Monday, November 21, 2011

LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins

Yes, this is a repeat of my review for Afterglow Book Reviews.

The blurb, 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.


***

I know, I know, I just reviewed a book on Friday, but I had the wonderful good fortune to read AFTERGLOW books back-to-back. 

I loved LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR. I finished it at 12:30 last night after reading it in one sitting. I think I might have even loved it a little bit more than it's companion book ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS (which I also loved). Here's my review of that from June.

So, what did I love about Lola? Well, I'm a child of the 80's and she reminded me forcibly of Molly Ringwald's character in PRETTY IN PINK. And this time, the character ends up with her best friend, not the wildly inappropriate guy. Which I love! Not that the storyline is at all the same, but the characters share some characteristics. Lola makes her own clothes, and she has a very eclectic style. Cricket (the boy next door) is quirky, nerdy, hot, and brilliant, all at the same time.

I loved her gay parents. I loved Anna and St. Clair from the other book are a part of this book. I loved her friend Lindsay. Oh, and I want to be Stephanie Perkins.

If you love contemporary YA (or even if you don't) read this book. It's perfect.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh I can't wait to read this!!!

Myrna Foster said...

I loved this one. :o)

Jonathon Arntson said...

I just bought this the other day, it's on the list!

Alicia Gregoire said...

This will be the next book I read. I can't wait.