Book Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Lola and the Boy Next Door 
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Pages: 384 pgs
Reading Level: YA
Release Date: September 29th 2011
Review Source: ReadingTeen.net
Available: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Borders

Summary: (from goodreads) In this companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss, two teens discover that true love may be closer than they think

For budding costume designer Lola Nolan, the more outrageous, 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 move back into the house next door.

When the family returns and Cricket - a gifted inventor and engineer - 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.

Oh Lola, you make my heart so sing! Stephanie Perkins has done it again. She won us over with Anna and the French Kiss last year and she did it again with Lola in 2011. Well be warned that Lola and the Boy Next Door might have surpassed Anna. When I heard that Lola made a small brief appearance at BEA, I knew she would be gone before I could lay my hands on a copy. Thanks to Andye at ReadingTeen, she let me borrow her copy on the way home from BEA. Reading Lola on a plane for 3 hours was possibly the best plane ride ever. 

When Stephanie Perkins writes, she write with so much love, passion, warmth, affection, attachment, enjoyment and yearning. I think you get my point. It beyond a breath of fresh-air. Her books are the perfect ones to pick up when you need to feel overjoyed, they will change whatever mood your in and covert it to pure joy. The great thing is that its not sappy or repugnant. Lola also gives us so many great and funny one-liners from the characters. I would laugh out loud where ever I was reading the book. 

The characters are so complete that you mesh well with them. Stephanie writes them very realistic. It's the story that can happen to you or anyone you know. You have a girl that has 2 dads or a family that their lives revolves around the life of their Olympic skater daughter. See what I mean about real, this could be any one of you. Then of course you have the setting. Even though Lola is not taking part in Paris like Anna did. San Francisco when written by Stephanie because one of the travel spots you must visit on your bucket list too. 

So I begin the tale of Lola, she is a spunky girl that happens to have to two great Dads. She dresses according to her mood and that includes matching hair pieces. She has a rocker musician boyfriend, who tends to smell like smoke but she deals with it. Now Lola does have some relationship issues and they worsen when a certain family moves back in next door. The Bell family that would be. Their daughter is trying to make the Olympic team for Ice Skating and have come back so she can train and prepare herself. Cue in Cricket, yes I said Cricket. Cricket Bell is the boy next door. How close you might wonder, well Cricket and Lola's windows are facing each other and within reach by a pole. This is Lola worst nightmare to have Cricket back in town. Will Lola be able to over come the past and at least become friends with the boy next door? 

Yes I know, I left you hanging but why would you want me to spoil the story. A few more great things about Lola. We know that its a companion to Anna. I didn't know what this meant until I saw it mentioned for Lola. The story basically does not continue from the last books. You will get a new and never told before story but you do get guest appearances from characters from the first novel. So basically you get Anna and St. Clair in Lola and the Boy Next Door. This just adds the icing to the cake. You don't follow their story but they are somehow involved with the new characters. 

Now with Lola and the Boy Next Door and Anna and the French Kiss sitting on my top contemporary novels of all times list, I can't wait to see what Isla and the Happily Ever After will bring in 2012. Who do you think will make appearances in Isla?