Tuesday 14 August 2012

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton Books
Published: 29th September 2011
Pages: 338
Synopsis:
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.

Review:
God, how is it possible to love a book so much that you cannot wait to read it but don't want it to end?

Another flawlessly written, perfectly awkward romance with characters that you can't help but adore. Lola was just incredible, the girl I would love to be if I was brave enough. She was funny, adorable, an amazing dress sense, and let's not forget in love with two boys. As a general rule, I don't like books with hard break-ups in them simply because I am a romantic. And even though it was obvious Lola did love Max, I liked how their relationship was not portrayed as perfect. Not just the age gap, but his attitude towards her costumes and her friends and her parents. As a girl in love, she was blind to his flaws until they were pointed out to her a moment of harsh reality. But this made it easier to at least understand their break up, although I did tear up a little - Lola was so hurt and Max was such a... bad word!

Anyway, let's move on from the failed and onto the brilliant: Cricket. I loved how Miss Perkins didn't spill their history all in one go: that would have been boring and we needed to understand Lola a little bit before we could poke around in her past. Cricket himself was an ingenious inventor, quirky and adorable with his doodles on his hands and his almost lanky height. His twin sister was quite fascinating as a character, proud and confident, caring and very protective of her brother but grudgingly willing to give Lola a chance once she proved herself.

Oh, how could I forget? I loved the reintroduction of Anna and St.Clair. Love to see the love is still there after the 'happily ever after'. Hey, romantic, remember? They were very much still in love, but equally realistically planning their future. Their relationship was a good solid reminder for Lola, to aim for true love and be real to herself, all that stuff.

Realistically portraying the differences between ideal and real love, Lola and Cricket made an adorable couple that made me annoyed with Lola that it took her so long to realise it! But at least she made the right decision in the end. Miss Perkins has got herself another fangirl!

4 comments:

  1. I read Anna and the french kiss and then saw that this was the sequel to it. Truthfully I wanted to read it but it wasn't high up on my priority list :p having now read your interesting review, it has definitely climbed the ranks!! :)

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  2. God, I love Stephanie Perkins. Bring on Isla and the Happily Ever After!

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  3. A great review. I loved Anna so much one of the reasons I haven't picked this up yet is I was worried I wouldn't like it as much, but after reading this I can tell I'm gonna love it.

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  4. Glad you loved this one because I loved it too!! I completely agree about liking how realistically Stephanie Perkins approached the situation of Lola and her relationship with Max. I know a few reviewers disliked how naive Lola was in the relationship, but I appreciated that the girl has her flaws, like we all do, and willingly cut her some slack for that. So excited for Isla!

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