Hardcover, 432 pagesRelease Date: August 18, 2015Published by: Dial BooksMy Life Next Door, #2Source: OwnFor fans of: Companions, Contemporary Romance, Realistic Fiction, YA
A surprising, utterly romantic companion to My Life Next Door—great for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han
Tim Mason was The Boy Most Likely To find the liquor cabinet blindfolded, need a liver transplant, and drive his car into a house
Alice Garrett was The Girl Most Likely To . . . well, not date her little brother’s baggage-burdened best friend, for starters.
For Tim, it wouldn’t be smart to fall for Alice. For Alice, nothing could be scarier than falling for Tim. But Tim has never been known for making the smart choice, and Alice is starting to wonder if the “smart” choice is always the right one. When these two crash into each other, they crash hard.
Then the unexpected consequences of Tim’s wild days come back to shock him. He finds himself in a situation that isn’t all it appears to be, that he never could have predicted . . . but maybe should have.
And Alice is caught in the middle.
Told in Tim’s and Alice’s distinctive, disarming, entirely compelling voices, this novel is for readers of The Spectacular Now, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and Paper Towns.
*MY THOUGHTS*
It took me forever to read My Life Next Door, so when I realized that there was going to be a "sequel/ companion" novel, I decided I wasn't going to wait to get to it. I pre-ordered it and as soon as it came in, I dropped everything to read it. And I'm glad I did. I see it as only a matter of time before the spoilers start rolling in.
"I've been sober nearly two months, but I have yet to go cold turkey on assolicism."
pg. 7
Tim has always been the boy who effs up. No matter what the situation was. Especially if that situation involved alcohol. As a teen he was a known alcoholic and more. Until he starts falling for Alice. Alice knows she isn't supposed to be dating someone younger than her or her brother's mixed up friend, but ever since that one incident long ago, she's thought maybe things could work. So they hesitantly try it out. But then Tim's past comes back to haunt not only him, but everyone around him and he doesn't want to put Alice in the middle.
"You don't always have to take the hard way."
pg. 75
I was so set to read another story like MLND I didn't stop to think about how screwed up Tim was in that story. If I had stopped to think about it, I would have realized this story would not be like this one. It would have a much darker tone because both Alice and Tim were darker characters than Jase and Sam. After getting over that realization I was able to enjoy the story and stop comparing this book to the last one.
"I knew you'd be that guy [...] The one who just has to do it the wrong way."
pg. 169
Ok I lied. Still comparing this one to the last one, the writing style was just as good as the last one. I found myself getting lost in the noise and chaos that surrounded the Garretts and Tim's life. I just couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I wanted to reach through and help Tim out from hurting himself and everyone around him in some way. That's how I know I like a book. When I connect with a character on this kind of level, I'm sold.
"Everyone who makes a mistake isn't doomed to be an asshole forever."
pg. 237
The only thing I feel this book was missing was the swoons. I get that there is a lot going on, (because there is A LOT going on) but at the same time, I feel that it was missing that. I know Tim and Alice aren't really the most touchy feely people, but the book just semed kind of long for there to be nothing but that one huge event happening. I would have loved to see more of them together versus them working to get it together, if that makes sense.
"This could be a mistake. [...] Nope I've made mistakes. They don't feel like this."
pg. 285
And you can't review a book about the Garretts and not talk about all the characters. It felt like I was stepping into the door of my family's home. Like they welcomed more than just Tim, but me too. George was there just being George with all his facts about everything. And there was Patsy who is growing so fast and adding more adorable words to her vocabulary. And Andy who is growing like a weed, who I hope will have the next spin off for this series. Even if it is a middle grade lol She seemed just like me when I was that age and even though I'm an adult now, I could totally relate to her. I acted that way with my older cousin and I know I annoyed the crap out of her lol All in all, it was so fin to revisit the Garrett's. I hope to do it again one day in the future.
"She's a coward, really. Bullies usually are."
pg. 296
Overall, this story was a lot darker than what I was expecting from the author of MLND. But thinking about the characters the type of places they were in, the darkness was to be expected. Revisiting the characters and falling for the same ones (Jase lol) definitely made me feel a part of their clan. I can't wait to see what else Fitzpatrick has up her sleeve.
Overall, I give this
