Discover The Boy Next Door

If you were to pick up The Boy Next Door and flip through it, you would immediately see that this is not your typical book. Straying from the norm, Meg Cabot has written the entire book in the form of emails. When I first heard about it, I was intrigued by the concept but had no intentions of running out to buy it. I just added it to my wish list and didn’t give it another thought. However, that changed the next day when I found myself at Barnes & Noble with the book staring me in the face. By now I was curious to see how it unfolded and since I couldn’t find anything else I wanted, I decided to give it a try.

As soon as read the first page, you’re immediately thrown into the plot. There’s nothing leading up to it, as is normal in many other books. But keep in mind, we’re not dealing with any ordinary book.

Melissa Fuller, a celebrity gossip columnist for The New York Journal with a soft spot for Winona Ryder, soon finds herself in the middle of a mystery. As she leaves for work one morning, she notices that things are amiss at Mrs. Friedlander’s, her elderly next door neighbor. The dog, a Great Dane named Paco, continues to bark, as he has done all morning, and the paper still sits outside the door. After knocking repeatedly without an answer, Mel lets herself in and discovers Mrs. Friedlander facedown on the living room floor.

Once help arrives, it becomes apparent that Mrs. Friedlander was attacked and is now in a coma. As the police launch an investigation with no leads, Mel is left to care for Paco and two felines - Tweedledum and Mr. Peepers. It doesn’t take long before they are running her life. Her work, as well as her personal life, begins to suffer and she knows there is something she must do. The only relative Mrs. Friedlander has is a nephew named Max, a famous photographer who is hard to pin down. Mel has never even seen him.

Through a bit of research and help from co-workers, Mel is able to email Max to let him know about his aunt. He responds to inform him that he’ll be there soon to take care of his aunt’s apartment while she is in the hospital. Upon hearing the news, Dolly, a co-worker, fills Mel in on the dirt about Max. He’s a womanizer who hardly stays in one spot as he travels from photo shoot to photo shoot for the likes of Sports Illustrated and Victoria’s Secret. Not to mention that self-portrait he has in the Whitney with no clothes.

To Mel, he sounds as if he’s bad news but she’s grateful that Max is on his way to help. And when he does arrive, she’s surprised to find he’s not anything like Dolly had described. In fact, he seems quite the opposite. That’s because the man who showed up isn’t Mrs. Friedlander’s nephew at all.

The real Max Friedlander is vacationing in Key West with Donald Trump’s ex, supermodel Vivica Chandler. Aunt Helen is certainly the last thing on his mind. Instead he calls in a favor from an old friend, John Trent. After repeatedly being reminded that he would be paying alimony now if it weren’t for Max, John succumbs to the demands - he agrees to pretend he’s Max.

As John moves in, he quickly wraps himself in the ongoing investigation, determined to figure out who and why someone attacked Mrs. Friedlander. He also finds himself falling for Mel, who is still clueless. Despite a few little odd things, such as “Max” asking to be called John (it’s an old nickname), Mel is smitten and the talk around the office. She has no idea that she’s really falling in love with THE John Trent of the famous, wealthy Trents. Nor does she have any idea that he’s actually a crime reporter for her newspaper’s rival, The New York Chronicle.

There are so many questions to be answered. Will Mel learn the truth? If John does come clean, will she forgive him? Will the real Max ever show up? And will Mrs. Friedlander pull through her coma? There’s only one way to find out!

Though I really did enjoy the book, there were a few minor details that bugged me. For one, there are a few characters that could have been excluded, such as various co-workers and the fiance of Mel’s best friend Nadine. They just have insignificant roles and I was left wondering why they were brought into the story to begin with. Even if they added just a tiny bit of spice, it wasn’t enough to invest any interest in them.

On the other hand, one of the things this book draws on is the perspective from different angles. Mel is definitely the main character but what I liked is that you could see the anguish from John’s view and Nadine’s fears for Mel. You’re seeing much more of the picture rather than just one side of the story.

Back to things that bothered me, there was no concept of time. You would think the emails would be dated but seeing as they weren’t, you had to rely on someone to throw you a bone in an email. Now and then someone would slip in that a month had passed or maybe three. I often found myself wondering if this relationship was moving at time warp speed or at a snail’s pace. It was a bit confusing at times.

Another thing that bugged me about the emails is that there were a few that you knew were just not realistic. For instance, Mel received an email about a three-day suspension from work. I can understand the emails about being late but a suspension? We all know that the boss would talk directly with you. Another example is the climax email. It really wouldn’t seem possible unless someone had quick reflexes. Of course you’d only understand this if you’ve read the book!

The last gripe I have is just too petty to mention. Other than a few flaws, I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read but very hard to put down. I kept telling myself one more page, just one more...twenty pages later and I was still reading.

If you’re looking for something fun and different or just a light read, than I definitely recommend The Boy Next Door.