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A Short History of the Girl Next Door
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
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Editor reviews
Editors Select, September 2017
Cue the ugly crying. I was unprepared for the onslaught of tears as I made my way through Jared Reck’s debut novel, A Short History of the Girl Next Door. Reck is a mega-talent: He had me going from crying to laughing within seconds, and it felt like the most natural progression in the world. As a real-life high school teacher, Reck captures the voice of the characters with such commanding authenticity. It’s so easy to relate to the protagonist Matt, particularly in his most cringe-worthy moments. Narrator Mike Chamberlain is definitely best known for his nonfiction work, but his youthful tone lends itself nicely to this production. I have high hopes for this one - I can’t wait to see what our listeners think, and I can’t wait to see what Reck does next. —Katie, Audible Editor
Summary
Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, this unrequited love story will appeal to fans of Jennifer Niven, John Green, and Jesse Andrews.
Seriously, how can you see a person nearly every day of your life and never think a thing of it, then, all of a sudden, one day, it's different? You see that goofy grin a thousand times and just laugh. But goofy grin number 1,001 nearly stops your heart?
Right. That sounds like a bad movie already.
Matt Wainwright is constantly sabotaged by the overdramatic movie director in his head. He can't tell his best friend, Tabby, how he really feels about her; he implodes on the JV basketball team; and the only place he feels normal is in Mr. Ellis' English class, discussing the greatest fart scenes in literature and writing poems about pissed-off candy-cane lumberjacks.
If this were a movie, everything would work out perfectly. Tabby would discover that Matt's madly in love with her, be overcome with emotion, and fall into his arms. Maybe in the rain.
But that's not how it works. Matt watches Tabby get swept away by senior basketball star and all-around great guy Liam Branson. Losing Tabby to Branson is bad enough, but screwing up and losing her as a friend is even worse.
After a tragic accident, Matt finds himself left on the sidelines, on the verge of spiraling out of control and losing everything that matters to him.
From debut author Jared Reck comes a fiercely funny and heart-wrenching novel about love, longing, and what happens when life as you know it changes in an instant.