Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Lola and the Boy Next Door
Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton
Release Date: September 29, 2011
Pages: 338
Source: Publisher

Rating: 5 stars

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.

Since the day I finished Anna and the French Kiss I have been waiting for another Stephanie Perkins masterpiece. She delivered it with Lola and the Boy Next Door. Now that I have finished this one, it will be a very long wait until Isla and the Happily Ever After! I don't think my love for Lola and the Boy Next Door quite lived up to Perkins's debut, but it comes pretty darn close.

Lola as a character was a lot of fun, but it bothered me a bit at times that I felt like she was playing the classic "mean girl" role from time to time. I sat there just thinking, Lola what are you doing? Cricket was oh so perfect, I still am sitting here debating whether I liked him or St Clair better. I loved Lindsey, she is such a great friend.

I LOVE that Stephanie Perkins had Anna and St. Clair come back in this one, while they were a more minor part of the plot I loved having them there. I just admire both their personalities so much, so it was so much fun to have them alongside Lola and Cricket!

The plot was a ton of fun. I loved that is wasn't just a straight plot, there were so many little things going on, such as with Norah and other characters. I loved that it was so obvious where the story would end, but there were so many stops along the way.

Something I love about Perkins's writing is that she doesn't give readers the obvious. With Anna and French Kiss, the plot is at this boarding school in Paris. Lola and the Boy Next Door gives you this story with a girl who dresses in costume, figure skating, and more. Yet, even though all of that is basically unknown to me, I find it so easy to connect to the stories of the characters because she makes her characters so real. They are flawed, which makes them like everyone else.

After finishing Lola and the Boy Next Door, I feel like I need to go back and read Anna and the French Kiss and this one back to back, and it would make for about the most perfect day of awesome ever! Lola and the Boy Next Door is one of those books you NEED to read, its story will captivate you and the characters are just so lovely.