This was a nice surprise for me.It was emotional and fun read.I was hooked from the first pages and I didn't want it to end.Matt and his family and his friends were well written characters that make the story great.

This story was cute, but it REALLY felt like a rip off of Looking for Alaska by John Green. That's really all I thought after about halfway through the book, Plus being that it was written from a guy's point of view, and was very basketball-centric, it was odd that it was more of a girl book. Like I definitely couldn't see a guy reading this, but there were too many sports scenes I think for a lot of girls (including myself) to really get into it.

I must say that when I started reading this book, I had no intention of crying. I failed horribly.

At first glance, this book appears to be just another typical YA romance, but it's so much more than that. It's an honest look at a teenager's life, relationships, and the grieving process. There's romance and humor, but then something happens that changes everything.

The plot twist hit me upside the head. I didn't see it coming. I didn't read the synopsis (on purpose), so it's probably my own fault for not anticipating the heartache. But it devastated me. I wasn't expecting anything other than a funny, romantic novel. To be completely honest, I almost quit reading half way through because I thought, "I've read this story before and I know how it ends."

Turns out, I didn't know the ending and it wasn't anything like I thought it would be.

Fair warning: if you want to read this book (and you should), bring a box of tissues.

Oh, and prepare to mentally bleep out about half the book. While it's free of sexual content and violence, the cursing could make a sailor blush. F-bombs galore.

Regardless of the cursing (or maybe because of it), the voice feels authentic, like you're in the head of a real fifteen-year-old boy. Which is awesome, by the way. We don't see enough contemporary novels written from a male point of view, and this one screams BOY all the way. It has tons of basketball, pining over the girl next door, and dealing with trauma the way an introverted teenager would. That being said, girls will also enjoy this gem.

Content: Some innuendo and lots of cursing. Mostly F-bombs.

Source: I received a digital galley of this book from NetGalley.

This reminded me a little of John Green novels, and of the time I loved those. The writing is easy to get into, the plot well-paced, and I thought the in-love-with-my-best-friend trope was handled well. I would have given more stars had it been the first time I encountered (~the best friend dying twist~). Just the same, something worth picking up for a quick, heart-pinching read.

Matt Wainwright wants two things more than ever in his life: 1) for Tabby to see her as more than a friend and 2) to play varsity basketball next year. He is a quiet type but beneath the surface is a mind with a lot of things going on. What he can’t express verbally, he makes into small movies in his head. Like instead of telling her life-long and next-door bestfriend, Tabby, that he has a crush on her, Matt simply slips into romantic-movie mode and fantasizes that she is harboring the same feelings for him. Meanwhile in Reality Land, Tabby starts dating Liam: senior, popular, varsity player, all around nice guy. Matt still says nothing about his feelings but adjusts his script and role in his movie as the best friend in an unrequited love. Stupid Matt. At least he thinks he still has his other dream going for him. He trains passionately hard for it: shooting daily hoops in their driveway, practicing with his other bestfriend Trip and diligently attending JV training. All these hard work, with bits of imaginations in his mind on how good he must look sweating, like the athletes in power drink commercials.

The Goodreads blurb does not lie when it says “A Short History of the Girl Next Door” is both humorous and heart-wrenching. Humorous because obviously of how Matt’s mind works: he vaguely gives a vibe of a more tame and pure Greg Gaines from “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”. Matt has even his own Earl in the form of his other bestfriend, Trip. As for the heart-wrenching bit, I will not tell anything about it to avoid spoiling the book. Just trust me that indeed it is and there were unexpected tears involved on my part.

The book is basically Matt’s coming of age story and that I think is young adult genre in its purest form. I like it when the book depicts Matt in awkward fifteen year old situations because he is definitely not a child anymore but not an adult neither. Like when he can’t drive on his own yet so he has to take the school bus. Or when he was forced to go trick or treating by his mom in full bald eagle mama costume to match his younger brother baby bald eagle chick costume. Matt’s conflict is not really focused on him winning Tabby over (he is too passive for that) but on the general feeling of helplessness when things don’t go as scripted that it doesn’t make sense. The ultimate message of the book warms my heart: Life may seem pointless but the people we love and care about, having met them, being with them or spending time with them, is worth all the life’s meaning we are looking for.

I have one complaint though: the book has misogynistic tendencies which were left with little to no correction. I think the book is aware of the problem and made Matt felt vaguely uncomfortable that Tabby is the subject of a “boys’ locker room talk”. Matt himself was caught by Tabby with a chauvinistic ranking of all the girls in their grade, they fought about it and did not speak to each other for a while. Tabby also apprehended Matt when he made a yo mama banter with a bully but it was not sure if Matt understood why Tabby told her not to do that again. I know that it adds a realistic touch what with it narrated in first person PoV of a fifteen year old boy, but it would have been better if the book also took the opportunity to drive home an unequivocal message that misogyny is wrong and unacceptable.

It has been a while since a book has made me cry. This was a funny, sad, wonderful book!

Wow. I just...wow. A Short History of the Girl Next Door might be the next The Fault in Our Stars.

INITIAL EXCITEMENT & SUMMARY
This book was added to my TBR the minute Laura announced it. I loved the premise and then, of course, the cover once it was released. Best-friends-to-more (especially if they were childhood friends and neighbors) is one of my favorite tropes. I was even more excited when I got approved on NetGalley for it and didn’t waste much time. (I read this back in July!)

The synopsis shares that Matt has recently realized he’s in love with his best friend and neighbor, Tabby. This, of course, coincides with the time she finds an upperclassmen boyfriend instead. Matt’s still grappling with her new relationship and essentially pines after her for most of the novel. I can’t say much more, because spoiler city.

STORYTELLING & CHARACTERS
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one, because you assume the book may go two ways. Is there a happily-ever-after, where she realizes that Matt is the one for her? Or does he move on and this book isn’t considered ~romance~ at all? Well, I can’t really answer that question because spoilers. But let me tell you, it was a rough ride to get there. I did not see anything coming. And that’s all I’ll say on that.

I really liked Matt as a character. I feel like everyone’s been in his shoes before, pining over someone who isn’t interested in you. He was really honest too; being in his head was refreshing. He would think of something fucked up and then hate himself for it. We all do that. There was a lot of basketball involved that I sometimes found myself rushing through. His life was pretty much 50% thinking about Tabby and 50% thinking about basketball. He had the BEST family, with his super nice parents and adorable little brother. I wanted to group-hug them all so hard. I felt for Matt SO MUCH in the second half of the book too – When everyone was out there pretending how much they knew her, he was just sitting there knowing how close they were. I understand everyone was heartbroken but he really did know her better than anyone else did. I was so pissed when HE got somewhat kicked off the basketball team when HE got punched by Liam. Fuck right off with that. How did people not realize what he was going through? « Hide Spoiler I was bitter, jealous, and angry right along with him.

There were a few things that should have tipped me off that heartbreak was on the way. First of all, the synopsis literally has the word “heartbreaking” in it. Why did I expect some kind of cute, friends-to-more tropey goodness? That word does not equate to those feelings, Lauren. Second, the fact that the title says “short history” should imply exactly that… her history is short. UGH. « Hide Spoiler

NEGATIVES
I think part of my issue with this one is that I set my expectations at a totally different place. I don’t know what they were, exactly, but I wasn’t in the mood for something sad when I started reading. I feel betrayed by this book because I’m a dummy who didn’t really read into the synopsis as much as I should have. I can really only blame myself, but it was hard to grasp what was happening once I realized what I signed myself up for.

TL;DR?
This book is a seriously impressive debut novel! I’m so proud of Laura for agenting the shit out of this one and bringing this story into my life. It’s a quick read, but it packs an emotional punch throughout. Between the pining and the other THINGS, it’s not easy being in Matt’s head.

When I was scrolling through my NetGalley feed, looking for books to pile on top of my TBR that is weighing me down, I INSTANTLY FELL IN LOVE WITH THE COVER OF A Short History of the Girl Next Door.

I barely read the synopsis as I hit the request button, knowing that no matter what, this was a book I WANTED to read.

And so, the first shock to me when I opened it only a week after having downloaded in onto my Kindle (A new record! Alert the media! The TBR is being conquered!) was that this was told from a boy’s POV.

My Thoughts:

1. I’ve always felt like we barely hear from boys in young adult contemporaries and so I was excited to see a boy in love with his girl best friend. I think one of the last GREAT books told from a boy’s perspective that I read was Jeff Zentner’s The Serpent King, and I’ve been eagerly anticipating the next male MC contemporary that changed my world.

2. I loved the idea behind the story – The Best Friend Romance trope is my ACHILLES HEEL in plot lines and I loved the idea. I also loved the chapter names – they gave this book a dry sense of humour which I can totally appreciate, and also alluded to the title like it was a history textbook.

3. This book had a lot of sports. More specifically, it emphasized on basketball, which, believe it or not, I played competitively throughout middle school and so I really liked it being represented in a book.

4. While the story was good and the characters okay-ish, everything about this book screamed the typical uninterested vibe that you see in a typical teenage boy, which I understood but it made it HARD for me to connect with Matt, Tabby and everybody else in this book.

5. Because of the uninterested with everything vibe I got off the writing (I can’t really explain the VIBE, but it was there) A Short History, seemed boring to me but it did pick up in the end. For more that 50%, I was just reading it because I had to. I didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t the BEST THING EVER either.

A good debut, worth a one-time read for a fun way to pass your time.

I found A Short History of the Girl Next Door to be a very emotional read. This book made me laugh and cry, but still wanting to know more. The author creates a story about missed love and how it can haunt you years later. You will after reading this book, take another look at your life and the choices you made. This book deals with love, lose, grief, hope and family. A truly remarkable read that is very realistic and heartwarming.

I loved this book. Pitch perfect teen boy voice. Made me laugh out loud and cry. I was reading passages aloud to my husband. Does a good job addressing grief and different reactions to it.

I was starting to get very annoyed with Matt and how self-centered he was being, so I'm very glad for the way things unfolded!