A Short History of The Girl Next Door - A Review

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE GIRL NEXT DOOR by Jared Reck (January 20, 2018)

This book surprised me.  I hadn't read much about it so I dove in blindly.  It is about a teenager, Matty, who is in love with his "best friend", Tabby.  She is his next door neighbor and they have grown up together.  He is a typical teenager who goes to school, plays basketball and has a little brother.  The love he feels is not reciprocated and the story centers around if or when Matty will tell Tabby what he is feeling.  Tabby soon begins dating one of Matty's basketball teammates and this complicates what happens next.  This book really dug down deep to show raw emotions and reactions. The relationship between family members was genuine and integral to the story.  I love that it had unexpected twists.  If you enjoy young adult fiction, this should be your next read.  

**I received this book from Blogging For Books for an honest review

SHOW US YOUR BOOKS - DECEMBER 2017

 I'm linking up with Steph and Jana for Show Us Your Books December/January  Edition.  I really enjoyed linking up in 2017 and can't wait to add a million more books to my To Be Read List in 2018!

Show Us Your Books

In December, I was happy to read two Christmas themed books.  Deal of a Lifetime, by Frederick Backman, was a quick but thought provoking novella.  Winter Street is the first in a 4 book series by Elin Hilderbrand.  It was honestly the first book I've ever read by her and was a great fluffy read. Three books I read were very similar in characters and tone to a Man Called Ove which I read earlier in 2017.  The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, The Story of Arthur Truluv and The Keeper of Lost Things.  I enjoyed them all but wouldn't recommend reading three of them in one month!  :)  

I was thrilled to read the 2nd in Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series, A Fatal Grace.  It was really good.  Can't wait to read The Cruelest Month; the next in the series of 13.  The Bright Hour broke my heart, but I was so uplifted by the article that Nina's husband is dating the wife (Lucy) of author Paul Kalanith's, (When Breath Becomes Air) one of my favorites from 2016.  The End We Start From I read in one sitting while visiting the Charleston, South Carolina Library.  My husband and son were at Fort Sumter and I decided to explore downtown Charleston (and a great little indie book store called Blue Bicycle Books).  On the way back to the car I realized we had parked right in front of the Charleston Public Library.  I ventured in and pick TEWSF off the shelf and enjoyed every minute of it.  Intense but very well written.

Lastly, I read two middle grade books. Counting by 7's and George.  In 2018 I am going to increase the amount of middle grade and young adult books that I read.  

I wasn't going to write anything but ended up with this long winded post. Hope I make it in before the deadline.   Happy Reading!  Pam :)