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shadowmaster13's review against another edition
3.0
Basically I thought the book was OK but there was too much happening, Declan, the gambling, getting kicked out of school (public school too hard to find?), her dad being missing, the affairs her parents were having, and to be honest I don't know how old Jenna was supposed to be but she and her brother were ignoring the situation really well, I mean the writing was on the wall and they were twidling their thumbs wondering where in the country their Dad was.
klb72's review against another edition
3.0
Tougher than I anticipated given the light, friendly cover. Coming of age amidst poverty striking a previously wealthy family. Sassy heroine and neat friendship made this a pretty fun read despite the tough subject matter.
maree_k's review against another edition
4.0
I've read a few books by Alyssa Brugman in the past and think she is a fantastic writer. Girl Next Door seemed to me to be a bit of a departure from some of her other novels I've read, and the character of Jenna Belle took me a bit of getting used to. She's a little immature, a little annoying at times, and often confused but by the end of the novel I really empathised with her situation. The 'riches to rags' story is an interesting one, as Jenna Belle tries to navigate not only her family falling apart but the slow realisation that her once pampered life where she got everything she wanted has gone, never to return.
The novel raises some interesting questions about class (in the supposedly classless Australian society) and how those without access to even the most basic of life's necessities can be ground down by the experience. A turning point for the character of Jenna Belle in her maturity was her ability to understand, if not forgive, the violent actions of the teenaged guys at the caravan park (where Jenna Belle, her mother and brother end up staying along their descent into homelessness).
The development of Jenna Belle's character, the way she matures from annoying, self-absorbed teen into a girl who is able to look beyond the surface of things and get real insight into the way the world works, was the best part of this book for me. Brugman has a real talent for looking inside issues in a non-didactic way. This novel, like her other work, is entertaining as well as thought provoking, and the questions it raises resonate after the final sentence has been read.
Highly recommended.
The novel raises some interesting questions about class (in the supposedly classless Australian society) and how those without access to even the most basic of life's necessities can be ground down by the experience. A turning point for the character of Jenna Belle in her maturity was her ability to understand, if not forgive, the violent actions of the teenaged guys at the caravan park (where Jenna Belle, her mother and brother end up staying along their descent into homelessness).
The development of Jenna Belle's character, the way she matures from annoying, self-absorbed teen into a girl who is able to look beyond the surface of things and get real insight into the way the world works, was the best part of this book for me. Brugman has a real talent for looking inside issues in a non-didactic way. This novel, like her other work, is entertaining as well as thought provoking, and the questions it raises resonate after the final sentence has been read.
Highly recommended.
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