Lola and the Boy Next Door Review

Author: Stephanie Perkins
Release Date: September 29, 2011
Pages: 338 (HC)
Publisher: Dutton
Most Appropriate For Ages: 13+
Where I Got It: From the library

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 am such a sucker for Perkins' books. They make me so, incredibly happy it's insane.

Much as she did in Anna and the French Kiss, Perkins' creates wonderful characters with unique yet believable quirks and personalities that you can't help but adore after a only a short time. All the characters (except Max): Lola, Cricket, her dads (yep, dads, two of them, and they're awesome) Lindsey, Calliope, Cricket...

Oh, and she also knows every word a girl wants to hear. Just one sentence that Cricket says can make your heart melt.

But no, not only her characters are fantastic. Her setting, her ability to completely grab hold of your attention, her way of being profound without shoving down it your throat, the way she makes you feel everything her characters are feeling... Yes, I may be a Stephanie Perkins fangirl, what of it?

It is insane, but this author is one of the very few that possess the ability to turn me into a romantic teenage girl. It's creepy, guys, how quickly and smoothly it happens, but I don't even care 'cause I'm just so in love with this author.

Plot: Fun and completely engrossing.

Characters: I WANT A CRICKET...er, I mean, they were all awesome. ('Cept Max. UGH.)

Writing: Great.

Ending: Lalalala so happy-making.

Kid Friendly? There's language, mentions of sex and drugs, and her birth mother's an alcoholic.

Should I read it? Absolutely. You may wanna read Anna and the French Kiss first, though, since the characters make several appearances.

Overall:

Easy.

Anna and the French Kiss Review

Author: Stephanie Perkins
Release Date: December 2, 2010
Pages: 378
Publisher: Dutton
Most Appropriate For Ages: 12+
Where I Got It: From library

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna--and readers--have long awaited?

Hype is a dangerous, dangerous thing. And Anna and the French Kiss has been one of the most hyped about books I've come across in my two years of blogging. (Notice the italics? It means I'm serious.) So, I went into Anna half-expecting to not like it because of that. Also, I expected to be the snooty reviewer that finds a bunch of stuff wrong with the book and burst everyone's bubble. Because it gives me joy.

But, guys.

I couldn't find anything wrong with it.

It's okay though, cause Anna gave me WAY more joy than bubble-popping does.

The characters and dialogue and general awesome of this book had me grinning from ear to ear at page one. It also made me laugh out loud, want to crawl into the book and give the characters a much-needed hug and chocolate bar, and realize that I like romantic stuff more than I'd realized. (I mean, I have a list of chick-flicks. But they have to be well-written chick-flicks--10 Things I Hate About You, Easy A, Say Anything, Every John Hughes Movie Ever, etc.)

It was like an out-of-body experience, reading Anna. I saw myself reading and tell my family to shut up and giggling (seriously, like, girlish giggling) at St. Clair. Out-of-body-me was all, "How are you reading that fast? How are you already that far in? STOP READING YOU HAVE THINGS TO DO!" But I didn't listen.

Then when it was over, I was incredibly sad that it was. These characters had become my friends and St. Clair had become my obsession book-crush, and I am not in Paris. I was not living in Perkins' world. Who wouldn't be sad about that?

I am not quite sure how Anna and the French Kiss went from Just Another Chick Book to an OMG GREAT BOOK Book, but it did. I cannot wait for Perkins' next novel, Lola and the Boy Next Door, and to just buy a copy of Anna, because I know this is a story that will need to be revisited again and again.

Plot: The feel-good girl-story girls all know and love, but...different, somehow.

Characters: LOOOOVE.

Writing: So good.

Ending: Perfection.

Kind Friendly? There was swearing, mentions of sex, making out, and teen drinking (though in Paris it's legal).

Should I read it? YEAH. OBVIOUSLY.

Overall: