Sunday 1 March 2015

Review: The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark

The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark

Publishing Date: January 6, 2015
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 368 pages
Young Adult Contemporary

The Premise: Maddy and Gabe have been neighbours for as long as they can remember. Maddy has been in love with Gabe for as long as she can remember, but their relationship is strictly platonic. They are partners, but on the ice. When their coach assigns them a new skating program, Romeo & Juliet, Maddy hopes that this is the chance she can finally show Gabe how good they could be together off-ice. But Gabe is also known for his tendencies to be with girls for only two weeks and then have Maddy help in the breaking-up process. It is a story of friendship, partnership, love and family.

My overall thoughts and review: I recently received this for review and the premise of it really intrigued me from the beginning. I grew up skating when I was little and so skating in general has a special place in my heart. This book is also listed as a "Swoon Reads," so I knew it was going to be quite Swoon-worthy. My friend Lynne also told me that it was quite cute. So basically, expectations were high and Katie Van Ark did not disappoint. This is such a lovely story about falling in love. Although Maddy has been in love with Gabe forever, this story very much is about the experience of it between both Maddy and Gabe. I really enjoyed seeing the dynamic between them on-ice and off-ice. There was also the story of their parents weaved into the narrative which I felt gave the story a lot more in terms of world-building and character-building. All in all, this was a lovely young adult contemporary read that I would highly recommend for those who enjoy the books by Stephanie Perkins and Rainbow Rowell.

My rating of the book: ✮ (4/5 stars) 

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Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by Raincoast Books for consideration/review. All opinions are my own. 

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