The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot

Book Blurb

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My Review
This book was recommended to me by my sister Clare.  It was so cute!  It was fun and light-hearted.   I was entertained from start to finish, and really enjoyed how Cabot told the story through e-mails from character to character.


Characters
The characters are all cute- that's the best word I can think of to describe them.  It doesn't deviate too far from what you'd expect from a romantic girl-meets-boy story in terms of characterization.  Mel is sweet, kind-hearted, and funny.  John is family-oriented, loyal, and charming. I rooted for both of them as I read. All of the minor characters are equally likeable.


Plot
Again, I thought the way the story was told through e-mails was clever and enjoyable.  It gave the book a different feel, even though the story falls into a typical romantic novel schema.  I enjoyed the fact that there was no over-written sex scenes- it was light and fun all the way through.  


Relationship
I loved Mel and John, and it was so fun to hear about their developing feelings through emails to family and friends.  They had the normal miscues of a new relationship, and one extremely not-normal identity issue that served as the conflict for the story.


Overall
It was a fun read, easily read in one sitting.  It wouldn't be a book I would ever pick up to re-read, but it was good the first time around.  As I look over the review, the words "light", "cute", and "fun" keep showing up.  So- overall it was light, cute, and fun, and I give it 4 stars!