Book: Lola And The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Published September 2011|Published by Penguin Group|237 pages|E-book from the library

Series or Stand-Alone? It’s a companion to Anna And The French Kiss…so it’s a little of both

Genre: YA Contemporary

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Stephanie Perkins’ Website

Goodreads.com Summary: In this companion novel to “Anna and the French Kiss,” two teens discover that true love may be closer than they think.

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.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Lola And The Boy Next Door.  I mean, I totally loved Anna, and there was a lot of fan-girling by the end.

I really liked it.  I think I loved the parts where Anna and St. Clair appeared the most, but there were some really funny moments throughout the book.

I loved Lola and how she went all out with her fashion.  Making a Marie Antoinette costume for her winter formal?   Seriously cool!  She’s just so quirky, and I love that about her.  But as much as I loved Lola and her costumes…take away the costumes, and Lola doesn’t seem too special.

I wasn’t a big fan of her relationship with Cricket but then again, who can live up to the aswesomeness that is Anna and Etienne?  I can’t help but compare the two, which is sort of sad, because they are different books.  But Lola and Cricket were a cute couple, and after years of liking each other (and things getting in the way) they do end up together.  I liked Cricket, but I didn’t love him…if only we saw more of Cricket, but I kind of get why we don’t see as much as we should have!

It does some a lot more light-hearted than Anna…which reminds me, it seemed like the opposite of Anna in terms of the romance.  I mean, Cricket is waiting in the wings, for Lola to be available.  Just like Anna was waiting for Etienne to be available.  Maybe I wasn’t a big fan of their relationship because I saw how she knew he liked her (and she knew she liked him) but didn’t break up with her boyfriend for a long time and just kind of strung him along.

I loved Cricket’s inventions, and they sounded super-interesting.  It seems to fit with Lola’s costumes really well.  Plus, being related to Alexander Graham Bell made his inventing really interesting.

Final Thoughts:

I wish I listened to the audiobook, instead of just reading it, but I did really like Lola.  The characters were fun and quirky, and there was an overall quirkiness that you didn’t get in Anna.  Lola gets 4 stars!