Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton
First published: September 29th, 2011
Source: Bought
Pages: 338
Companion Novel:Anna and the French Kiss -
my review Goodreads Summary:
Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.
When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.
My Rating: 5.0 / 5
First thoughts:
Wow. This book is perfect. I didn't think it was possible for this to be better than Anna and the French Kiss, but it is. It's funny, cute and made me really happy while reading it. I squealed, laughed, sighed and I want to read it over and over again. Read it now, if you haven't already.
More detailed:
When I read Anna and the French Kiss a while ago, I completely fell in love with Stephanie Perkins' writing. It's flowing effortlessly and makes it so easy to devour her books in one day. Her humour is fantastic and her characters are made to love. But I was so sure that there would never be a book that could be better than Anna and the French Kiss. Until I read Lola.
Lola and the Boy Next Door had all the elements I loved in the first book, and more. Both, main characters and secondary characters are amazing. Every character that we meet is complex even though we might just encounter them a few times. I especially loved Lola's parents who finally care about what happens in their daughter's life. And of course I loved seeing Anna and St. Clair again who were just as perfect as they were in Anna and the French Kiss.
I still haven't found other books that portray the concept of first love as realistic and lovely as Stephanie Perkins' novels do. She manages to create love stories that everyone can relate to, because they're actually happening like that in real life. The character's actions and reactions are understandable and as a reader I was feeling exactly what Lola was feeling.
Cricket is a great love interest. While I always enjoy reading about the typical dangerous and brooding male YA character, I just love the guys Stephanie Perkins creates. Cricket is funny, a little bit awkward and probably the nicest guy we've ever met. And he's the perfect match for Lola who is a wonderful and unique main character and who I'd love to meet in real life.
All in all, Lola and the Boy Next Door is a perfect novel. Just reading a few pages of this made me incredibly happy and I wanted to finish it as fast as possible while never wanting this to end. Its characters and humour will stay with me for a long time and I will definitely visit this world again every now and then.
Next book in the series:
Have you read
Lola and the Boy Next Door? What did you think about it?
Carina
