started crying when I realized that Mr. Garrett was hit by the car. There was the point when I wanted to stop reading because I pieced together that he was hit by Sam’s mom. The feeling that this would come between them was dreadful.
2. Describe the main characters—personality traits, motivations, inner qualities.
Keira: The way I perceived the main characters - and I'm going with Samantha and Jase, although other characters were mentioned enough to be considered here - probably won't be the same as Nikki, but that's okay because that's why we're here, right? To discuss, so let's go.
Nikki: Sometimes we disagree, its okay.
Keira: Sam was curious, smart, privileged, ambitions, skeptical, and eager to please. In fact, she was so eager to please that at times I wanted to shake her. I loved her filter-less filter and inner dialogue. That said, I think the easiest, and most accurate, way to describe her would be conflicted. No matter what Sam was dealing with, and there was a lot, she always battled right and wrong, not just morally, but what was right or wrong *for her*.
Nikki: I agree that she was conflicted but I also think she was a little wistful. Well a lot wistful with the way she would just compare her family to the Garrett’s. I like to say she had the Grass is greener syndrome going on.
Keira: Jase, witty, laid back, mechanically inclined, Jase. He was nothing less than swoon worthy. If there was a problem, Jase could fix it, or at least try. He seemed to always know the right thing to say, even if it really wasn't and his relationship with his family was enough to make my heart pitter patter. If there were to be a character study on him, however, I think you would find that underneath all of that good is a lot of longing. He's a teenager, thinking about his future, and given his home life, it made sense to me that he would want something for himself.
Nikki: All I have to say about Jase is that he was the perfect balance of swoon and brood. But sometimes he seemed a bit too good to be true. I waited for the other shoe to drop so many times but I was glad when it didn’t. Along with Jase, I fell in love with the rest of his family. Mrs. Garett was like the perfect mom. Even with the judgment from people around her, she found strength in her family. I won’t talk about all of the Garrett kids because there are a lot of them but the one that stood out the most was George. If you take all of the cutest kids ever and mash them together, you get George. I loved how morbid and inquisitive at the same time. Besides Sam and Jase, George was my favorite character.
Keira: I loved Tim, too. I swoon for him.
3. Do the main characters change by the end of the book?
Keira: Yes. Samantha grew more than I thought possible in the timeframe given, and that's not a complaint. When she stood up for what she believed to be right, I wanted to shout hallelujah. It took a while, but in the end Sam and Jase both seemed to be in a good place, with a newfound understanding of life, the world, what it means to be family and what it means to stand up for what you believe in.
Nikki: I agree but then there was something about Jase that didn’t sit right. By the end of the book you saw a progression in other characters, but I felt like Jase didn’t change much from how he was. Just that he now had Samantha by his side.
4. Is the plot engaging—does the story interest you? Is this a plot-driven book: a fast-paced page-turner? Or does the story unfold slowly with a focus on character development? Were you surprised by the plot's complications? Or did you find it predictable, even formulaic?
Keira: I was surprised by how engaging and fast-paced My Life Next Door was. Truly. The big twist came near the end, but I didn't feel like it was lacking with the straightforward story beforehand. It all felt like it was leading up to that moment once it happened and it was so worth it.
Nikki: I agree 100%. I was a little bit upset it came so close to the end because I just wanted more. Even though things were resolved, I wanted to know much more of what happened after. Most books I find have some kind of lag throughout but MLND wasn’t like that at all. Things moved smoothly throughout.
Keira: Lucky you, there’s a second book coming out. Hopefully we’ll get to see more of these characters, even though Tim is the focus.
5. How important is the setting & time period to the story? How would it have played out differently in a different setting? What about a different time period?
Nikki: The setting and time period was something that I felt worked very well. While reading I kept thinking that this was a story that could be set in any time period. Especially the description of Samantha’s house; It reminded me of the perfection of one of my grandparents houses. But the love story between Sam and Jase was so pure and classic, it could have worked in the 60’s or any other time. However, I don’t think it would have worked in a more metropolitan area; Connecticut was the perfect bubble for them.
Keira: Yes! It could have. I’m not sure it would have done well before the 40’s, but thereafter, My Life Next door would have been just fine. She did a magnificent job at characterizing the characters to their ages, without giving them too much detail that would point to one era or another.
6. What do you think will happen next to the main characters?
Nikki: In a perfect world I would think Jase ended up on the football team, got a scholarship, him and Sam would go to college together and get married and have loads of kids. But that is just the happily ever after part of me. They probably break up once they get to college and then they go their separate ways but always wonder what could have been.
Keira: I disagree. I don’t think Sam and Jase would break up. They have that ‘sweetheart’ connection that’s so rare nowadays. My one hope is that Clay Tucker got what he deserved somewhere down the line. Like, homeless on the street without a soul to care, kind of got what he deserved. For Sam, I’d like to think that her and Grace found a way to heal and the two families merged, not only because of Sam and Jase, but because of the tragedy that nearly tore them apart. Grace had a lot of growing to do, maybe even more than her girls, so I’d like to think that happened for her and some good came out of her wrong doing.
7. Were there any particular quotes that stood out to you? Why?
Nikki: There are so many quotes to choose from. I could pick ones that show Jase being all swoony but I’m going to go with the best interaction between George, Sam and Jase. It just stood out the best to me. It showed the humor that this book possessed.
“Is Jase already gonna marry you?”
I start coughing again. “Uh, No. No, George. I’m only seventeen.” As if that’s the only reason we’re not engaged.
“I’m this many.” George holds up four, slightly grubby fingers. “But Jase is seventeen and a half. You could. Then you could live in here with him. And have a big family.”
Jase strides back into the room, of course, midway through this proposition. “George. Beat it. Discovery Channel is on.”
George backs out of the room but not before saying, “His bed’s really comfortable. And he never pees in it.”
Keira: I loved George, so I’m going with one of his as well.
“”I like eggs and bacon,” George tells me. “But” – his face clouds – “did you know that bacon is” – tears leap to his eyes – “Wilbur.””
This also made me grin.
“”You have to kiss me,” I find myself saying. “Yeah.” He leans closer. “I do.”
8. If you could smack any of the characters upside the head, who would it be and why?
Nikki: It would be a tossup between Clay Tucker or Sam’s mom, Grace. Both of them had moments worthy of smackage. Grace was the dumbest smart woman ever. And Clay was just a con artist. Both the villains of this story. And throw Nan in the mix too. She was just a horrible friend and never deserved Sam or Tim.
Keira: I agree, though, I also wanted to smack Sam’s best friend, Nan. She was a horrible friend, constantly in competition with Samantha, stealing her brother’s work, dropping Sam without a second thought. She wasn’t the most vile character, but man, she was close.
So this was basically how we were when we finished. Now we can't wait for the sequeal and Huntley's next novel.
Until next time!
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