The Boy Next Door

by Josie Lloyd, Emlyn Rees

Fifteen years after childhood sweethearts Fred and Mickey are torn apart, they are reunited--Mickey as a single mother and owner of a small flower shop, and Fred, now a successful businessman on the verge of getting married--and rediscover what true love really is. Original.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult, Adult, London

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Rashika (is tired) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even with the bad writing style and the bland narration style, this story somehow managed to captivate me. I fell in love with this book.

I ended up buying this book on whim. The reviews hadn't been particularly hopeful and neither had the rating but I've always been a sucker for second chance romances so I ended up ordering this. At first I was sure I had made a bad choice, the writing style grated on my nerves and I was skimming some sentences. There was too much thinking and not enough doing. Both the characters sounded exactly the same to me.

Yet as I read on and started getting used to the voice I saw how brilliantly the authors had crafted these characters and their story. You could see how far along they had come from their teenager years to adulthood. They had really matured and developed and it was actually fun comparing and contrasting them to their past selves. Especially Mickey, Mickey as a teenager did not appeal to me, she was annoying and a little too 'loud'. As an adult though, with everything that life had thrown at her, she had become so mature and it didn't seem unbelievable. The authors pulled it off. The same with the pulled off Fred's character. His own internal conflict. It worked. Everything about this story worked. It was wonderful and exactly what I needed, and I am so glad I read it.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Resgatei este livrinho da estante pensando que seria uma narrativa chicklit, com amor misturado com boas doses de comédia e momentos patetas e assim preencher mais uma “casinha” do Bookbingo, cuja categoria é a de uma leitura “silly”.
Esta obra mora na minha estante há mais de quinze anos e não é a única que tenho desta parelha de autores. As outras são do mesmo género e só não escolhi nenhuma delas, porque uma é a continuação da outra. Portanto, quando fiz as escolhas para a maratona do Bookbingo, percorri as estantes na esperança de encontrar alguma obra que fosse levezinha, cómica e “silly” e detive-me em O jovem da porta ao lado, recordando escassos pormenores de uma leitura agradável e que, presumia eu, seria adequada para a categoria em questão para a maratona.
Dei-me rapidamente conta de que tinha feito uma escolha errada. A narrativa conta-nos a história de dois jovens que foram o melhor amigo um do outro enquanto crianças e que essa amizade acabou transformando-se num grande amor juvenil. Contudo, um acontecimento muito doloroso fez com que seguissem caminhos separados. Quinze anos depois, Fred e Mickey encontram-se casualmente numa casa de brinquedos e compreendem que o amor que os uniu em jovens esteve apenas adormecido e que bastou uma breve troca de olhares e frases de circunstância para que relembrassem a cumplicidade e a força de um amor que parecia indestrutível e capaz de derrubar todo o tipo de barreiras.
Admito que hoje em dia não me puxam este género de leituras. Também se passaram quinze anos na minha vida que fizeram com que os meus gostos de leitora fossem mudando e moldando a uma evidente maturidade e exigência. Porém, não posso negar que o meu lado romântico continua a ocupar um lugarzinho especial em mim e que não fico indiferente a histórias de amores entre jovens e menos jovens. Por isso, as páginas de O jovem da porta ao lado foram passando com velocidade pelos meus dedos e deixei-me envolver pela narrativa bipartida, com capítulos alternadamente narrados por Fred e Mickey, e acolhi com muito carinho estas duas personagens, a determinação e coragem de Mickey, o seu lado protetor que a leva a lutar e a “embalar” aqueles a quem mais ama, a timidez e desamparo de Fred, o sofrimento que o acompanha desde miúdo e, acima de tudo, os laços indissolúveis que os mantêm ligados, mesmo estando separados durante tanto tempo.
É verdade que não preenchi nenhuma categoria do Bookbingo com esta leitura. É igualmente verdade que a mesma não me trouxe nada de novo, que a sua história é lamechas, previsível quanto baste, mas não posso considerá-la uma perda de tempo. Encheu-me estes dias veraneios de sorrisos bobos, de cores alegres e de muitos corações brilhantes e isso às vezes é suficiente.
Apesar de saber que muito dificilmente a encontrarão à venda (nem aparece na WOOK), recomendo-a para quem tropeçar nela numa biblioteca municipal ou num alfarrabista. Mas preparem-se para doses consideráveis de lamechice 

NOTA – 08/10

[Nina Draganova · Rating 5 out of 5]

2022
С такова удоволствие си припомням някои любими книги. Сега ми е паднало , 10 дни четене без край.
Много късно открих презряния чиклит и изданията бяха изчерпани. Какви ли не хватки прилагах , за да ги издиря и купя. Имало е случаи , когато съм купувала много лоши копия, после намирайки по-нови , ги купувах отново. Но си имам запас за студените дни .
Това е положението, харесвам ги, пълни са интересни преживявания и емпатия. Винаги са ме интересували хората , техните постъпки и чувства. Така че ще си ги чета , докато не станат на прах.
2017
Харесвам много книгите на Джози Лойд и Емлин Рийс , поне малкото , които съм имала удоволствието да прочета.
Даже тяхната лична история е много сладка.
И докато серията "Заедно" е типично младежка,щура , пълна със секс, алкохол и пак секс, тази е в другия край на скалата.
Въпреки , че става дума пак за млади хора, то те вече са преживели доста разочарования и са получили много сериозни уроци от живота.
Тази книга ме върна и в моето прекрасно детство и младите ми години, които много приличат на историите на героите в нея.
Стопли сърцето ми отново.

[Dilushani Jayalath · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being the second book of that same name I’ve read, I would like to point out that I liked the other book very much. Well the other book being The Boy Next Door by Fitzpatrick, I guess it would be quite hard to reach that level. This book is a typical book about second chances. Boy and girl meet and become friends when they are kids, falls in love during their teenage years, get separated due to a huge problem the boy or the girl has to keep a secret, they meet when they are older, One of the two or both are in new relationship or one of them are going to get married but they rekindle their passion and they somehow get together. Yeah this is pretty much that. Well it’s just I’ve read so many books like that, I cannot any longer tell positive remarks on them. I hate reading repetitive story lines and unfortunately a repetitive story line this has. It was well written I guess but for me it was a bit confusing. By the end I actually started just skimming through the pages. The story didn’t interest me at all by then.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the story of Fred and Mickey but I didn't like so much that it was presented in two perspectives.It was a little bit boring to read about the same thing again and sometimes the flashbacks in time bothered me. They were confusing becasue they weren't separated in a new chapter, and the intertwisting of the present with the past made the stroy so ambiguous. I didn't like the characters so much either because I felt that they weren't so well-presented, so I didn't sympathize with them. The other thing which I didn't like was the end of the book. I loved the happy end but it was written in a slap-dash manner without any explanations and paraphrases. In conclusion I like the story and the happy ending of the book.

[Mayu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tenía tantas, pero tantas ganas de leerlo... Lo empecé con toda la ilusión del mundo, y al poco de empezar El chico de al lado, me di cuenta de que esta novela no era lo que esperaba. Josie Lloyd me defraudó profundamente. Tenía las bases para crear una bonita historia de amor, pero solo uso sus ingredientes base para explotarlos a base de drama, traiciones, y estupideces humanas.

Fue un libro con el que no conecté, sus letras me parecieron sosas, frías, insípidas, aburridas, y la historia que contaba, era al más puro estilo chick lit, unido a esas dudas enormes que torturaban a los protagonistas y jodían al lector. Los protagonistas no me gustaron nada, pero sobre todo él, porque al reencontrarse con la protagonista e ir removiéndose sentimientos en su interior, decide jugar con su "amor", pero sin romper el compromiso con su pareja. No digo que la prota no sea idiota y poco moral por acostarse con un chico comprometido, por muy amor de su infancia que fuera, pero él era más culpable.

Una novela horrible, de principio a fin. ¿Y lo curioso? Tan tonta que se olvida muy fácilmente. Mejor, eh?

[DeeTurtleReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here's the truth... I'm all for a slow-burn romance, but telling us these peoples' whole life story and making us wait until the very last page for them to find their way back to each other is inexcusable when done so, so wrongly.

I have a lot to say but I'll just cover the main parts I took notes on.
I personally don't appreciate 3 major things that happened in this book:
-Cheating on a partner (including emotionally) is NOT okay just to get your plot moving. I don't care if the person they're cheating with is their soulmate and the alleged protagonist that we're supposed to love. Ew.
-Making all the characteristics of the fiance so unlikable and irritating that you can just TELL the authors tried really hard to make us dislike her so that we would focus our adoration on the mistress instead. Basically a foil situation. So that Fred cheating on Rebecca would be justified...because she's bee-yotch? Umm..no. Amateur writing at its finest. Not cool.
-The whole idea of the fiance, Rebecca, coming out with the truth about her having cheated with his best friend right before the wedding just felt like an extremely convenient way to wrap up the marriage plot and get her out of the way before the wedding happened. Did I say convenient? I meant lazy. It felt like the authors did not know how to end the story and just needed her to be gone. This relates to the point I made above about making the fiance conveniently unlikable.

There was absolutely no agony on the part of our main male character. He wasn't torn between the 2 women. This feels like a lazy love triangle which wasn't much of a triangle to begin with as soon as sets eyes on Mickey in that toy store.
There were a lot more things that were just painful to sit through. By painful I mean I want my wasted time back.
I will not be recommending this book to anybody.

[Karen Rocelle Paelmo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a feel good and light read kind of book. And at first I find it hard to focus on the story. I feel confused and not used to the way it narrates the story. But as I reread it from the start, I slowly understand the way the story goes and how good it is. 


It tackles friendship, childhood, adulthood and regrets, love and second chances. It shows how special and deep some love is. How much it matters to be able to be you and show your true self to someone who understands, accepts and loves you rather than pretending to be someone else or to hide some part of yourselves. 


How someone mature given the circumstances in their lives. How the characters develop from being childish and immature to being an adult and being responsible. 

[Jez Keighley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not great literature, but it's a nice (mostly) well told story that had me rooting for the protagonists. I most enjoyed the split perspectives of Fred and Mickey and the dual story of present and past. We see how they got to be who they are. My doubts, some of the supporting characters are too bland and one dimensional (notably Eddie) and a couple of major issues, plot holes are skirted over.
My only real doubt is the dilemma near the end (no spoilers) is not really satisfactorily resolved.

[Megan Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I bought this book in a charity shop years ago. I first read it when I was in a very different head space to now. I’m older, but I still fall in love with these characters & this story. The copy I own is one that is part of a free gift from Cosmopolitan haha 😂

[sophie fuller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very light and cute novel about rediscovering old love and being a child again. The only negative of this book for me is the flashbacks are difficult to figure out, and you don’t realise until halfway through.

[Petra van Soldt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het begin vond ik niet zo boeiend om te lezen, het was wat langdradig. Gaandeweg het verhaal werd het leuker. Hoewel het verloop voorspelbaar is, zitten er toch wat interessante wendingen in, wat het boek prettig leesbaar maakt. Een echte feel good roman.

[Inita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stāsts par diviem cilvēkiem, kuriem bija pirmā mīlestība, bet pēc tam nelaimīgi notikumi un cilvēki viņus izšķīra. Pēc 15 gadiem nejauši viņi satiekas un viss tiek uzjundīts no jauna. Ir o.k.

[AlmuPC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aunque de final esperado me ha gustado la historia sobre todo que esté contada desde la perspectiva de los dos protagonistas.

[Carol Sandford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once this book settled I really got stuck into it. I guess it was the whole 'will he? Won't he?' that kept me reading, even if it wasn't a surprise. enjoyed reading it

[Natt · Rating 3 out of 5]

อ่านนานแล้ว
ซื้อเมื่อ 14 กุมภาพันธ์ 2547

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice book for in between reading heavier stuff. Like a romantic movie, very easy. I enjoyed it.

[Kasey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why aren’t more people talking about this book?!? ❤️❤️❤️

[Suzanne Konijnenbelt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luisterboek. Mooi verhaal over liefde, tijdlijn is goed te volgen en het einde is prachtig. Het boek krijgt 3 sterren omdat het me niet bijzonder bijblijft of een emotie bij me oproept.

[Giuli.vargiu · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for a holiday trip.

[Lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant story that nearly brought me to tears. I really felt the atmosphere that the authors created. I definite must read

[Katie Hurse · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - Yet again realised halfway through I'd already read this! But I much preferred it this time around, possibly because last time I was too young to be reading it. I really loved the dual perspective, going between past and present. I think that's probably my favourite narrative structure.

[Hella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se state cercando qualcosa di leggero ma scritto discretamente bene rispetto alla maggior parte dei romanzi d'amore che trovate in giro, un libro che metta insieme anche tanto humour e un po' di vita inglese, beh, i due autori sono quello che fa per voi.

[Saliha L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was through a scathing review of One Day—one that praised this book by comparison—that I got curious enough to pick it up. I ended up spending half a day reading it… and I’ll be sticking with One Day.

It’s not that this book lacks potential, nor does it lack endearing characters (especially the main couple). But for me, the execution drained much of the emotion the authors wanted readers to feel.

For example, the narrative format relies on alternating first-person POVs from the two main characters, Fred and Mickey. I’m not usually a fan of first-person narration, but when it’s well used, I can put that personal preference aside very quickly. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case here—due mostly to the structure.
To be clear: each chapter switches the POV between Fred and Mickey… but the chapters are far too long. So once you start itching to hear the other’s side, the current chapter drags on endlessly. Then the POV finally switches… and the same cycle of drawn-out narrative starts again. It’s exhausting.

Another major flaw: the authors’ inability to get us emotionally invested in the love story outside of flashbacks.
Let me explain. Because of the POV switching, we get a lot of flashbacks from Fred and Mickey’s perspectives, helping us understand the reasons for their separation and the long history that connects them from childhood onward—all while building suspense around the mysterious event involving Fred’s father’s death.

The problem?

Fred and Mickey as children? Completely believable.
Fred and Mickey as teenagers? Still very believable.
Fred and Mickey reconnecting at age 30? Well...

You want to believe in it—really—and for a few fleeting moments you do, when the book finally gives them some proper dialogue and depth… and then boom: another flashback.
Or worse, and in my opinion the book’s biggest flaw—the one that ruined this relationship and kept it from delivering the emotional punch that One Day gave me—is its obsession with telling instead of showing. Especially when it comes to their adult interactions, which are almost entirely replaced by poorly disguised exposition masquerading as “introspection.”

The result? No depth, just surface-level reflections. So-called introspection becomes just dry exposition, and the emotional connection never gets a chance to take root.

Which is a real shame, because the potential was absolutely there. But the format completely sanitizes the story and its characters. Instead of sticking to one POV per chapter, the authors should have let the POVs alternate within the scenes themselves. What we get instead is: scene begins, one character narrates it in an overly long internal monologue, then a flashback, then the other character picks up—and instead of giving us their actual perspective, it’s just a redundant recap of the same scene we already read. Add another flashback, and repeat. It quickly becomes tedious and flavorless.

To give you a clear example: Fred and his fiancée get way more screen time and real dialogue than Fred and Mickey as adults—despite the fact that Fred and Mickey are supposed to be soulmates, even after 15 years of separation. That alone speaks volumes about the wasted potential of their relationship.

Honestly, the chemistry is there, but it’s barely used. A few lines of dialogue and—boom—a recap. A little more dialogue after the recap and—boom—onto the next scene. Frustrating!

In conclusion: this book has a severe lack of emotional depth, a poorly executed format, and a love story that exists more in their past than in their present (even though the chemistry is clearly present but never developed). Mickey as a teen (age 15) and her friends come across more like they’re 12—except in the scene involving her almost losing her virginity—and that version doesn’t line up with how her childhood self was portrayed earlier. Overall, the book left me with a lingering sense of something unfinished. Really disappointing.

[Carla Alonso · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 /5

Dios fue malísimo, creo que desde el inicio quería que se acabara.

Okay, seré honesta no esperaba mucho si lo compre de segunda mano super abandonado pero de manera en general fue lento, repetitivo y aburrido. Esperaba mucho más del título y la portada como un romance muy vainilla cute pero meh. Thank you next.

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Koen Verbeken · Rating 4 out of 5]

In't kort: Mickey en Fred wonen in dezelfde straat, in het ingeslapen stadje Rushton, en delen alles, als beste-vrienden-voor-het-leven. Tot een dramatische gebeurtenis (die pas naar het einde toe duidelijk wordt) een abrupt einde maakt aan hun vriendschap.
Vijftien jaar later staat Fred op het punt te gaan trouwen, wanneer hij Mickey opnieuw tegen het lijf loopt. Na de initiële onwennigheid lijkt het alsof ze elkaar nooit hebben moeten missen. Het mag uiteraard wel duidelijk zijn hoe dit afloopt...
Mijn oordeel: op deze blog staat al een artikeltje over een andere roman van deze auteurs, en dit boek is van hetzelfde kaliber. Elk hoofdstuk wordt afwisselend door Fred en Mickey verteld, en daarin schuilt de kracht van het boek, eerder dan wanneer een alwetende verteller dit verhaal uit de doeken zou doen.
Het boek zweeft ook heen en weer tussen heden en verleden, en de stukken over het verleden deden me toch even stilstaan bij mijn jeugd, het kattekwaad en de prille liefdes. Was wel aangenaam.
Je moet niet erg veel diepgang verwachten, de personages zijn (behalve dan Mickey en Fred) nog dunner dan bordkarton uitgewerkt, maar toch blijft het geestig en interessant.
Het mysterie rond de reden waarom ze uit elkaar zijn gegroeid wordt netjes opgebouwd, er valt genoeg te lachen, en ook de spanning zit er goed in. Zo goed zelfs dat ik 15 pagina's voor het einde nog uitriep: 'Ze gaan echt niet meer samengeraken, onze twee helden !!'. Maar dan is er de onvermijdelijke deus ex machina...
Geen diepgravende nieuwe inzichten, wel luchtige en ontspannende kost. En dat mag af en toe ook wel een keer, zeker wanneer die dan bij elkaar is geschreven door vakmensen als Lloyd en Rees.
Eindoordeel: ****

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have this thing for romantic Brit lit. I don't know what it is, or why it happened, but I know that it started here with this book. This was the book I picked up on a whim while I was in the midst of all the classics and modern dismal depression of Required Reading in school, and it was here that I fell in love with a different sort of story.

I loved Fred and Mickey. Going between the past and present was done seamlessly and in a way that had me wanting more NOW. Why did this happen? Where did they go wrong? How did they get here? I was digging and digging right along with them and all the while I was falling for them both. I'll admit I'm a sucker for this sort of set up, rediscovering your childhood love as an adult, and it was done perfectly here with affection, humor, wit and a sigh worthy ending.

[Robyn Drummond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love when Josie and Emlyn write together! I love seeing the two sides to a relationship! The only problems I had with this story was that the chapters were long, it's silly but because I'm OCD I need shorter chapters so I can go to sleep at night! Also it would have been nice to have the past and present separate. I liked it how it was but I would have preferred that. I understand why they wrote it like they did but it's more personal preference. But the ending was so sweet and it kept me on my toes! Usually I'm good at guessing the endings and secrets. But with this one I didn't!! But I am not going to spoil it for any other readers. So you will just have to figure it out for yourself! Boom.