My Life Next Door

My Life Next Door is the first book in the ‘Stony Bay’ series by Huntley Fitzpatrick. It was initially published in 2012 and has since been republished in paperback, hardcover and eBook versions. The ‘Stony Bay’ series is continued with a companion novel titled The Boy Most Likely To, which was published in 2015 and features characters from My Life Next Door.

My Life Next Door
AuthorHuntley Fitzpatrick
LanguageEnglish
GenreYoung Adult, Romance
ISBN9780142426043
Followed byThe Boy Most Likely To 

Background and publication history

Fitzpatrick can recognise that some aspects of her characters in My Life Next Door come from the people around her, though no characters are based on any specific person. She found inspiration for this book when going about her daily life, in everyday situations like visiting the beach or shopping, where she would often find herself scribbling notes and ideas down on old receipts using her makeup. She credits a young couple who were laughing, teasing each other and taking photographs together as a main inspiration for Samantha and Jase.[1]

My Life Next Door was originally published by Dial, an imprint of Penguin Random House, on 14 June 2012 in hardback and eBook editions. The paperback was published by Speak, another imprint of Penguin Random House, almost a year later on 13 June 2013.[2] On 7 January 2016, the My Life Next Door paperback was republished by Electric Monkey, an imprint of Egmont.[3]

Plot

Samantha Reed is a 17 year old American teenager living in the fictional town of Stony Bay, Connecticut. After her father left when she was a baby, Samantha's mother, Grace, threw herself into a career in politics which leads to her being State Senator when the story begins. Due to her mother's commitment to her career, Samantha and her sister Tracy are often pressured to be perfect. As the summer begins, Tracy leaves to work in Martha's Vineyard, leaving Samantha feeling abandoned and smothered by their mother.

After having a bad meeting with Clay, her mother's new campaign manager and boyfriend, Samantha retreats to her balcony where she's spent years watching her neighbours, the Garretts. As a family with eight children, Grace distanced herself and her daughters from them due to her belief that they are chaotic and irresponsible people. For Samantha however, the Garretts provided an escape from her boring, micro-managed life. Although she's spent years watching them, Samantha has never interacted with the Garretts because she doesn't want to disobey her mother. However whilst up there, Samantha meets one of the Garretts who climbs the tendrils to join her. The boy introduces himself as Jase Garrett, the third oldest child and from this point they begin growing closer as friends.

Over multiple occasions, Samantha is introduced to the other members of the Garrett family and is later asked by Mrs Garrett to babysit the younger children, to which she agrees. This results in Jase and Samantha spending more time together and their friendship soon turns into a romantic relationship.

Themes

Family

Family is heavily mentioned in this novel as we see a stark contrast between two families; the Reeds and the Garretts. On one side there is Samantha's family which is small, organised and well managed, then there is Jase's family which is large, chaotic and sometimes out-of-control. This novel displays both types of family, focusing on how the dynamics within them can differ.

Romance

First and foremost this book is categorised as a romance novel and includes elements that can be easily recognised as those of a light, summer romance. The relationship of Sam and Jase can be seen as an example of the classic first love scenario, however this novel also deals with other romantic relationships that vary in maturity and significance.

Friendship

Friendship is a smaller theme in this novel as the friendship between Sam and Nan isn't always seen as a positive one and is more or less over by the end of the book. However throughout the course of the novel the friendship between Jase and Tim grows to the extent that Tim finds a support system within Jase's family.

Loyalty

The theme of loyalty is present in this novel as the protagonist (Sam) has to choose between her mother who is guilty and her boyfriend who is struggle to support his family as a result of her mother's actions. This introduces the ideas of loyalty as it asks the question of where a person's natural loyalties should lie.

Personal growth

Throughout the course of the novel Sam struggles to make her own decisions and pull away from the person her mother is trying to make her be to become herself. Her relationship with Jase helps her grow into a person that is more aware of the world and less reluctant to make mistakes. By the end of the novel she is more concerned with doing what she believes is right rather than what she thinks is expected of her.

Critical reception

The hardcover edition of My Life Next Door has a lifetime sales figure of 289 units in the United Kingdom,[4] whereas the paperback edition has a lifetime sales figure of 2407 units in the United Kingdom.[5] The republished paperback edition from Electric Monkey has a lifetime sales figure of 8601 units in the United Kingdom.[5]

My Life Next Door has been described by Publisher's Weekly as a book that ‘captures the intensity of first love, the corrupting forces of power, and the losses suffered by innocent victims caught in a web of political deceit’.[6] My Life Next Door was described as a ‘summer romance with depth’ by the Boston Globe,[7] and Kirkus Reviews dotes the book ‘an almost perfect summer romance[8]’. It was also included on a list by Lauren Morrill, another YA author, who attributes it as one of five books which inspired her to write her own novels.[9]

Awards

  • 2012 Publishers Weekly - Starred Review (*) [6]
  • 2013 Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers - Young Adult (Nominee)[10]
  • 2013 Rita Award - First Book (Finalist)[11]
  • 2013 American Library Association - Best Fiction for Young Adults (Winner)[12]
  • 2014 Nevada Young Readers' Award - Young Adult (Nominee)[13]
  • 2015 Sequoyah Book Award - High School (Nominee)[14]

Translations

Translations
Language Title Publisher Format Publication Date
Russian Моя жизнь по соседству Рипол Классик Hardcover 2017
Russian Моя жизнь по соседству Рипол Классик eBook 2018
French Stony Bay Beach - Sam & Jase Nathan Paperback 18 January 2018
Italian Quello che c'è tra noi De Agostini Paperback 20 June 2017
Italian Quello che c'è tra noi De Agostini Hardcover 17 June 2014
Italian Quello che c'è tra noi De Agostini eBook 17 June 2014
Turkish Çat Kapı Aşk Pegasus Yayınları Paperback 5 December 2016
Czech Můj život u sousedů CooBoo Hardcover 4 August 2014
Polish Moje zycie obok Zysk I S-ka Paperback 2016
Portuguese Minha Vida Mora ao Lado Valentina Paperback 1 November 2015
German Mein Sommer nebenan cbj Verlag Hardcover 15 April 2013
German Mein Sommer nebenan cbj Verlag eBook 9 April 2013
Lithuanian Mano gyvenimas šalia Alma littera Hardcover 2013
Spanish En la Puerta de al lado Libros de Seda Paperback 1 June 2015
Spanish En la Puerta de al lado Libros de Seda eBook 13 June 2015
Hungarian Életem a szomszédban Könyvmolyképző Paperback 2015

References

  1. "Maji Bookshelf: Summer Book Talk: Day 2 - Huntley Fitzpatrick". Maji Bookshelf. 2012-07-26. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  2. "My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  3. "My Life Next Door – Egmont". www.egmont.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  4. "My Life Next Door". Nielsen Bookscan. 16 May 2019.
  5. "My Life Next Door". Nielsen BookScan. 16 May 2019.
  6. "Children's Book Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick. Dial, $16.99 (400p) ISBN 978-0-8037-3699-3". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  7. Philpot, Chelsey (10 June 2012). "Young readers' (nonrequired) summer books list". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  8. MY LIFE NEXT DOOR by Huntley Fitzpatrick | Kirkus Reviews.
  9. "Five YA novels that inspire author Lauren Morrill". Happy Ever After. 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  10. "Past Winners/Nominees". georgiapeachaward.org. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  11. "2013 Rita Award Winners". www.fictiondb.com. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  12. "My Life Next Door | Awards & Grants". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  13. "Nevada Library Association - NYRA". nevadalibraries.org. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  14. "Sequoyah Book Awards - Oklahoma Library Association". www.oklibs.org. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
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