Allison Weiser Strout’s Next Door to Happy is a poignant middle-grade novel that explores themes of friendship, family, and self-acceptance with warmth and authenticity. The story follows eleven-year-old Violet Crane, a lonely girl living with her single mother. When the Gladstone family moves in next door, Violet is drawn to their lively, close-knit household and quickly forms a bond with their daughter, deeply longing to belong to a family like theirs. But as she becomes closer to the Gladstones, Violet must navigate the delicate line between admiration and acceptance of her own life.

Strout’s writing is tender and insightful, capturing Violet’s longing and insecurities with sensitivity and nuance. Violet is a beautifully layered protagonist, whose struggles with loneliness and self-worth will resonate deeply with readers. The Gladstones are vividly portrayed, creating a realistic yet aspirational family that provides a contrast to Violet’s quieter home life. Strout skillfully balances these relationships, showing how connections with others can help us grow while also revealing the value of family in all its unique forms.

The pacing is gentle, giving space for introspective moments and character development that feel natural and heartfelt. Themes of self-discovery, acceptance, and the meaning of family add emotional depth to the story, making it relatable for young readers. Strout’s ability to portray complex emotions with clarity and compassion makes Next Door to Happy a meaningful and memorable read.

Next Door to Happy is a beautifully written exploration of family and friendship, perfect for readers navigating their own journeys of belonging and identity. Special thanks to NetGalley and to Holiday House for providing an Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review!

"Next Door to Happy" by Allison Weiser Strout is a touching and heartwarming middle-grade novel that explores themes of family, friendship, and the challenges of navigating life's ups and downs. Strout's storytelling expertise shines as she crafts a tale of resilience, understanding, and the power of human connections. The book's relatable characters and heartfelt plot create an immersive reading experience that resonates with young readers. Strout skillfully navigates the emotions of growing up, coping with change, and finding solace in unexpected places, adding depth to the narrative. "Next Door to Happy" is a poignant reminder that even during difficult times, the support of loved ones can make a significant difference, leaving readers with a sense of empathy and a warm appreciation for the importance of compassion and understanding in family dynamics.

Next Door to Happy for me had so much potential. I liked Violet and Reggie's friendship as they seemed to understand each other as well as having Mental Health representation but for me this was not enough. I felt that we were being shown that Violet's Mum had Anxiety but no background story and why were Violet's Parents being no longer together?

The same goes for Reggie why was his Mum being like a Helicopter Parent for him but for none of the other Kids got the same treatment. If this was all covered and the Page Count increased then this book would be something else and be a great conversation tool.

For all the above reasons I am giving Next Door to Happy 3 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be sharing it with my kids. The plot moves along at a good pace and the characters are believable and likeable. I know my students will enjoy this book as much as I did.

3.5 stars

I really liked this story. And how a friendship between neighbors helped both children to grow more out of their shells and help others. The only part that had me a tad confused was that someone believed something bad about Violet's mom. I didn't understand exactly why they thought she was weird. I feel like she had some kind of social anxiety disorder but it's never really explained. I did like how the story ended though.

This lovely book is about a lonely child, Violet, who has a large gregarious family move in next door. She longs to leave her quiet family and be a part of the craziness that comes with a large family with small children. The main characters, Violet and Reggie of the aforementioned large clan, form a tight bond and Violet is devastated when she overhears Reggie’s mother tell him that she may not be an appropriate friend. In the end, Violet discovers that every family is imperfect and she can love hers just the way it is. A wonderful middle grade novel that deals with family, friends, and growing up!

On a side note, as a parent of a child with food allergies I really appreciated the accurate portrayal of the use of an Epi-pen!

Many thanks to Holiday House and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The plot to this one is a bit more complex than it seems initially.. Strout doesn't shy away from showing us complicated familial relationships. But the plot is a bit scattered and the characters are fairly one note.

Unfortunately, I never got around to reading this book. I don't understand why the publisher would archive a book months before they release it.

This was really underwhelming.
The message it was trying to send was nice and I appreciate what it set out to do. But the story itself and the characters were so wholeheartedly boring, uninteresting... call it what you want. I never became engaged in the story, I never really cared for any characters or about what happened. It just tried to do a lot, and in doing those thing, it left out the part where it was supposed to tell an interesting story at the same time.

A heartwarming middle grade story that focuses on family, friendship and social themes. Violet is an only child but things change the summer the Walker Family moves in next door. Violet is also entering middle school and the emotions behind doing so is conveyed well on the pages. Violet is a likeable character, whom is facing the changes that middle school brings about herself and her friends as she compares herself and her home life to the Walker Family and thoughts and opinions of others at school. Allison Weiser Strout does a great job conveying across the pages of her story that not all is as it appears. Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

In a Nutshell: An interesting middle-grade fiction that touches several dark themes. Character development could have been better. Somehow, it fails to transition from “good” to “great”.

Story Synopsis:
Twelve year old Violet is the only child and a lonely child. Her mother is emotionally struggling and her father has recently moved out. This summer, there has been no child around to play with Violet during the school holidays. When the sociably boisterous Walker family moves in next door, Violet feels a deep desire to connect with a “real family.” The five Walker children easily accept Violet into their fold. However, a couple of weeks later, Violet discovers that Mrs. Walker isn’t happy about her presence in her children’s lives. Will Violet lose out on yet another opportunity to find friends?
The story comes to us in the first person perspective of Violet.

Given a choice between middle-grade fiction and YA fiction, I will always choose the former. Middle-grade fiction deals with so many topics, including dark ones, but without sounding narcissist. A well-written middle-grade book can bring joy even to adults and even stir up some thought-provoking questions. This book tries to do the same, but it falls a little short.

Though a quick read and a decent book, a few of the characters change stance too abruptly and the ending is a bit too rushed. The initial few chapters are excellent but then the story develops slightly too randomly. The ending was too neat. These minor flaws resulted in the book ending up much below its potential.

There are some really difficult themes covered in this story – mental health, parental separation, bullying, parental expectations, challenges of fitting in at school, gender-based expectations,… It gets pretty intense for a children’s book but I suppose the universality of such topics necessitates their existence in books meant for younger readers too. The story deals with some really tough parts of life, but it ends on a hopeful note, as children’s books should do.

I love the title as well – are the “happy” next door really happy or do they just appear to be so? However, I feel the cover is a little misleading as it doesn’t indicate the darkness inherent in the story.

The portrayal of the five Walker children and Violet was a treat. Their confusions, their playfulness, their bond – all come shining through the story. I especially love how the youngest of the lot, seven year old Chloe, was not shown in the typical cute little girl mode but as the spoilt brat with a motor-mouth. I loved her spunkiness. Violet’s first-person narrative will break your heart, at least in the first half. You can feel her loneliness ooze out of her every thought. Her friendship with Reggie Walker is nice to see, especially as there are no hackneyed remarks about boys and girls being friends and their bond comes from a shared interest and a comfortable silence in each other’s presence. It is an unusual friendship for fiction.

There are some things that are left open to interpretation. Why did Violet’s dad move out? Was it a separation or a divorce? Was her mother merely anxious or depressed? Why was Mrs. Walker helicopter-parenting only Reggie? Why was she against a few of his choices? There are many such angles the book simply skirts around without delving into. This makes the characters appear quite surface-level despite the difficulties they are going through.

Overall, it is a fair first attempt and a brave choice to attempt such a dark story for a debut children’s novel. Not sure if I can recommend it wholeheartedly, mainly because of its dark topics and ambiguous explanations.

3.5 stars.

My thanks to Holiday House and NetGalley for the DRC of “Next Door to Happy”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I loved the story, the characters and the unique way of dealing with some hard parts of life from the child’s perspective.

I feel like this book would be perfect for younger readers who can maybe feel seen and can identify with the you get characters, Violet especially, and can also learn a lot from this story, learn that not everything is always as it seems, learn a lot about anxiety, family and friendship.

About to start middle school, Violet is excited when a new family - full of children close to her age - moves in next door. She's excited to live vicariously through their big, happy family, as her family life is not as joyful or fun. Violet's mom struggles with anxiety, and her dad recently moved out, and so hanging out at the Walker's house feels like the perfect escape. Then Violet overhears a conversation between Mrs. Walker and Reggie (who is in her grade in school, but not her classes) that makes Violet question if her newfound friends really even want her around.

Over the course of this wonderfully written middle grade novel, Violet begins to figure out that family's are never perfect, friendships come in all shapes and sizes, and you're always happier by being yourself.

I really adored these characters. I liked the look at divorce and anxiety through a child's eyes. Such hard things to deal with. I loved Violet and Reggie's friendship and their adventures. This book has such depth. A great addition to our collection when it comes out.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

This was a very quick read, but was still able to complete character arcs and provide some great conflict resolution at the end. The family aspect reminded me a little bit of the Vanderbeekers series. For the most part I liked this book... school can be challenging, making friends is hard, and it's always difficult when your friends make other friends. I think all of those themes are represented really well in this book and can provide a great outlet for kids who might be experiencing similar struggles and can see themselves in the story. I think the ending did feel a bit rushed and resolved very quickly, instead of having a bit more of an established resolve arc. I also think this did read like a debut novel. There was some dialogue that felt pretty bland and some character moments or side characters that didn't feel fully fleshed out.

Overall, I thought this was a sweet story and I think that young readers who would connect with the struggles of the characters could really enjoy it.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this eBook.

Next Door to Happy by Allison Weiser Strout is not your run-of-the-mill middle-grade book. It deals with some serious issues like divorce and anxiety. I was pleasantly surprised reading this book and I would definitely love to read the future works by the author.

I thought this is a short and heartwarming middle grade story but oh boy how wrong I was.

It's about a girl named Violet who's lonely but observant of the surroundings. One day a family that have 5 kids move to her next-door and she instantly adores that family. Things were fine at first: Violet often came to the next-door to play, they invited her for dinner, etc, until someday everything begin to cracked because she overheard some conversations on the next-door.

I love that the characters are so very like children, and they're all have different personalities. And that makes the dynamics even more interesting. I love Violet and Reggie's friendship, and how understanding they are at each other. The story was thought provoking because the problem was quite complex but it's still enjoyable, I finished it in several hours. The only thing that bothered me is that the ending felt a bit rushed but I think the real middle-age who will read this won't complain.

Thank you Netgalley and Holiday House for providing this ARC!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

"Next Door to Happy" is a great book. It is a good example of how mental health can impact an entire family and just not the one experiencing the mental health struggles. It's also a great example of the struggles kids have when they start middle school, the importance of friendship, and just because someone looks like they have a good life or a perfectly happy family does not mean they really do. No family is perfect and everyone has their problems. I recommend this book to children around the ages of 9-13.

As an educator who not only deals with social anxiety, but sees it frequently in students, I really look forward to bringing copies of this book into my classroom. The first person narration successfully made it so we were able to easily experience all the worries and wishes of the lead character. I believe many students, especially those transitioning to middle school will be able to understand her journey, from struggling to build friendships to finding her courage. Without giving anything away, my only wish is that more characters would have been able to find growth through the story. I would have happily read more!