Summary: In THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, two teens are forced to make some very grown-up decisions when one of them is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Sixteen year old Samantha has been best friends with seventeen year old Jesse since she moved into the New York high-rise apartment next door to his thirteen years ago. Jesse is their school's poster child for popularity: good-looking, a star athlete, even Romeo in the school play. On opening night he collapses on stage. That's when doctors discover the unthinkable: a tumor on his spine. His type of cancer is virtually incurable – 97% of those diagnosed die within ten months. Jesse shuts down, refusing to see most of his friends. He submits to treatments of chemo and radiation, but he doesn't possess hope. Sam is the one person he’ll talk to. He convinces his mom to let her sleep in another bed in his room, saying he's afraid to die alone. That’s when Jess and Sam make a startling, bittersweet discovery: they’ve been in love all along. THE GIRL NEXT DOOR addresses the universal question: In an unpredictable world, how can we possibly feel safe?
My Thoughts: I always tend to like these kind of stories. When I first saw this one in people's mailbox posts, I automatically knew I had to read this. It reminded me a bit of His Eyes by Renee Carter which I really loved. We meet Jesse and Sam. They grew up with each other and have been best friends since they were little kids. Jesse had another friend Pete and a girlfriend Cindy. Than he got sick and things went downhill fast. He was diagnosed with cancer and the only one he could stand to be around was Sam, because Sam really knew him and they had always been around each other. Sam started to stay with him all the time, even staying the night. Jesse started going through treatments while Sam stood by him.
Jesse and Sam started to get closer and closer, and became more than friends.
I won't spoil this novel but I just want to say a few things. First off, when someone gets sick, its hard. Jesse was going through so much pain, but so was Sam. They both knew he was going to die and all that they had was time. Time to spend with each other and try to enjoy their last moments together.Second, there were so many times I wanted to cry, and so many times I felt proud of both Jesse and Sam for being so strong. If you want to find out what happens, read the book.
Overall: Really liked it. I especially Jesse and Sam's first time. Thats about how it goes too! Really good book!
Cover: I've seen two different versions of the cover but they are both cool.
What I'd Give It:
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1 comment:
Great review- I totally agree. This was such a powerful, emotional book. And.. yes... their first time was so true. =)
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