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The Boy Next Door (Boy #1)

by Meg Cabot (Goodreads Author)

3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 · rating details · 26,465 ratings · 1,124 reviews

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Subject: This Book

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Paperback, 374 pages

Published October 11th 2002 by Avon Trade

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Aug 20, 2008 Connie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trilogies-ish

Well it is almost 1 o'clock and I just finished this book. I couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed it! I gave it 5 stars, the definition for 5 stars is "it was amazing" and I probably wouldn't say that because I don't think you can say that chic lit is "amazing". If I had to give it a score out of 10 I would give it a 9 1/2 only a couple things bothered me, first there is swearing not much though but that always bothers me it really isn't necessary and the other thing is really stupid but the m...more

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Jan 30, 2009 Rachel Brand rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people looking for a quick, easy, fluffy read

Shelves: 2004, chick-lit

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 28, 2011 Nadine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, read-in-2011

In diesem E-Mail Roman begegnen wir Mel Fuller, Reporterin in New York, zuständig für die Klatsch-Kolumne ihrer Zeitung, ihre Nachbarin wird überfallen und sie nimmt Kontakt zu deren Neffen auf, damit er sich um ihre Katzen und ihren Hund kümmert, da Mel diese Aufgabe nicht mehr mit ihrem Job vereinbaren kann (sie ist ohnehin etwas chaotisch und ständig zu spät dran). Besagter Neffe allerdings weilt gerade mit Top-Model Vivica in der Karibik und fordert kurzerhand einen Gefallen ein, den ihm ein...more

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Jan 22, 2009 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of Shopoholic & Bridget Jones

Shelves: 2009, chicklit, romance, meg-cabot

Ok - just to warn you - This entire book is in e-mail format. Yup. 379 pages of e-mails. Truth be told - I really liked it!

So we have Mel Fuller who writes the page 10 celebrity gossip column for the NY Journal. She is late to work (for about the 50th time) because she found her neighbor lady laying face down with her dog barking like mad. She really likes her neighbor Mrs. Friedlander and feels bad for her 2 cats and dog (a great dane named Paco - who has a Great Dane in NY City?!?!) so Mel ta...more Ok - just to warn you - This entire book is in e-mail format. Yup. 379 pages of e-mails. Truth be told - I really liked it!

So we have Mel Fuller who writes the page 10 celebrity gossip column for the NY Journal. She is late to work (for about the 50th time) because she found her neighbor lady laying face down with her dog barking like mad. She really likes her neighbor Mrs. Friedlander and feels bad for her 2 cats and dog (a great dane named Paco - who has a Great Dane in NY City?!?!) so Mel takes care of the animals while Mrs. Friedlander lays in a coma. Walking the dog every morning before work causes Mel to be late ALOT and finally her friend's Nadine and Dolly help her track down Mrs. Friedlander's only living relative - her nephew Max Friedlander.

Max Friedlander is a self centered egotistical pig. He is a photographer and models - in fact he has a nude self portrait of himself hanging at a museum - and he just took off to Florida with the model Vivica to hang out in the surf and sun. No way is he coming back to NY City to take care of his old witch Aunt's animals. So he comes up with a plan. His friend John Trent owes him a huge favor from when they went to Las Vegas together and John drank a LOT and tried to marry a red-headed show girl. Max stopped John from marrying her and took him home to sober up. So John owes him a favor and Max decides to call it in.

So John agrees to pretend to be Max and to look after the 2 cats and the dog. Shouldn't be a big deal. Yeah - he has to lie to the neighbor about who he is - but so what? This is NY. He will probably just pick up the keys from the neighbor and that will be that. UH HU. Except of course that is NOT just that. The neighbor is Mel and she is a sweet little Red-head (Be still his heart) and she is super nice and she seems to like him too.

I really enjoyed this! I am sure the e-mail format would put some people off - but I thought Meg Cabot did a great job with it and I really didn't want the book to end. I thought some of the characters were over the top - but in a delightful way. I didn't find myself rolling my eyes at anyone but Vivica. And I think we are supposed to roll our eyes at her a little bit so it's all good. (less)

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Jun 19, 2008 Candy Boisvert rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Romance lovers

Recommended to Candy by: No one

Title: Boy next door
Author: Meggin Cabot
Copyright date: 2002
Publisher: HarperCollins publishers
How many pages: 374 pgs
How long it took me to read: 10 days
Category: Fiction
I learned about this book from: borrowing it from the library in the beginning of the year but not getting to read it.

This book was purchased at: G books
This book is: amusing
Other books by these authors: Princess Diaries series, Pop idol, big boned, jinx, queen of babble in the big city, size 12 is not fat, and size 14 is not f...more

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Mar 06, 2008 Samantha rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is one of Meg Cabot's Boy Series books (Every Boy's Got One and Boy Meets Girl) which are written in 21st Century epistolary style, this particular book in all email messages.

Melissa Fuller lives in New York at a small newspaper and lives next door to an older woman who has an "accident", forcing Mel to tend to her neighbor's three pets. Mel suspects foul play while the police hunt down the neighbor's only living relative, a nephew named Max. Max is too busy vacationing with a supermodel to...more

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May 07, 2008 Nila rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Sep 22, 2012 Souzan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Souzan by: Farah Hamandi

Shelves: favorites, 2012

A romantic-comedy novel in a different and unique style in writing (e-mails).When I first read the name I thought it is gonna be a "teen" story because of the word "boy" I don't know why I think it doesn't fit with the story .Because of the new way of presenting the story (the e-mails), I feel that the story misses something like I love to see some description of place of facial expressions these little details this novels lacks. But I mostly like the comedy in this novel and the plot is good ,J...more

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Nov 24, 2008 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, romance

Ah, the modern epistolary romance*! This one is conducted entirely via email and is quite charming. As with all epistolary stories, there's a certain level of incredulity that people would sit around typing all this stuff up, though every romance comes with a certain incredulity threshold so this isn't particularly an obstacle. I like the email style, in part, because it takes so much less time to write a quick little email (say an hour) than long rambling letters (staying up all night) and the...more Ah, the modern epistolary romance*! This one is conducted entirely via email and is quite charming. As with all epistolary stories, there's a certain level of incredulity that people would sit around typing all this stuff up, though every romance comes with a certain incredulity threshold so this isn't particularly an obstacle. I like the email style, in part, because it takes so much less time to write a quick little email (say an hour) than long rambling letters (staying up all night) and the book takes place over a span of -months- so you don't have to imagine that they're writing all night, every night, like, for instance, Richardson's "Pamela".

The problems I had with the email style were that A) the subject lines were frequently the first half of the first sentence of the email. That's not how I write emails, that's not how the people with whom I correspond write emails, and, quite frankly, I usually didn't read the subject line until I realized I'd missed half the sentence and had to go back; B) one of the minor characters kept overhearing the protagonist and her best friend discussing things in the bathroom (they all work together) except we, the readers, know what they were discussing because they'd just exchanged detailed emails about it. Who writes an email, writing out everything in detail, and then runs off to the bathroom to repeat all the same information? One of those two exchanges should be scarce on details, either a shorter "meet me in the bathroom so I can tell you everything" email or a bathroom conversation that doesn't bother to repeat everything all over again. Also, wouldn't you, eventually, start looking to see if any of the stalls are occupied?

But I did enjoy the story, and I believed that the characters got to know each other over a span of time and fell in love. This is as opposed to the subsequent novels :o)

*Part of me really wants to write an essay comparing modern epistolary romances to those of the late 18th century (Richardson, Burney, et al). I should possibly track down more modern examples, by other authors. (less)

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Dec 13, 2012 05kileyj rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Oct 24, 2012 Cora rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance

The Boy Next Door is a cute contemporary romance (some might categorize it as Chick Lit) written entirely in the format of email messages between characters. The main character, Mel, finds her elderly neighbor face down in her apartment after being struck in the head and left for dead. While her neighbor is in a coma, Mel starts to take care of her neighbors pets (two cats and a great dane) until she can contact the neighbor's only living relative, Max Friedlander. Max Friedlander is a world ren...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Nath rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, contemporary, read-2007, romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 4.5/5 (A-)

Although this book took me a few days to read, I really enjoyed it... which was a surprise :P See, the whole book is written in e-mail format, i.e. various ppl e-mailing each other. I didn't think I'd enjoy the format, but I did... a lot. It was such a riot to read all those e-mails. So basically, Mel's old neighbor is attacked in her appartment. Mel is a kind-hearted girl and decided to walk the Great Dane dog named Paco... but because of it, she's been getting in trouble (arriving la...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, humor, romance

It's 4:00 o'clock in the morning...the conversations go boring Naaah. My eyes are kinda droopy now, not that I have ptosis or something--my eyes are kinda tired now but my brain wants me to write a review even I know my thoughts are a little messed up, considering my body is a silently shouting: Sleep now! You bloody, abusive, self-centered.... but my brain says, LOL. NO...and I'm here now, typing my so-called review when I should have been sleeping by now and get back to this once I'm all sober...more It's 4:00 o'clock in the morning...the conversations go boring Naaah. My eyes are kinda droopy now, not that I have ptosis or something--my eyes are kinda tired now but my brain wants me to write a review even I know my thoughts are a little messed up, considering my body is a silently shouting: Sleep now! You bloody, abusive, self-centered.... but my brain says, LOL. NO...and I'm here now, typing my so-called review when I should have been sleeping by now and get back to this once I'm all sober and coherent enough to construct a sentence.

I just finished this moments ago--and I admit I actually liked it! Honestly, this was my first Meg Cabot novel that I've read (though I am very much aware that she wrote the Princess Diaries series that I've been meaning to read when I was still in High School--and now that I'm almost in one year Sabbath since I have graduated from College, I am planning on reading it one of these days) so I don't have much idea how her writing style is--but oh boy, I liked how she cleverly and creatively presented this one: in e-mail form. Melissa Fuller (everyone calls her Meg) is a gossip columnist who've been wanting to write and deliver hard news to 'The New York Journal' but she never had the opportunity. One day, she was late to work, not that it was something new, but this time she had a reasonable excuse to be late: She saw her neighbor, Mrs. Friedlander, unconscious, lying face down on her apartment. Meg called 911 and Mrs. Friedlander was rushed in the hospital but unfortunately was in coma. Meg really liked her neighbor and was worried about Mrs. Friedlander's pets (1 dog and 2 cats) so for the first few days, she took care of it but then it became demanding and her work also suffers from it--she tried to contact Mrs. Friedlander's nephew, Max Friedlander, a high-caliber photographer who's also a pompous, cold-hearted son-of-a-bitch and he wants nothing to do with his Aunt, not now that he's on a vacation with one of the drooled-over supermodel, Vivica, and he doesn't want any interruptions--but then he remembered that his Aunt might leave him huge amount of money, since she was filthy rich and he was next to kin...and in order to have that amount still secured to be given to him, he asked a favor from his former College roommate, John Trent--the very wealthy and influential family, Park Avenue, Trent--to pretend to be him (Max Friedlander) for a couple of weeks until he decides to go home--a return favor from saving John's derriere into proposing a marriage to some redheaded show girl from Vegas when they were still in College in a drunken state. John reluctantly agrees, that was, pretty much a huge favor he owed from Max. Meg and John, who pretends to be Max meet, and who would've thought that they will find something from that twisted and complicated situation they had?

It was such a light, good read. This is actually the first time I've read a full e-mail format as a form of narration and I actually appreciate it. Some people might be a little partial with this kind of format, but I ain't even mad that I liked how it was presented, though, yes, while reading this, it felt like, hmmm, how can I explain this, I think a little impersonal, considering in my mind it's an electronic mail...and you know what they say about this kind of communication, eh? But as what I've said earlier, I liked it. I have laugh-out-loud moments while I was reading this and the twist and turns--OOOH, I haven't expected that one! Meg's best friend, co-workers, parents and even John's family are hilarious! And yes, I was annoyed with Max and he deserves that kind of ending. I have enjoyed reading this...and more Meg Cabot coming through! :)(less)

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Feb 27, 2012 DuniaFriskaIndah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: love-story, recommended

Aku suka dengan novel ini. Suka bangat malah.
Awalnya memang sedikit malas dengan penampilan dalamnya yang semuanya berisi email-email dari pemain utama dan pendukung-pendukungnya.

Tapi ternyata, buku ini manis sekali dan sangat lucu.
Selera humornya Meggin Cabot dalam karakter Mel sangat lucu dan ga jayus. Satu lagi novel yang menarik perhatianku dan berhasil untuk membuat aku ketawa-ketawa sendiri sambil membaca novel ini.

Penasarankan... Mari membaca novel ini...

Aku jatuh cinta dengan Karakter J...more

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Jan 18, 2012 Rhoda Baxter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked this book up at an airport. I wasn't expecting much from it, just a light read for the journey. I LOVED it. It's written entirely in emails, which meant that the characters' voices were very strong. It was almost like a radio play - all dialogue. I spend so much time 'chatting' to people via email, that the email conversations seemed entirely natural to me. (I know other people can find it irritating).

The story has a really nice set up. The boy next door is pretending to be someone else...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Katrina Passick Lumsden rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish this one because, while there were some things I genuinely liked about the email format in which it was written, the format overall left me wanting. The story picked up, however, and I found myself not minding the email format so much. After a little while, I found myself engrossed, wanting desperately to find out who attacked the neighbor and whether or not Mel and John would get together (OK, so admittedly I knew this was an inevitability since it...more I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish this one because, while there were some things I genuinely liked about the email format in which it was written, the format overall left me wanting. The story picked up, however, and I found myself not minding the email format so much. After a little while, I found myself engrossed, wanting desperately to find out who attacked the neighbor and whether or not Mel and John would get together (OK, so admittedly I knew this was an inevitability since it's a romance novel, but it's still nice reading about those moments). I even found myself liking the main character, even though I had very little in common with her.

Mel was cool. Yes, she had that stereotypical chick vibe thing going on (obsessed with clothes and makeup, bemoaned not having found a man yet despite only being 27, etc.), but she was fiery, outspoken, funny, and stood up for herself. All of these previously respected personality traits, however, flew out the window when it was made clear that the character possessing them was completely bat shit crazy. Mel went absolutely nuts. I understand the guy lied to her, I understand she was still feeling the burn of the last time she'd been deceived, but come on. Even her best friend, finally reaching the point of wanting to strangle Mel, tells her to knock it off or she will succeed in completely chasing off an amazingly good guy who's perfect for her. I'm not saying women should tolerate lying, but sometimes there are extenuating circumstances and the falsehood (and its teller) must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and handled accordingly. Mel wants absolutely nothing to do with rational thought, however, because she's been jilted. This was when it stopped being funny for me. Up until that point, I'd found it hilarious...after that point, I just wanted to scream. As relieved as I was that people were calling Mel on her lunacy, I was also greatly disappointed that, when she told them off for trying to help her, they just shrugged their shoulders and moved on. I'm sorry, if I were trying to help a friend who was losing it, overreacting, and coming dangerously close to destroying what could perhaps be her single chance at happiness and she told me off...I would not take that too lightly. Being a supportive friend and minding my own business are personal credos of mine, but enabling "crazy bitch" behavior is definitely not my style.

On top of that, there was entirely too much conniving and nosy behavior going on in this book for me to truly enjoy it. It did, in part, add to the humor a bit, but overall it left me a little uneasy. No one really talked to each other in this book and I really respect people who know how to communicate, at least partially, with one another. So it's hard to be sympathetic toward characters with whom I hold little-to-no sympathy. That disconnect made this a hollow read for me.(less)

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Jun 03, 2011 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chicklit, ya

Another book written in email format. For adults, sort of, this time. A Meg Cabot book, who is best know for PRINCESS DIARIES books which are lame, so I thought I would pick this one up, hoping for a bit more mature. Yeah, no such luck. Yes, the characters are older, but they act like they are 13 still. And an email format doesn't make it better.

Mel's neighbor gets attacked and she now takes care of her animals, but can't anymore, so she contracts her neighbor's only relative who happens to be a...more

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Mar 19, 2011 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a recommendation from that really cool website I found a while back.Htere are several boooks by these two authors - the woman writes the part of the woman in the book and the man writes the part of the man in the books, in alternating chapters. Or maybe they write the chapters of the opposite sex... no I'm pretty sure they write their own.

Anyway, interesting way to tell a story though admittedly, it's a litle gimmicky. The authors are British and I am really beginning to enjoy British fi...more This is a recommendation from that really cool website I found a while back.Htere are several boooks by these two authors - the woman writes the part of the woman in the book and the man writes the part of the man in the books, in alternating chapters. Or maybe they write the chapters of the opposite sex... no I'm pretty sure they write their own.

Anyway, interesting way to tell a story though admittedly, it's a litle gimmicky. The authors are British and I am really beginning to enjoy British fiction... or at least British fiction of the low brow variety.

This story resonated with me because it's about two kids who are friends, then turn into high school sweethearts, then get driven apart and are reunited in their late thirties, after she's had a kid and just before he is getting married. Just like PB and me. JK, we missed everything from "high school sweethearts on". Otherwise it would be a much cooler story.

But I can totally relate to the idea of falling in love at one point in your life, at a very young age and that transforming who you are and what you turn into it. PB and I did that - it's hard to imagine how very different my life would be if we weren't together. And when you start dating so young you literally grow up together and influence who you become as adults.

Listen to me, I make it sound like we got together when we were 7.

Anyway, enough about that, this is the blog about books. So I already pretty much summarized the store (minus the drama of a father who is criminally shady and literally dies a fiery death, a glimpse at a boarding schoool for boys and a loveless marriage in between). The story is told, like I said, from alternative points of view, and also in flashback to fill in what happened to them as kids / young adults.

It's a fun read. Quick too. My only really big complaint is that the ending was *much* too abrupt for my taste. And I didn't really connect with the female lead, I was much more interested in the male lead. Hmmm.... wonder what that says about me?(less)

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Nov 07, 2010 Rachel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, fiction

The Boy Next Door is told entirely in emails between the characters. It's copy-written in 2002 so the characters all have dial-up and can't email and talk on the phone at the same time. It was pretty funny to realize how much technology has changed in just eight years. Anyway, having the story told entirely in emails made the story flow a little awkwardly at times. I definitely had to suspend reality when I found myself wondering if someone would really write an email with that much detail and j...more

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Aug 19, 2010 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novel is by the author of the very popular ‘The Princess Diaries’ books [which are published under the name Meg Cabot and are for children:]. Meggin Cabot has written several book for adults which I have read and enjoyed.

‘The Guy Next Door’ is about a gossip columnist called Melissa Fuller who works for the New York Journal. Mel [as she is known to her friends:] moved to New York from a small town in Illinois and is desperate to write ‘proper’ articles but hasn’t yet been given the chance.

M...more This novel is by the author of the very popular ‘The Princess Diaries’ books [which are published under the name Meg Cabot and are for children:]. Meggin Cabot has written several book for adults which I have read and enjoyed.

‘The Guy Next Door’ is about a gossip columnist called Melissa Fuller who works for the New York Journal. Mel [as she is known to her friends:] moved to New York from a small town in Illinois and is desperate to write ‘proper’ articles but hasn’t yet been given the chance.

Mel has never exactly been a paragon of virtue when it comes to being on time for work, but one morning she has a genuine excuse; she finds that her elderly next door neighbour has been attacked and is unconscious. Mel, being the kind-hearted soul that she is, calls an ambulance and the police, and then takes over looking after her neighbour’s two cats and rather large dog.

Finding that walking the dog every day is likely to cost her her job and that her neighbour is going to be in intensive care for quite some time, Mel tracks down her neighbour’s only living relative, womanising photographer Max Friedlander. Max has no intention of coming to New York to look after his aunt’s pets, but realises that his very wealthy aunt will probably cut him out of her will if he doesn’t return to be at her bedside and look after the animals. His solution is to call upon his old college friend John to pay back a favour. John is to pretend that he is Max, move into Max’s aunt’s apartment and look after the pets. Max is only to be contacted if his aunt comes out of her coma. The plan seems foolproof until John meets Mel, how will Mel react when she finds out that John has been fooling her?

The main problem that I have with this book is that the story is told completely in emails. Whilst this is quite original and may appeal to some people, I found that it made the book lack depth. With a good book I feel like I am ‘in’ the story; you visualise what is happening and you are engrossed. The emails made for a chatty, informative style but made me feel like I was being kept at a distance.

Another flaw with the book is its complete lack of believability. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with a little bit of escapism but this really did go over the top! Millionaires popping up all over the place, people impersonating other people, transvestite killers…. all too much!

Having said this however, this book is entertaining with likeable characters and several very funny moments. It’s certainly not badly written, even if it is a very easy read, and would probably go down very well as something to read on a beach.(less)

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Jun 11, 2010 Sarah Le rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have never read a book in all email format before, I have in chat format though. This was an interesting read from start from finish, it wasn't a book that contained morals and main ideas that should be used in life, it was just a fun read. The story takes place in New York, it is sort of that sex and city type of feel. Mel who is journalist meets Max (at least she thinks she met Max). Through-out the whole story it revolved around so call Max's and Mel's love and did I mention a murder (How j...more

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Jun 10, 2010 Victoria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 14, 2009 Lilyrose rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

To:Meg Cabot
From: Lilyrose
Subject: Guilty pleasure novels.

Dear Meg,

I've been reading ridiculously complicated books, nonfiction, biographies that have arguably been great, have taught me much, but have always required great concentration and patience. And sometimes, I need a break. I deserve it. Don't I?

Which is where you come in. Your novels are my guilty pleasures. I am an avid fan of yours, so much so that I can ever ignore your disastrous Nicola and the Viscount. This book 'The Guy/Boy Next...more

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Jun 23, 2009 Laura rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: grown-up-books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book has earned its place as my new most embarrassing book to read in public to date. I made a special point to fold the pages of this book over, hiding the cheesy cover which seemed to scream the announcement “Yes I read mindless, fluffy chicklit!” I guess I wouldn’t have been so embarrassed to be reading this book if it had not been for the general low quality of the entire concept. The Boy Next Door is a romantic story Mel, young gossip columnist for a New York newspaper, who ends up fal...more This book has earned its place as my new most embarrassing book to read in public to date. I made a special point to fold the pages of this book over, hiding the cheesy cover which seemed to scream the announcement “Yes I read mindless, fluffy chicklit!” I guess I wouldn’t have been so embarrassed to be reading this book if it had not been for the general low quality of the entire concept. The Boy Next Door is a romantic story Mel, young gossip columnist for a New York newspaper, who ends up falling in love with John, a crime reporter and all around cool guy from a wealthy family…only get this, due to totally pointless and silly circumstances, John is forced to conceal his real identity from Mel, resulting in a web of lies. Oh yeah and did I mention that the entire novel is told through emails to and from the main characters and their friends? Yup. Are you starting to understand my embarrassment in reading this book?

So there’s several problems with this book, most of which can be summed up by the statement that another reader scrawled on the title page of the copy I read from the public library: “This book is stupid.” Meg Cabot has written many young adult novels, some of which I’ve enjoyed in the same fluffy, don’t make me think kind of way that I had hoped to enjoy this one. Only, The Boy Next Door is not a YA novel. It’s sort of awkwardly in the middle. The characters are in their mid to late twenties and appear to have grown up careers, apartments, etc. They are supposed to be adults…albeit young ones. The real problem with The Boy Next Door (aside from the obvious fact that it is written in the whole email format!) is that the characters behave like teenagers. It makes little sense why grown ups, with real problems, real jobs, and real life experience, would act so silly. Even teenagers would have more sense than the characters in this book! The main problem of the book (the mistaken identity thing) isn’t the least bit plausible because any grown man like John would have cleared up the whole silly thing immediately. Almost all of the problems in this book stem from that. The characters feel very one dimensional and are either extremely stupid or extremely immature, neither of which works out to an enjoyable novel. At the same time, I did read this cover to cover, perhaps because it was the only book in my bag while I was riding the train last week or perhaps because, even though I felt insulted as a reader by this book, I ended up getting a tiny bit sucked into the inane story…just to see where it went.(less)

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Jun 15, 2009 Drebbles added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2006

Light, Funny, Enjoyable Book, February 23, 2006

When Melissa Fuller's elderly next door neighbor, Helen Friedlander, is brutally attacked and left in a coma, Mel contacts Mrs. Friedlander's nephew, Max, so he can take care of his aunt's dog and two cats. But Max, a photographer, has better things to do, like vacation with a supermodel, so, unbeknownst to Mel, he sends his cold college buddy, John Trent, to pretend that he is Max in order to stay in his aunt's good graces. John reluctantly agree...more

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Dec 02, 2008 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 29, 2013 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, library-book, epistolary

I got this from the library as I was intrigued by the email format. One of my all time favorite books - e by Matt Beaumont - uses the same technique beautifully. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy The Boy Next Door as much as e.

In a nutshell, John Trent (of the Park Avenue Trents) is asked to impersonate Max Friedlander, an irresponsible cad, so that Max can stay with his supermodel girlfriend in Key West but still seem like he cares for his hospitalized aunt and her pets. Of course John immediately f...more

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May 21, 2012 Pragya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone who wants a fun read

Shelves: 2012, own-kindle

Finally I read my first Meg Cabot Book. And surprise, surprise, I ended up liking it. Why surprise? Because I haven’t really liked my recent reads. So well…

First things first. When I clicked on this book on my Kindle, I thought I had been fooled. Why does this book look like messages/emails and messages and more messages? I didn’t buy the proper book? What did I buy? Oh my God!

Alright I will start reading and see where this goes or what book it actually is.

Hmm, ok. But isn’t this weird? Why are...more

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Dec 08, 2011 Brianna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I personally do not enjoy reading a novel written entirely out of email correspondance. However, in this case, it still got the point across and I was surprised at how I got used to this writing style after several chapters. It is also crazy to read a novel like this because in today's society, no one emails back and forth on such topics. Today, we would most likely text. But, I wouldn't want a read a novel entirely of texts either ... to each his own. Despite this writing style, I did enjoy the...more

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Sep 23, 2011 706sashaf rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 7th-grade-books

From the beginning of this book I knew I would like it. What I didn't know is that I wouldn't love it. From the beginning to the middle I was falling head over heels in love, like the characters in the book but, at the end I was completely dissatisfied. Books need an interesting ending to make the book wonderful and this one completely tricked me.

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About Meg Cabot

Librarian note: AKA Jenny Carroll (1-800-Where-R-You series), AKA Patricia Cabot (historical romance novels).

Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flun...more Librarian note: AKA Jenny Carroll (1-800-Where-R-You series), AKA Patricia Cabot (historical romance novels).

Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor. She worked various jobs to pay the rent, including a decade-long stint as the assistant manager of a 700 bed freshmen dormitory at NYU, a position she still occasionally misses.

She is now the author of nearly fifty books for both adults and teens, selling fifteen million copies worldwide, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers, most notably The Princess Diaries series, which is currently being published in over 38 countries, and was made into two hit movies by Disney. In addition, Meg wrote the Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series (on which the television series, Missing, was based), two All-American Girl books, Teen Idol, Avalon High, How to Be Popular, Pants on Fire, Jinx, a series of novels written entirely in email format (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One), a mystery series (Size 12 Is Not Fat/ Size 14 Is Not Fat Either/Big Boned), and a chick-lit series called Queen of Babble.

Meg is now writing a new children's series called Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls. Her new paranormal series, Abandon, debuts in Summer of 2011.

Meg currently divides her time between Key West, Indiana, and New York City with a primary cat (one-eyed Henrietta), various back-up cats, and her husband, who doesn't know he married a fire horse. Please don't tell him.

Series:
* Airhead
* The Princess Diaries
* Mediator
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Books by Meg Cabot

The Princess Diaries (The Princess Diaries, #1)

All-American Girl (All-American Girl, #1)

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Trivia About The Guy Next Door

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Quotes from The Guy Next Door

“Loud ringing noises, I've discovered, upset Mr.Peepers.” — 12 people liked it

“IN THE SECOND GRADE, WHEN YOU ARE A BOY WHO LIKES A GIRL, YOU GIVE HER YOUR BEST POKEMON CARD. OR YOU PULL HER HAIR. NOT HARD ENOUGH TO MAKE HER CRY, THOUGH. OR YOU CAN ASK TO HER ROLLERSKATE BACKWARDS WITH YOU, AND THEN HOLD HER HAND SO SHE DOESN'T FALL DOWN.” — 8 people liked it

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