Book: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Pages: 338
How Long it took me to read? A day or so. Chick-lit if good moves along nicely :)
Plot Summary: This is the story of Lola Nolan, a truly original and quirky girl. Lola doesn't believe in fashion she believes in costume! She dresses in elaborate costumes and wigs and get-ups and lives her life dressed as one enchanting character after another. Lola's life is going great- she is being raised by her 2 loving dads and even has a rocker, older boyfriends (her dads are not too happy about it!) but Lola is happy and life is finally looking good. Enter the Bell twins moving back in next door. Calliope and Cricket, were her childhood friends turned strangers and even though it's been a couple of years since she last saw them, seeing the shy, smart and intrepid inventor Cricket Bell is making Lola's heart flutter all over again. Will Lola fall back in love with the boy next door???!!
Characters: There is Lola and she was a delight to read about. She dresses like no one else and is such an original piece, I love reading about quirky characters and Lola was super fun to read about. She was also real and not some typical teenage stereotype. She loves her family and wants them to be proud of her. She has the 'cool' boyfriend but still has doubts and insecurities.
But people, the character you'll love is Cricket Bell! Oh my God! This boy is so sweet. He is also smart. Kind. Selfless. He invents things. He is just amazing. All things a boy in a chick-lit book should be and then some.
There are also Lola's dads, her druggie birth mother, her best friend, Cricket's family and there is Anna and Etienne (I will explain in a minute but those of you who have read Anna and the French Kiss, already know.) All the secondary characters add to the story. I like books, YA or otherwise, that have meaningful secondary characters.
What I loved: The romance. The realistic portrayal of teenagers and love. There is no love at first sight crap. These are people who've known each other for a long time and know of each others flaws and issues and still fall in love, slowly and over time. Their friendship is also pretty sweet.
But more than anything else, I liked Lola and I just loved Cricket.
What I didn't: I had some issues with Lola's dads, they were a little too over-protective and involved and very, very controlling.
General Thoughts: I don't really read a lot of romance. Especially a lot of YA romance. But this book was simply amazing. Great characters and a good story. This was a great read and I haven't had a crush on a teenage boy in a while (which is a good thing obviously, since one is no longer a teen!) but Cricket Bell reminded me of being a teenager and lovestruck.
This book is a sorta companion/ second in the series but not quite. Anna and The French Kiss was the first book and Anna and her boyfriend Etienne feature in this book as well. But this book is in no way a real sequel. Anna and Etienne are merely secondary characters in this book. You don't need to have read that one to read this. I preferred this one to Anna and The French Kiss by leap and leaps.
Will you like it? Yes, I think you will.
Rating: 5/5
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