Lola and the Boy Next Door

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Series: Anna and the French Kiss series
Pages: 338 (hardcover)
Summary: 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.

My Thoughts: You know how most YA books are "innocent girl meets more experienced, unpredictable boy. they fall in love effortlessly. end of story"? Well Lola and the Boy Next Door is kind of the opposite. Switching gender roles from the usual girl-next-door who falls for the bad boy, Perkins has Lola, a bombshell in her own right, dating an older guy who's determined to become a rock star.

She's even settled in with her job at a movie theater where we get to see Anna and St. Clair from Perkins first book of this series, Anna and the French Kiss, once more (which was a total treat, I must say). Then Cricket comes along. And man, do I love Cricket. I really liked Lola's character and her character development, too, don't get me wrong. But I'm a girl who is easily swooned, and Cricket is definitely swoon-worthy.

Perkins has done it again, writing a male character that you can't help but fall in love with yourself, thinking, "Why isn't he real?!" Not only does she write great characters and great character development, she writes in a voice that is relatable, believable, and very realistic. You feel like you're in Lola's head during the entirety of the book. This was amazing most of the time, but sometimes you just wanted to leap into the book and shake Lola, and scream "What are you doing?! Open your eyes, child!"

Unlike Perkins first book of the series, Anna and the French Kiss, I didn't feel like the setting was such a pivotal part of the plot that it became a character in its own right. In this book, which takes place in San Francisco, you get the feel of San Fran, but it's exactly as you'd imagine it, but with fewer stereotypical archetypes. However, this didn't take away from the quality of the story by any means. I still fell in love with Perkins novel, just as I did with Anna and the French Kiss. And just like Anna's story, I think Lola's will make it's way to my list of favorites.
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars