Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Release Date: September 29th 2011
Pages: 338
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Penguin
Also by this Author: Anna and the French Kiss
Buy It: Book Depository

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.

Unlike Anna and the French Kiss, which I technically lied about devouring since in between putting down the audio book and picking up a hard copy there were several months where it lay dejected on my, albeit crowded, bookshelf, I really did devour Perkins second novel, Lola and the Boy Next Door in less than twenty four hours.

So in reality, I didn't love Lola quite as much as Anna, and that had a lot to do with the main character herself. The love interest this time around, Cricket, was incredibly charming– even if I don't quite get the fascination with guys wearing tight pants, and he had believable chemistry with Lola. But unfortunately, Lola herself tended to be kinda flaky, other times arrogant, and sometimes even flat out dishonest, in a way I didn't find entirely attractive. I had a hard time relating to her fashion obsession, and I really disliked how she lead Cricket on, while continuing to stay with her boyfriend, who was definitely a jerk, but didn't deserve how she treated him.

Asides from Lola getting on my nerves occasionally, I really did love this novel. There's a huge presence of Anna and St. Clair, and that was charming and wonderful to read about. Lola's family played a huge role in her life, which is always refreshing in YA, and Perkins did a great job with making the dynamic authentic and entertaining. There's a brand new cast of entertaining and unique characters brought to life in Lola and the Boy Next Door. And of course, there's Perkins' ever present, adorable sense of humour.

Lola wasn't a second Anna, but a wonderful story in its own right, and even if I didn't always like the protagonist, I definitely still consider myself a Stephanie Perkins fan for life. After reading her two first novels, it's hard for me to imagine Perkins ever writing anything that I would not read– grocery lists and instructions for using dental floss included. 

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Release Date: December 2nd 2010
Pages: 372
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Penguin
Buy It: Book Depository

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. 

I have a confession to make.

Sometimes, I let the hype deter me. Sometimes, the fact that everyone is raving about a book is actually an incentive for me to not pick it up. Because I'm sick of hearing about it, so the last thing I want to do is start reading it. But in those instances when I do finally dust off the dust jacket and pick up a copy, I want nothing more for all the hype to be completely, and utterly right.

When it comes to Stephanie Perkins, the hype is right.

I'm pretty sure I devoured her debut novel, Anna and the French Kiss, within moments of picking it up. Okay, actually I listened to it on audio book for awhile, put it down for a few months, and then picked up the hard copy and fell in love. But the whole thing could have happened in an instant–I was so transported to the French boarding school, the awkward but loveable Anna, and the absolutely swoon-worthy St. Clair (even if I have a hard time imaging what a French-Meets-English-Meets-American accent could possibly sound like). 

Perkins characters are incredible. They are funny and complicated and imperfect and authentic. I love that St. Clair was short and had crooked bottom teeth, and that Anna had the streak of blond in her hair. Nobody was straight-forward or one dimensional, even the characters that sometimes come across as the bad guys– and for quite a lot of the book, I felt that way about St. Clair, mainly because I have a huge issue with guys who keep other girls hanging on, while they're in a relationship. But even with St. Clair's complicated relationship status, he managed to win me over by the end.

And this book, I mean, the romantic tension was palpable. There may be the word "kiss" in its title, but you have to wait a desperately long time for any kissing. But after that wait when you didn't even know what you were missing, when it finally happens, it is even more amazing than you could have anticipated. It is totally worth it.

I think that's a pretty good summary for how I feel about Perkins.