Review - Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Title and Author: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton

Publication Date: September 29th, 2011

Paperback/Hardcover: 338

Genre: Young Adult

Summary:

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.

Review:

I couldn’t wait to read this book and I have to say it did not disappoint me. Lola and the Boy Next Door was a fun, cute and interesting read.

Dolores Nolan (Lola) loves fashion. She enjoys changing her looks and choosing different clothes for herself. She has a rocker boyfriend named Max, who’s older and who her gay parent’s don’t exactly approve of. If they could choose, they would love to see Lola with Cricket – her old best friend and next door neighbor, who after several years has moved back with his parents and famous ice-skater twin sister.

As you can imagine, Lola will find herself in the middle of a love triangle and having to decide which one of the guys she truly loves.

I really liked the characters in this book. Lola is very interesting. She’s different and she enjoys being like that. She expresses herself through her clothes and wigs and makeup.

Cricket was great as well. He was sweet and awkward, super cute and intelligent. I really like the fact he and Lola used to be best friends, who shared their first kiss and enjoyed spending time together.

It was a pity so many things got in the way of their romance! They really do make a great couple, though. They are both very different but somehow they complement each other.

Lola’s parents were interesting characters as well and so was Cricket’s sister, who manages to get in the way of his relationship with Lola more than once.

What I really liked about this book was the fact Anna and Étienne are part of it! You get to find out who their relationship is developing and I, once again, feel in love with Étienne. He’s still so cute and great!

All in all Lola and the Boy Next Door is a great companion book to Anna and the French Kiss. The book is very well-written. It is fast paced and entertaining.  It was interested in Lola’s story and wanted to find out what would happen to her and Cricket.

I can’t wait to read the next book by Stephanie Perkins now. If you are a YA fan, you should definitely read this book as well as Anna and the French Kiss. :)

Rating: Somewhere between Worth Your Time and Must Read (4 ½ Stars)

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Stephanie Perkins

Hello, everyone. How are you all? 

So, this Weekend is dedicated to two great authors: Stephanie Perkins and Amy Plum.

For now, let's get to know Stephanie Perkins and her books a little bit better.

Author's Profile:

"I'm Stephanie Perkins, and I write novels for teens (and for adults who aren't afraid to admit that teen books are awesome). I was born in South Carolina, raised in Arizona, attended universities in San Francisco and Atlanta, and now I live in the mountains of North Carolina amidst the waterfalls and wild blueberries.

My best friend is also my husband, Jarrod, and he's the most wonderful person I know. Every room of our house is painted a different color of the rainbow. We share it with two elderly pups and a pesky cat named Mr. Tumnus.

I spend my weekdays reading and writing. You can find me at my desk, drowning in tea cups and coffee mugs, staring blankly at my laptop. On weekends, you'll find me curled into the seats of movie theaters, hoping for the actors to kiss. I believe all novels and films should have more kissing.

It's difficult to pinpoint the moment I decided to become a writer. I've always loved telling stories, but it took years before I tried to make it my living. Even after I received a degree in creative writing, I worked hard to convince myself to do something else. To get a REAL job. I'm thankful the writing gods persisted. Still, I've always worked with books—first as a bookseller, then as a librarian, and now as a novelist. I love the way they smell, the weight of their pages in my hands, the Once Upon a Time of escape. I cannot imagine a life without literature." 

Stephanie Perkins Books:

Title and Author: Anna and the French Kiss

Publisher: Dutton

Publication Date: December 2nd, 2010

Paperback/Hardcover: 372

Genre: Young Adult

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.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

Upcoming Books:

 

Title and Author: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Publisher: Dutton

Publication Date: September 29th, 2011

Paperback/Hardcover: 338

Genre: Young Adult

 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


You can find Stephanie at:
Official Website
Twitter

Review - Anna and The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title and Author: Anna and The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton

Publication Date: December 2, 2010

Paperback/Hardcover: 372 Pages

Genre: Young Adult, Romance

Summary:

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 Étienne St. Claire: 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.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

Review:

There’s a certain je ne sais quoi to this book that makes it an amazingly cute and romantic read.

Anna, an all-American girl is shipped off to School of America in Paris by her father. She doesn’t speak French and she feels completely lost until she meets a group of friends who immediately welcome her. They drag her out of her dorm room so she can see Paris and she slowly starts to feel comfortable.

As the main character Anna is extremely relatable and reliable. She's definitely not perfect and I like that in a character. Her emotions are real and so are the ways in which she expresses them.

Etienne St Clair is a great character as well. He’s adorable, loyal, sensitive, fun and irresistible in his own way. He has this British accent but he’s actually American and a little French as well. One thing I really liked about him is that he’s not described as being perfect like so many other main male characters. He’s short, he is afraid of heights and he bites his nail. All of his faults only make him more adorable, though. He’s caring and attentive, plus he clearly loves his mother. How cute is that? I simple feel in love with Etienne.

All the secondary characters were very well written as well and added something to the story.

I loved the way Anna and Etienne’s relationship developed. They didn’t immediately fell in love. They started out as friends. They talked, they flirted and eventually, they realized they were in love. There was no rushing and it was all very realistic.

Anna did realize Etienne was good looking right from the start but she also quickly realized he was much more than just another pretty face.

This book isn’t all about romance, though. There’s also some drama thrown in there to make things more interesting.

The whole book is very well written and I especially love the way Stephanie Perkins managed to describe several famous places in Paris.

All in all, Anna and The French Kiss is a very well written and realistic romance. The characters and their emotions feel real and it’s easy to relate to them.

I was afraid this book wouldn’t live up to the hype surrounding it but it definitely did. Anna and The French Kiss is a wonderful read.

Rating: Must Read