Four Doors Down

Four Doors Down is a debut novel from Emma Doherty and is a young adult (YA) friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance. Rebecca McKenzie and Ryan Jackson grew up together, having lived their lives joined at the hip from the time they were babies. Their families have always lived just four doors down from each other and Becca and Ryan were best friends…until things changed in middle school. Ryan’s entry into varsity sports led to his eventual popularity, not just with his fellow jocks but with girls as well. Becca slowly felt like the outsider instead of the one person who knew Ryan the most, until he basically made it clear that she no longer fit in with the rest of his crowd and pushed her out of his life. Over the years, she’s found her own circle of friends led by her best friend Sam and she remained close to Jake, the one friend she still shared with Ryan. Aside from the occasional teasing and taunting and basically and obnoxiously being in her way, Becca and Ryan have become nothing more than fellow high school seniors who barely tolerate each other’s presence. But suddenly, Ryan seems to be more attentive and more persistent in getting and keeping her attention. What has changed and why is it happening now?

I’m a sucker for stories like this because there’s a lot of history that’s already there between the main characters and part of the fun is the finding out why everything went wrong and how it’ll all be resolved as the story trudges on. Flashbacks usually come in the form of separate chapters or italicized portions in the text. Here, however, the flashbacks or those moments of reminiscing are part and parcel of the text, and they tended to be rather lengthy, making me wish that the formatting had been worked out differently so that the flashbacks stand out instead of merely blend in with whatever was happening in the present. In terms of what the flashbacks consisted of, I would have wanted there to be more of the good memories that Ryan and Becca shared rather than most of them be the negative ones that involved when Becca felt bad about something Ryan said or did or how Ryan had wronged her. With the story being told exclusively by Becca, save for the epilogue which was told from Ryan’s viewpoint—and that was a whole rehashing of everything that had just happened—this would have so benefited from simply having their entire story split between the opposing points of view of the two main characters.

Becca was the poster child for cluelessness and irritatingly so. She exclusively pinned the blame of whatever irritation she was feeling on Ryan, even when the guy was trying to be genuinely nice to her, which made me wonder why the poor guy kept trying so hard. Becca was solely focused on one thing: her boyfriend Charlie, who was a selfish jerk and treated Becca like crap and yet she found it way easier to forgive him his transgressions than Ryan his…which you could actually see as Becca feeling more hurt by what Ryan did, no matter how minor, because he’s always meant more, though I’m sure she would never admit such a thing. To be honest, I saw this story as going in a completely different direction because Jake was mentioned rather prominently in the blurb, and I thought there was going to be this whole love triangle thing. This isn’t a bad thing, though, because it allowed the story to really be solely focused on what was happening between Ryan and Becca and how Becca was dealing was trying to reconcile the Ryan she once knew, the Ryan who she believed tormented her for years, and the Ryan who seemed to now want to be her friend and impossibly—right?—much more than she was expecting.

Now, for all my criticism, allow me to stress that, at the very core of this book was a sweet story of second chances. It was about wanting and needing that second shot at being the best friend that they both deserved to be and to have, as well as that new opportunity to be what they should have been all along. Becca and Ryan are teenagers on the cusp of becoming adults, so there are moments of immaturity and insecurity that lead to them acting like, well, teenagers, though I think it would be more accurate to say that they behaved like children a lot of the time. There is a, after all, a thin line between love and hate and these two were toeing that very line time and again. There’s a lot of cluing in that those around Becca help her out with and that leads to a great deal of hindsight musing and delayed epiphanies on her part. Again, I really wish that the story had given us Ryan’s POV alongside Becca’s. Maybe then it would have been far easier to understand what Ryan saw in Becca and why he persisted in sticking it out with trying to build the bridge that they both burned. Maybe for the sequel I’ll be keeping an eye on? Four Doors Down was a pretty promising debut for the author and gets three stars. ♥

Ryan and Becca were best friends living four downs away from each other until Ryan's attitude changed towards her and he wanted nothing more to do with her. Now they are approaching the end of high school and he is everywhere Becca goes, trying to get a rise out of her and tormenting her. Whilst everyone else is aware of Ryan's real intentions except Becca.

Becca is such a brat throughout this, refusing to change her opinion of Ryan despite evidence to the contrary. It is almost a holier than thou attitude but her actions are no better than his at times.

This is very much a young adult read with the drama that comes from high school and seems over the top. This was however a great read and a great introduction to Becca and Ryan to understand how they came together.

***Reviewed for LBM Book Blog***

I buddy read this book with my high school daughter. She loves YA books and while this is YA it does have some things I feel are more of adult situations. My daughter, however, is an advanced reader so I felt it wasn't over her head to read this.

It's the story of a high school senior, Becca McKenzie. She's perfectly happy with her friends, her boyfriend and doesn't need an old friend, Ryan Jackson getting in her way. However, both their mothers and mutual friends feel they should all just hang out. It turns out that Becca didn't always feel such animosity towards Ryan. Back when they were 12 they were best friends and even liked each other but Ryan being a typical teenage boy did something stupid to turn Becca away.

This is sweet story and not just for the YA fans.

Four Doors Down is a young adult contemporary romance by Emma Doherty. I had no idea when I first started (or even finished reading until I turned the next page.) that this book was going to have a sequel. I am beyond excited that there is going to be another book. I really, really hope the characters are at the same college, because that would be so much fun. Four Doors Down was a really unique read for me. I flipping loved the book. Completely. It was the kind of book that not only could I not put it down, but I would get annoyed at people for interrupting me while reading. The unique part is that I had a major beef with the main character, and yet I loved this book more than I have loved most of my reads lately.

Becca is a stubborn and completely oblivious individual. She said it best. At one point in the book she turns to Ryan and says why are you so nice to me? I’m also such a B to you. And it is 100% true. Yes, I get what Ryan did when he was 12 was very mean. I get that it wasn’t nice and that it really upset and affected Becca, but come on! It is almost 6 years after the fact and Ryan is quite obviously very interested in being in Becca’s life. And it totally obvious how genuine and nice he is. So I didn’t see why Becca wouldn’t just get over it. She is mean to Ryan pretty much from start to finish in this book. And yet, I just loved it so much. I do not know what it is about these characters or the plot, which isn’t very original or different, but Emma Doherty created pure, addictive MAGIC for me. I want to read more of Ryan and Becca right now. It is easy to love Ryan, but surprisingly I found myself liking Becca even though she was annoying. (and trust me, she is very annoying.)

If you like an ex-friends turned enemies turned something more story, you will not be able to put Four Doors Down, down. I couldn’t. When I absolutely had to put this book down to accomplish something productive in real life, I was a distracted mess. I am not even remotely joking. This book got under my skin in a big way. I loved it. Even with Becca. Trust me, Read this book. There is something very special about it.

*Disclaimer- I got a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated for my thoughts.

This book dragged on. So many characters, it was hard to get involved or invested. Both teens were just mad immature teenagers the whole entire time-typical I get it but for a romance? Not one best friend of theirs could inspire either to face their emotions. As for the main couple, I didn’t find myself actually rooting for them to be together. I didn’t get how they could be in love after the crappy way they’d treated each other through out the book, not all of it misunderstandings-just outright crappy behavior. There was no growth into each others lives that seemed consistent. Their was no character growth at all. Just constant anger issues. Especially in the heroines case. Not sure why I gave it 2 Stars. Maybe because I was able to finish it. To find out there is a sequel? No way. Not interested. What could possibly drag this story out more?

I skimmed the majority of this book after reading the first few chapters. I had to put it down allot because I wanted Ryan dead or maimed. His behavior, to me, is 100% unforgiveable. I don't care if he liked her and didn't know how to deal with that. He was a dirtbag to her, way too often, & the occassional good deed doesn't make up for it. There was too much stupidity, angst, & unforgivable behavior in this book for me to justify the good ending. I would not recommend this book to an adult, since the adult would see how horrible it was. I would definitely not recommend this to a teenager, lest they think this bedhavior is remotely appropriate.

I blame myself. There were reviews that warned me.
It starts promising right from the start with an interesting premise of your male BFF you've grown up with, ditching you for the popular peeps in junior high.
From there, the character is made whiny and delusional for the remainder of the book. And I feel like the writer takes the easy way out, when there's going to be an explanation but a character yells they're tired of talking about blah blah blah so they don't learn an important truth.

This book should be read before Four Years Later, in order to get background knowledge of these characters. Becca and Ryan have been friends forever, until they weren’t. This is the typical high school love story, which is cute and sweet. These two have a love / hate relationship.
Loved this story, and cannot wait to read the next book in this series. This author has written a flawless and beautiful story, which had me hooked and captivated throughout.

I loved the book, the only thing i would critique would be Becca not getting that Ryan truly did care about her. I mean she had opportunity after opportunity to see that. Even Jake would try to tell her without actually spelling it out for her. Apparently she needed it spelled out. That was my frusteration throughout the book . Other than that a great plot line and great characters.

The book started out okay. Both hero and heroine seemed really whiny, Becca more so. For a girl portrayed as being independent, she expected everyone else else to change for her. I don't call that being independent. Also, it seemed she was never able to remove herself from situations that caused her grief, neither was she self aware, doing the exact same thong she accused Ryan of.

This romance was so sweet!

I kept rooting for Becca to wake up and see how much Ryan was into her. Sure, he was an idiot lots of the times (which teenage guy isn't?), but I felt his frustration.

Definitely would love to catch up with them in "Four Years Later".

This was a really good book. I was very frustrated with Becca throughout this book for being so defensive. But when you stop and look at all that she had been through from her point of view, it's understandable. Highly recommend if your are looking for a high school love story.

This story is to cute. I absolutely adore Ryan and Jake. Becca I felt like throttling because of her cluelessness and ability to be so self-absorbed, but hey!, That's high school for you. The story is definitely worth checking out though.

I usually enjoy a drawn out love story... But this was a bit much... Becca was too clueless and we, the readers, weren't clueless enough. Which made everything drag. It also made the main character, Becca, look like the biggest idiot of all time. I didn't hate this book... I like the concept, even if it is overused, and I was in the mood for some fluff and that's exactly what this book was. Superficial fluff.

Waaaay too long for our naive main character to come to her senses. I don't like it when the whole premise of the book could be solved by even a little communication. Granted Ryan deserved what he got but... wow!
That being said, I couldn't put this book down, I wanted to finally see what would happen if the characters did talk.

Such a fun read! Lots of high school drama! Teenage emotions are the best! Becca and Ryan have been through a lot and it's fun watching them work through past hurt and future promises. Can't wait to see what happens next!!

I loved reading this cute book!! Ryan and Becca used to be friends but they stop being friend and fought a lot but Becca didn't realize he was jealous and he really just liked her can't wait to read book 2!!

The characters were engaging, believable, hilarious and sweet!!! Loved reading about Ryan and became and their story, can't wait for the next four years to come out and see what happens!!! Best book I've read in a while!!!!

Well written, and total chemistry between Becca and Ryan throughout the book. Had to give it 4/5 because of how many times Becca turns down offers to hang out or meet up or whatever with the "popular" kids. I mean I got it the first few times. Either don't make them ask so much or let Becca say yes more often.

A nice, easy to read ,funny and entertaining book. I think is really funny how clueless Beca is and even if it is kind of predictable what is going to happen next, the book does not get boring and you still want to finish it just to see the ending.