Initial Impressions 6/18/15: 4.25 - 4.5 stars | This book was really, really great! I didn't totally fall in love because I had a hard time finding my rhythm in the beginning (for some reason I thought it was going to be a lot fluffier than it was) but once I finally figured out its tone and overall concept, I just loved it and couldn't stop reading! 
 I love the morals and lessons and growth in this book. They were apparent and relevant but not repetitive or stereotypical. The characters were wonderful and dynamic and even the ones that I hated, I could tell where they were coming from and how their terrible decisions were still hard ones for them. 
 Jase was obviously so adorable and I loved him and Sam... but I also so loved Tim. So much. (More than Jase? Yep) I've heard we get to read his story in THE BOY MOST LIKELY TO and I cannot waaaaaait! 
 The Garretts were wonderful and hey, what happened to Nan? I'm just excited that there are more books to keep developing the stories of these families. YES! 
 Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 6/29/15: I'm SO happy that I finally read MY LIFE NEXT DOOR! After promising to read it last summer and allowing other plans to come first, I knew I wanted to make the time to read it this year. When I heard about Penguin Teen's "The Blog Most Likely To..." promo, I knew the time was absolutely perfect to start it and yes, the stars aligned! 
 MY LIFE NEXT DOOR was actually really different than what I thought it would be -- not in a bad way, but I was expecting it to be a light and fluffy contemporary, leaning more towards the feel of ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS or ON THE FENCE. Nothing really led me to believe this aside from the cover and blurb but it was a bit hard to shake when I first started reading! I'm really glad I didn't let my preconceived notions get in the way because this was really a beautiful book. MY LIFE NEXT DOOR is less fluffy and more... I wouldn't say serious, but I guess realistic. It showed positives and negatives in a more contemplative manner and it was so much more overall than just the romance. (I mean, ANNA and ON THE FENCE handle these things too but... you know what I mean. Just totally different feel.) 
 I really loved the differences in families in this book. Samantha's mother is a senator, her family has always been well-off, and her mother is very much about maintaining appearances and status. Her mother is happy to finally have teenagers because as much as she loves her daughters, she's never been a fan of children. Their neighbors the Garretts are pretty much the opposite in every respect. The family is big, the house is messy, the atmosphere is warm, and everyone is free to be themselves, appearances be damned. It was really interesting to see what Samantha and Jase learned from each other and what their families learned from each other as well. Each family felt so real and true to themselves -- even Mrs. Reed with her need for order and tidiness -- and I loved how I could witness Samantha and Jase really discovering new things about each other and at the same time, growing themselves. 
 The romance was also so adorable. I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first because I was expecting the book to focus more on the development of the romance and the tension leading up to the two characters being together, but the focus was much different than that. MY LIFE NEXT DOOR reminded me what young love is like but it also gave me glimpses of true and unconditional love (which were not the same for me in my life but what I saw with Sam and Jase). It was so touching to see so many sides of their relationship develop and strengthen and it felt real and raw and true. 
 The friendships and family dynamics are pretty spectacular too, and not all of them turned out the way I though they would. I was so annoyed with Tim and ended up falling in love with him maybe even more than Jase?) and I really enjoyed watching Samantha's various degrees of friendships with Jase's siblings. Not everything was a happy friendship or ended as "best friends forever" but it all felt so real and touched on something that I went through in my life as well. The families felt so real and I really enjoyed that not everything had a Full House finish. Sometimes families are messy too and things don't always wrap up neatly. 
 I guess you could say that I had an idea of how MY LIFE NEXT DOOR would go but it really took me by surprise and I'm so happy that it made me feel so many different things! I would have been happy to read this as a stand alone but I'm SO excited that it has a companion now and I can't wait to read THE BOY MOST LIKELY TO!