By: Stephanie Perkins
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.
Reviews: It is official, Stephanie Perkins is one of my favorite authors. I just can't get enough of her stories. First, we had Anna and the French Kiss which was this fantastic contemporary romance novel. Now there is the companion novel Lola and the Boy Next Door. At first I had some doubts that it would not be as perfect as Anna was, well I should not have even spent a second wondering that. Lola and the Boy Next Door was even BETTER then Stephanie's first novel.
You don't have to read Anna and the French Kiss to understand Lola but I really recommend it. Seeing Anna and St. Clair again had to be one of my favorite parts of this novel. They were just so cute and happy. Yet the story is about Lola and Cricket who have to be the cutest next door couples ever. I loved how everyone in the novel had there own special talent. Lola could design anything, Cricket could invent anything. Even the secondary characters had talents, one of Lola's fathers could bake some incredible sounding pies, Cricket's sister was a Olympic bound figure skater, and even Lola's boyfriend had a band.
Now Lola as a character was head strong and didn't care what anyone else thought of her. I wish I had the guts to wear whatever I want without thinking what someone else might think. Yet, there was things about her that I just didn't really like. She did some stupid things, and I just shook my head thinking, 'Lola what are you doing?'. Yet there would not be a story with out that, and it was things that typical teenagers would do too.
Between the romance, characters and story line you just can't go wrong with Lola and the Boy Next Door. If you've read Anna, this should be the next book you pick up. I can't wait to see what Stephanie Perkins does next in her next book Isla and the Happily Ever After. Hopefully we get some more Anna, St. Clair, Lola and Cricket all in one book!
**Oh and I have to say, Stephanie Perkins comes up with the best character names ever. St. Clair, Lola, Cricket, and Isla, I wonder what she'll come up with next...
--Danielle
Yay, we loved Lola too! So glad you enjoyed it. And yeah, we can't wait for Isla.
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