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 might just be the perfect book.
I loved LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR. I finished 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 2011.
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 dads. They were quirky, and lovable. They were not stereotypes and they weren't pushovers. She respected them, and disobeyed them, and loved them. It wasn't weird or troublesome and the book didn't dwell on any "issue" with Lola's dads. They just were her dads.To me, that's key. They were just her dads. End of story.
If you love contemporary YA (or even if you don't) read this book. It's perfect.
(disclosure--I rehashed some of this review from a previous blog post, as I'd already read this book. But, as I say, it was so good, it was worth another look and I really wanted to pass the recommendation along.)
5 comments:
Anna and Lola are on my To Be Read list!! They both sound so great!!
I am ashamed to say I still have not read this book, even though it's been recommended to me many times. I will pick it up soon!
And, I want to be like Lola's dads :P
"And this time, the character ends up with her best friend, not the wildly inappropriate guy."
At last! Insofar as a movie like Pretty in Pink can haunt you, that has always bothered me.
I've been meaning to read this book. But now you've given away the ending!!!! I'm supposed to guess who she winds up choosing.
It does sound like there many similarities to Pretty in Pink.
I love that you compared Lola to Molly Ringwald--that fits perfectly! Stephanie Perkins has a gift for creating real, well-rounded characters.
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