Monday, July 16, 2012

Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Synopsis (Goodreads):
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 Thoughts: You know how some books totally hit the spot? That was Lola for me. I loved it. I loved Cricket. I loved Lola's wigs and her costumes. I loved that Lola was so irrepressibly Lola. I loved that we got to see Anna and St. Clair again. I loved all these little things and they added up to make me ridiculously happy. To the point where even though I loved how the book ended and I loved where the characters ended, I wanted more. I want to see the next phase of Cricket and Lola. I want!

I'm not going to lie, I had expectations going into this book. I loved Anna's story and I was very excited to dive into this book. But... but... I kept thinking that I loved Anna so much that there was no way Lola could live up to her. I had fears, guys. Fears! And yet those fears were unfounded. While Lola's story wasn't quite as effortlessly charming as Anna's, it still captured me and kept me enthralled.

One of the things that I wasn't enamored of was Lola's boyfriend, Max. I didn't like him. Besides the age difference (which at their age is HUGE), I just... wanted him gone. But at the same time, Lola's story wouldn't have been half as poignant if she had dropped Max like a hot potato and fallen into Cricket's arms. The buildup was slow and lovely and Max's interference in it was part of that.

Stephanie Perkins has done at outstanding job of creating characters that shine through their awkwardness. She writes people that I want to know. And she made them so ridiculously real. I'm eagerly waiting for Isla's story now so that I can be dazzled once again.

Books in this series
1. Anna and the French Kiss
2. Lola and the Boy Next Door - Hardcover | Kindle
3. Isla and the Happily Ever After

Author Links
| Website | Twitter | Amazon |

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

22 comments:

  1. Exactly! "shine through their awkwardness" and "people I want to know" and "real"

    I just loved Lola's physical outward personality display. I wish I were more bold. Cricket won me over from the beginning.

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    1. Cricket was full of awesome. I kinda <3-ed him.

      I had so much fun with this book. Reading my review makes me want to read the book all over again. Stephanie Perkins, you have captivated me!

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  2. I read "Anna..." and I loved it and everytime I read another Review from Lola I want to run and read it :))) Lovely Review°!

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    1. It's so sweet and it made me feel good. I want more! MORE!

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  3. I just got through reading both of your reviews! I am so glad that you both enjoyed it so much! I love when a book series does that too you :)

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    1. We read the book in tandem and we were seriously all "What page are you on? I HAVE SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT!!!!" in our emails to one another. Lol! It was great!

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  4. You just upped my excitement about this book!! Our mutual budster, Amanda got me this book as a RAK and I'm going to get started once I catch up on some review reading!

    I'm not usually into Contemporary YA but Stephanie Perkins made a fan of me with Anna & St. Clair and from what I'm reading, Lola & Cricket will NOT disappoint :)

    ♥Isalys / Book Soulmates

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    1. Amanda is awesome like that! I hope you like it. I was a little scared that Stephanie Perkins wouldn't be able to capture the lightheartedness of Anna's book again but I LOVED LOLA AND CRICKET!

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  5. Hi Kelly! I loved this, too. Lola and Cricket are so cute. I didn't like the whole Max storyline either, and just as I was sort of getting to like him the bad ending soured the read a bit. I guess the other part was you know she is not going to be with Max anyway. I really enjoyed her dads and everything else. I can't wait to read the final companion book!

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    1. It's all about the journey, right? Lola and Cricket wouldn't have been so wonderful without all the roadblocks thrown into their way. I am beyond ready for Isla's book! Yay!

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  6. So glad you loved this one! I really enjoyed this one more than Anna's story so Lola and Cricket will always be on top for me because I was actually disappointed while reading Anna. I know so many people rave about Perkin's writing but I didn't really get that feeling until reading about Lola.

    Thanks for the awesome review. I know I can't wait for the next Perkin's book to come out next year.

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    1. I think her writing is so FUN. I come away from these books feeling good. I like feeling good.

      I'm very excited for book 3! I can't wait to see what she does with it!

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  7. I think it's scary our reviews are so similar when we didn't even see each other's reviews.

    TWINSIES.

    Is it time for Isla's book yet?

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    1. TWINSIES!

      Isla doesn't come out until 2013. Booooooo! I want it now!

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    2. We'll just write our own stories until then. I think that's a reasonable solution, yes?

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  8. lol I loved this book too! also, I just posted my review of this today too. What a coincidence! Check it out if you get a chance! I couldn't stop gushing about it either

    Ning @ Reading by Kindle Fire

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    1. SO FUN! I just love Stephanie Perkins' writing! <3 <3 <3

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  9. I loved it too! Lola was so over the top, and yet I felt like she might be someone I know, all at the same time. And Cricket... sigh. love him.

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  10. I finally read this one a few months ago. I thought it was fun and cute.

    Mad Scientist @ Steampunkery & Book Reviews

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    1. Exactly. Both fun and cute and it made me feel good. WIN!

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