Lola and the Boy Next Door.

Lola and the Boy Next Door

by: Stephanie Perkins

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.

let's start out with one fact: I did not enjoy or love this as much as I loved and enjoyed Anna and the French kiss . Probably because the magic for me didn't start until the last hundred or so pages for me. But I did enjoy reading it... so here's the review.

Lovable and Smart Hero: CHECK
Cricket is my kind of guy. I love guys that are energetic and quirky and a little dorky and awkward. They are always just so gosh darn adorable. and Cricket matched all of that description, therefore I loved him. He was so cute and sweet even from the very beginning. I loved every small detail about him, from how he dressed to his rubber bands to his hair and his inventions. I loved how shy and awkward he was but also how strong and sweet and strange he was when he started talking.

Smart and Strong Heroine: NOPE
sadly, I didn't like Lola nearly at all. I loved her perspective on life and how she was different and didn't care what others thought. but thats where it ended... She was really way too dumb. She aggravated me with how indecisive she was and how she continued to pick the stupid jerk over sweet and altogether lovely Cricket, and how she insisted on hurting them both in the progress of making up her mind. I've never understood the love most women-kind have for bad boys who hurt them, so this just left me puzzled. I realize she "loved" him, but really at some point you have to stop going just by how you feel and live by what is beneficial to you, which Max obviously wasn't.

Original Plot and Unique Setting: CHECK
As much as Lola frustrated me, I loved the idea of the costume-loving girl falling for the boy next door. It was a very interesting plot and a spectacular setting. It kept me reading and wanting to read it, even when Lola was caught in the frustrating indecisive-ness.

Extraordinary Supporting Characters: CHECK

Duh! Anna and Etienne were both there! therefore, the supporting characters couldn't help but be awesome!
1. Anna and Etienne: I loved seeing them outside of Anna's perspective. Anna was a great friend (something she learned in Anna and the French Kiss ) and she was always nice and helpful. Etienne was his normal hilarious and charming self. I loved hearing about how their relationship had changed and grown since the end of their senior year.
2. Lindsay:She's awesome. I loved how she wasn't afraid to be who she was and how she had the strength to avoid interupting her educational agenda (which not many girls can do). I loved her detective-ness and how her and Lola (though complete opposites) were such perfect friends for each other.

Plot Twist and Action: CHECK
As I said in my review of Anna and the French Kiss , its Chick-lit, so we all know how its going to end. The girl is going to get with the correct guy and everything will be swell. But again I say that Stephanie Perkins made the entire story of it all completely entrancing and captivating. So I could overcome the cliche ending and just revel in the complete adorable-ness of it all.
A great read and a great companion for Anna and the French Kiss
and I'm very excited for the release of Isla and the Happily Ever After next year. I'm sure it'll be swell.

Quote:

“Once upon a time, there was a girl who talked to the moon. And she was mysterious and she was perfect, in that way that girls who talk to moons are. In the house next door, there lived a boy. And the boy watched the girl grow more and more perfect, more and more beautiful with each passing year. He watched her watch the moon. And he began to wonder if the moon would help him unravel the mystery of the beautiful girl. So the boy looked into the sky. But he couldn't concentrate on the moon. He was too distracted by the stars. And it didn't matter how many songs or poems had already been written about them, because whenever he thought about the girl, the stars shone brighter. As if she were the one keeping them illuminated."

“Just because something isn't practical doesn't mean it's not worth creating. Sometimes beauty and real-life magic are enough.”

"No. You're delightfully screwy, and I wouldn't have you any other way.”

“There's something about blue eyes. The kind of blue that startles you every time they're lifted in your direction. The kind of blue that makes you ache for them to look at you again. Not the blue green or blue gray, the blue that's just blue."

“Do you know my biggest regret?" She asks. "That you turned into this bright, beautiful, fascinating person... and I can't take credit for any of it.”

“Cricket tells a joke and turns to see if I'm laughing, if I think he's funny, and I want him to know that I do think he's funny, and I want him to know that I'm glad he's my friend, and I want him to know that he has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known."

“History books are filled with lies. Whoever wins the war tells the story.”

“It's maddening how someone so easy to read can be so impossible to understand.”