Book Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Series: Anna and The French Kiss (#2)
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Romance
Published: September 28, 2011
Publisher: Dutton Books
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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 ~

First off, just to put it our there, I loved Anna and the French Kiss, but this, not so much. One thing I liked about this was the fact that Lola still can't ignore Cricket, even after the past years. This just shows how strong love is if you look at it from Lola's point of view. She didn't contact him either, in any way. I just really loved this aspect, however I didn't like the fact that Max was the one being the "3rd wheel".

“I know you aren't perfect. But it's a person's imperfections that make them perfect for someone else.”

Some may say they don't like her love for Max, but I did. Well, until half way through the book. You see, we didn't really know much about him so I didn't really get an opportunity to hate him. Throughout the first half of the book, I hated, wait, let me emphasize that, I HATED Cricket. The more Lola spent more time with Cricket the more I wanted her to spend more time with Max. You see, he's getting questioned during Sunday Brunch with Lola's parents(who are gay) and here's Cricket, being invited to outing with the family. What?! I don't understand the logic. I hate, scratch that, dislike those who think age is the problem.

“Grasshopper. Centipede. Praying Mantis."

And then after I went past the halfway point of the book, I started to get why Lola wasn't able to let go of Cricket, however I still loved Max as a character. I was blind and couldn't see anything wrong about him. He was the nice guy who loved Lola. That's how I saw him. Don't ask why I couldn't see him as anything worse, I just couldn't. Aside from that, I liked this boy. Pretty enjoyable! Stephanie Perkins knows how to write characters that have trouble deciding! Normally, I don't really like it(e.g. The Selection Trilogy by Kiera Cass, I didn't understand America), but she knows where your soft spot is and when to hit it. It's simply stunning!

“Just because something isn't practical doesn't mean it's not worth creating. Sometimes beauty and real-life magic are enough.”

Would I recommend this? Yes. If you love Anna and the French Kiss, then you should definitely check it out, it's very exciting and "cute"! The way Stephanie Perkins was able to write the characters was something I liked! The costumes Lola wore were incredibly detailed, giving me a vivid image of what she was going to wear for the day, or even for her senior prom. The only reason I gave this 3 1/2 was because of Lola's parents and how they hated Max, Lola acting childish(not because of the way she loves costumes, but because of her irrational, childish decisions) and how conflicts were solved in the blink of an eye. I also didn't like the fact that Lola just wouldn't admit to herself that she liked Cricket and just break it off with Max. I felt so bad for him because he was stuck being jealous with a girl who likes another guy.