The Boy Next Door is a heart-melting YA romantic contemporary tale that tackles disability, grief and learning to start to live with your trauma, particularly in the context of changing relationships with friends, family and most importantly – yourself.

I am an incredibly character driven reader and I fell in love with Fin and Molly instantly. The trope of childhood friends to something more always hits for me. Their relationship dynamic grows so naturally, with wonderful chemistry and dialogue throughout. However what crystallised this for me was the way their relationship was formed around recovery and mutual support. It delved into some codependency at times, but this was challenged and reshaped into healthier mechanisms as the book developed.

The depiction of grief in Fin’s storyline was something that hit home for me in its rawness and the way grief reverberates through your life. Molly’s grief was tied in with her self-identity as she has this disabling event that will change her life forever. Her story of going through an acceptance of this as a facet of herself and breaking a toxic cycle with her family was poignant, heartfelt and brilliant to see.

Also, Ireland includes an author’s note at the back at the book that truly hit a chord with me. It epitomises the book’s message of love and hope against the odds, but also remains honest about life altering circumstances and how these can impact every aspect of yourself. This book will mean so much to so many people. Please pick it up.

The Boy Next Door is full of hope and love within some of the most difficult situations people can experience. It is truthful, it is considered and it is beautiful. Between this and The First Move, Ireland is carving out a quietly impactful niche of these coming of age contemporary romances with wonderful disability representation and a searing exploration of grief and loss.

This was a rather deep YA read, with main character Molly facing some serious life changes after a big event in her life and it leaves her feeling lonely, self-conscious and angry. I definitely empathised with Molly’s character and the difficulties she was going through, though she wasn’t always the easiest to like - perhaps because her teenage voice was so authentic and there was some immaturity that comes with her age. Her relationship with her mum was incredibly painful to see, and I felt so sorry for Molly living in that situation and for nobody stepping in. I never really understood, from Molly’s perspective, why her and Finbar lost touch all those years ago but I loved to see them reconnect and support each other. Finbar’s family are grieving and he’s suffering the manifestation of other people’s grief in his household as well, making his home environment difficult, but he is a warm and caring character, with a fantastic friendship with Daisy that I really enjoyed. Overall, this is an emotional read with some heavy topics but also a sweet romance between two teens finding their way back to each other and I enjoyed venturing into their world, seeing them grow, and change, and reconnect.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Boy Next Door' by Jenny Ireland.

I fell in love with Jenny Ireland when I read her debut novel 'The First Move' about chess and got hooked. To be honoured to read her latest novel, 'The Boy Next Door' early is such a blessing.

This novel follows Molly and Finbar, next door neighbours but they haven't spoken since they were like 9. Molly is gorgeous, she's popular, she has a great boyfriend. But when she ends up in hospital with a brain condition, it changes everyone's perception of her, even her own perception. You can tell her story is personal to Ireland - seeing as she was diagnosed with encephalitis.

A lot happens in this book and a lot of subjects are talked about - such as a mother who is trying to subject her daughter to disordered eating habits and the conversation of what is beauty after a medical emergency - but I felt this book was such a good book to read and I do highly recommend it.

I really liked Jenny Ireland's previous book, The First Move, and her new one is also a very good read. It follows teenagers Molly and Finbar, both of whom have some pretty serious issues to contend with. Friends when they were younger, they've apparently grown apart and haven't spoken in years, despite being neighbours. But when Molly experiences a major health trauma (a *really* major health trauma) they start to reconnect.

The story doesn't shy away from some serious issues - bereavement, serious illness, disordered eating, some fairly terrible parenting - but is never less than highly readable. I really liked the main characters and their various friends - Daisy, Sofia and Chloe - along with Fin's little sister Juno. The adults don't generally come over so well, and my jaw dropped at the attitude and behaviour of Molly's terrifying, toxic mother, who I found impossible to understand.

Great YA read - I'm far from the target audience, but I really enjoyed it.

Amazing heartfelt storytelling in this YA romance fiction. Maybe juvenile in some aspects but it is YA, primarily it is the story of a girl struggling with a brain injury and her recovery whilst falling in love with a forgotten friend, the boy next door!
These two teenagers support each other through their difficulties and learn what’s important to themselves in true coming of age style.
Whilst serious topics are covered which puts this squarely in the older YA spectrum it is still light and soft without the whole book pulling you down, it shows that through tragedy and life changing difficulties there is still life to live and happiness to be found
I received this book from NetGalley as an Arc and provided my honest review.

I loved Jenny Ireland's debut book and so I was excited to read her sophomore novel. Unfortunately, it didn't hit the same spot as her first novel but nonetheless it was a quick and enjoyable read. I enjoyed the friends to lovers element of the novel and it certainly highlights some very important topics relevant to teens (body image) and others which aren't as spoken about (brain injury).

A lovely read, which covers a lot of difficult and emotional subjects with a lot of heart. The dual narrative of Molly and Fin worked really well and I felt for both characters and the experiences they had throughout the story. Shout out to Daisy and Juno as fabulous side characters :)
Can definately see this issuing well in the library.

lovely enjoyable books, this book made me smile and i loved the build for the characters, was a really fun quick read you wont be disappointed

A special thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of this book to review.

A story about self discovery, grief and rekindling friendships.

Such a genuinely beautiful story that touches on a lot of important topics and themes.

Loved the dual perspective from both MCs.

TW: Surgery, Grief, Loss

Such a lovely read even though there are difficult topics at the forefront of the story


TW: brain surgery, grief, parent death

From the synopsis of this book I didn't expect it to be quite so serious and sad. The main female suffers from a brain injury and it impacts her life massively. While the plot was good, the pacing of the love story within it felt off, it just didn't flow naturally, it's almost as though they were forced back together and then sped into being together when in fact they hadn't spoke in years.

I'm not really sure what to feel after reading this to be honest. It's good for an easy read and for YA lovers, but comparing this to an Emily Henry book (as stated in the synopsis) is completely off.

This is my first book by Jenny Ireland but i definitely want to go back and read her debut after enjoying this one so much!

It was a recipe for perfection— ex-best friends to lovers, popular girl x loner boy, YA coming of age… what more could a girl ask for? The book was fast-paced and so easy to read, I found myself devouring this so quickly I just didn’t want to put it down and ruin the seamless momentum I had found. I adored Molly so much! I love a complex heroine, especially the popular girl who everyone misunderstands and sees as bitchy or icy, but on the she’s warm and vulnerable. I just wanted to give her the biggest hug ever after all she’d been through and protect her from the world! She was probably my favourite part of the book.

Finbar was adorable and funny, I really loved watching him come into his own throughout the story and finally rekindle his lost relationship with Molly. They just had such a pure dynamic despite all of their trauma that they had to deal with. Jenny Ireland really perfected the balance of discussing some hard hitting topics while still keeping the book fun, light-hearted and swoony.

Truly such a surprising delight!

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Penguin Random House UK for providing me with a digital copy for a honest review.

The plot was captivating, and the characters, with their well-developed personalities and compelling stories, were a testament to the author's thoughtful craftsmanship.

Let's delve into the narrative starting from the beginning. Molly, one of the central characters, beautifully portrayed the impact of parental projection of insecurities and trauma on a teenager. Her journey resonated deeply with me, as many can relate to the feeling of never doing enough and constantly striving for more.

I found Molly's transformation and growth into the best version of herself incredibly inspiring. Alongside Molly, Finbar's character, with his own traumas to navigate, added depth to the storyline. The dual point of view writing style provided a comprehensive understanding of both characters, enriching the overall storytelling experience.

This book evoked a range of emotions in me, from tears to laughter, and prompted a fresh perspective on life. It serves as a reminder to appreciate the blessings we often take for granted until faced with adversity, inviting a more profound and introspective look at our lives.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book and honestly, I wish I loved it more.

This started as another version of the 90s movie “Drive me Crazy”, but with different inciting incident.

What the summary doesn’t tell you is that this is a romance but also a novel following a character who experiences a brain injury. I can tell this is something the author has experienced based on the author’s note, so I wanted to say - any criticism of this book is never addressed to the author personally or aimed to criticise their personal experience with their recovery. I appreciate this book probably feels very personal. For this reason alone, I’d encourage you to read this book for yourself.

I found Molly’s exploration of dealing with the new reality of having a brain injury interesting and and the aspect with most depth in here.

But I didn’t love the fact that it felt like Molly only fell in love with Fin because he was the only one there for her during her recovery - their relationship progressed really quickly and I wasn’t convinced this would have ever happened if she hadn’t had her accident.

The start of the book was really difficult to get through because the writing - I almost DNFed as soon as the first 4% because of the cringy dialogue. This improved as the story progressed, but the writing continued to lack depth, both in terms of fleshing out the supporting characters or to provide more than surface level insight. The plot also lacks a lot of distinct events, so it feels the books is mainly the two main characters hanging out in their bedrooms.

There was also a subplot with controlling parent and eating disordered behaviour, which I felt could have been handled better - by the end of the book, I felt this was mostly dismissed and we never got a satisfactory conclusion to this subplot.

I do want to clarify one more thing - this was YA romance. The marketing made this confusing as I noticed one of the comp authors for this was Emily Henry and I can’t think of a more inaccurate comparison both in writing and tone.
Despite how much I love YA romances, this one was a miss for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK Children's for allowing me to read an ARC of The Boy Next Door by Jenny Ireland.

This novel follows the story of Molly and Finbar, who were childhood best friends, but lose touch, owing to miscommunication, and a tragedy which struck Fin's life. They do, however, remain next door neighbours. At a time when Molly needs support the most, Fin is there, and they find themselves rekindling their connection, again.

I loved this. It was such a sweet story, full of genuinely emotional moments. J. Ireland writes skilfully about the importance of friendship, and support, about empathy and how our kindness can transform the lives of those around us. A beautiful love story, with a really heartfelt and wonderful message to be learned by all readers.

I thought this was brilliantly done. Thoughtful, poignant and left me with a lot to think about. About brilliant read from Jenny Ireland

4.5!
After reading The First Move last year, I was enthralled with Jenny’s writing, and the stories as well as the representation that they provide.
The Boy Next Door is about becoming who you need to be, not who people want you to be, as well as second chances, particularly in the face of events that could change your life forever.
Following Molly, St Anne’s most popular girl, and Finbar, the seemingly unnoticed boy in school (the butterfly boy as he is referred to at some point), a rekindling of past friendships occur, and the kindling of something more as well.
After Molly’s accident, her life is turned upside down, and she’s unsure who she has or who she is becoming, until Finbar is reintroduced and becomes her new constant.
This story is about reminding each other, personal growth, and healing in adversity; the both find their childhood best friend in each other again, and they both heal with each others support.
A fast paced read, and it was an absolute delight. Some of the issues Jenny discusses are handled so brilliantly, balanced well with both character and story.

TW: loss of parent (pre existing), disordered eating and self image issues, traumatic health event, representation of anxiety, overly controlling parent, distant parent

I absolutely love a good best friends Love Rosie themed book. I loved this storyline and absolutely cannot wait to share a full thought and review with you all