"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?
A transporting debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another.
My Thoughts:
This is a BEAUTIFUL story! Fitzpatrick did a phenomenal job with all aspects of this story! I was definitely able to relate to certain characters of this story and I loved that.
We've got 2 completely different families and 2 different worlds.
Samantha Reed, our protagonist, appears to have it all a successful mother, perfect grades, a wonderful best friend and her she keeps herself busy with jobs she doesn't really need. The Reeds are all about appearance, who have the perfectly clean house down to the perfectly made ice cubes that have mint leaves in them. So why does Samantha sit on her roof for YEARS watching their next door neighbors family? They are everything the Reeds are not...
The Garretts are a BIG family (something I relate to being #5 of 8 children-all from same parents who are still together). Their house is loud, messy, and full of life. Samantha's mom does everything she can to separate themselves from the Garretts because she can't stand "those" kinds of people. I absolutely fell in love with the Garretts because they are everything a family should be. The authrod did a fantastic job making each family member personalities different and yet be able to see that regardless of their differences they were the same and came from the same family who loved and supported each other. It was so much fun to be a fly on the wall and watch this all unfold.
When, after so many years of watching this family, Jase joins Samantha on the roof one night and from that point on the separation that Ms. Reed tried so desperately do put up starts to crumble. Especially when Samantha and Jase get together.
This story is about family, love, finding one's self and practicing what you preach, it's about morals, and where do you stand when life makes you decide where your loyalties really lie. It was wonderful.
Overall: I would LOVE to recommend this book, but sadly, there are language and talk that I would find inappropriate for younger audiences...
Language: HEAVY (lots of F words)
Violence: mild
Drugs/Alcohol: moderate (one of Samantha's friends talks about getting drunk and high A LOT)
Sexual Content: moderate (there is talk about sex, there are make out scenes with clothes coming off, there is knowledge that characters had sex)
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