Review - Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

by Stephanie Perkins
publisher: Dutton Books
date of publication: September 29, 2011
format: Hardcover
pages: 338
source: purchased
series: Anna and the French Kiss #2
buy it:

From 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.

This book has been sitting on my shelves for the longest time, yet I'm just now getting to it.  Why is that?  Heck if I know.  Once I pulled it down and opened that shiny cover, I got sucked in and didn't want to give up reading it. Lola and the Boy Next Door made for a great companion to Anna and the French Kiss, and while it's been quite some time since I read Anna, it still brought back many of the same feelings I had when I did.

Lola Nolan is a girl struggling to figure things out.  She sees herself as much more mature than she really is, evidenced by her choice of boyfriend, a man 4 years older than herself.  That may not seem like much, but at 17, Lola is still figuring out who she is and what she needs.  Seeing Lola get treated like dirt by Max made me very frustrated, almost to the point of putting down the book.  One of her greatest moments of redemption comes in the wake of something horrible he says to her, and it was then that I realized what potential she had as a character.  As she works through the tumult of her thoughts and comes to the realization of who she really is, she really shines.  It is then that you see that Cricket is there to highlight all of the best of her while Max highlights all of the worst.  It made for an interesting contrast and I really enjoyed seeing the culmination of that conflict.

Stephanie Perkins is a very funny writer.  In spite of the heavier issues at hand, she never failed to make me laugh when it was most needed.  The blend of seriousness and humor really worked for Lola and the Boy Next Door and the delivery was much appreciated.  I also loved the subplot involving her dads and her biological mother.  The circumstances surrounding Lola's birth and the lingering effects they left upon her really lent perspective to her overall character.  When combined, it made for an engrossing read that left me alternating between laughter and sniffles.

While I didn't get quite the same level of experience reading Lola and the Boy Next Door as I did Anna and the French Kiss, I still found Lola to be an enjoyable read that ultimately left me with a smile on my face in the end.  The ways in which Perkins incorporated humor and even characters from Anna into the storyline made it even more engaging.  If you're looking for a fun read with some weight at the root of it, Lola and the Boy Next Door should do very nicely.  I would definitely recommend it to all.

Waiting on Wednesday: August 24, 2011

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event from Jill at Breaking the Spine. To participate, simply share that book(s) you are eagerly awaiting the release of and report back to Breaking the Spine with the link to your post. Clicking the image above will take you straight to her post and widget. (Special note: The nifty button above comes from Lindsay at The Violet Hour. Isn't it pretty?)

This week I'm waiting on Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. I loved Anna and the French Kiss far more than I would have guessed and simply MUST read more books by her. It will hit store shelves on September 29, 2011.

From 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.

Review: Anna and the French Kiss

by Stephanie Perkins
publisher: Dutton Children's
date published: December 2, 2010
format: hardcover
pages: 372
source: from the library
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N

From Goodreads:

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?

What I Thought

Readers of my blog have probably realized by now that I rarely read contemporary fiction unless it has supernatural/paranormal elements. However, I had heard so many good things about Stephanie Perkins's Anna and the French Kiss that I just had to give it a try. My chance came when my local library at long last procured a copy of the book, which I was able to place a hold on. When I finally opened the cover, I quickly realized what all the fuss was about. This book is a refreshing, fun, and well-written story that I was loathe to put down.

Anna and the French Kiss is probably one of the most fun books I have read this year. Sometimes you need something light and flirty to read. This book definitely fits the bill. It is filled with well-developed characters and funny dialogue that left me laughing out loud on several occasions. Anna, for all of her obliviousness, is a wonderfully witty character who I absolutely adored. I could definitely appreciate her passion for reviewing films, since it is not so very different from what I do here on my blog. Following her journey to Paris and subsequent struggle to adapt to the city was a lot of fun, as well. It was another aspect that I could relate to very well (though Paris was not the city I experienced). As for Etienne, I could definitely see what the excitement was all about. Holy smokes! There are a couple of aspects that are somewhat unappealing, but he is, overall, a male lead that is very capable of making a girl's heart go pitter-pat. Some of the scenes between him and Anna are very emotionally wrought and romantic. From the accent to the physical description, he is quite the love interest. C'est magnifique!

I could not get enough of descriptions of this book's setting. Paris is somewhere that I would love to visit, so reading a book that takes place there is a great treat. Stephanie Perkins takes a lot of care to infuse vivid imagery into every chapter, which makes for a brilliant picture for the mind's eye. Her descriptions and imagery almost made me feel as if I were really there. The school, too, was a lot of fun to read about. Though it is a school setting, it is intriguing thanks to both its setting and the students that make up the student body. There are mean girls, arrogant boys, artistic kids, athletic kids, shy kids, and nerdy kids, just like you would find in any other school. This made for an engaging background for the story to take place against, as well as keeping the plot moving and varied.

For all that this book was read on a whim, I have discovered a fun read that I simply can not get away with leaving out of my collection. I will not be completely happy until I own my own copy. If you are looking for a fun, humorous read, you can't go wrong with Stephanie Perkins. If you haven't read it yet, you definitely should. You owe it to yourself to pick up a copy. I give Anna and the French Kiss 5 hoots.