Lola and the Boy Next Door

by Stepahnie Perkins

Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the negihborhood. 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.

• ISBN10: 0142422010
• ISBN13: 9780142422014
• Publish Date: 9 July 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780142422014

Reviews

[Nessa Luna]

Read this review and more on my blog October Tune!

Actual rating: 3,5*. In 2015, I picked up the book Anna and the French Kiss and to my surprise I enjoyed it very much. Author Stephanie Perkins had written two more books in this companion series, so I decided I wanted to read the other two as well, starting with number two Lola and the Boy Next Door. One not so cool thing about it being a companion novel was that there would be different characters. Just after I had fallen in love with the characters from the previous book. Though Anna ánd St. Clair both appear in this book with fairly large roles.

Lola is about an aspiring costume designer (named Lola of course) who lives in San Francisco with her two dads. She has an amazing boyfriend, wears a different outfit (complete with wig and accesoires) every day and nothing can ruin all of that. Until she finds out the Bell family is moving back into the house next to theirs.

As much as I enjoyed Anna, I didn't like this second book that much. Partly because of the new main characters, and partly because Lola was just so different from Anna. And I am going to admit it, the main storyline felt like a repeat of Anna; with one already being in a relationship (though this time it was the main character instead of the love interest) and then them still flirting with each other. The girl/boyfriend was really unlikable in both cases (I didn't like St. Clair's girlfriend, and I hated Max) and yeah, I don't know I just felt like I had already read this story). What also didn't help was that I already knew how this book would end, because it had taken me so long to actually pick up these books, that I had already been spoiled via Goodreads. *grumbles*

It was a really nice story though, I really enjoyed the descriptions of Lola's outfits, but it pained me to see how often she 'janks' off her wigs. Wigs are delicate, and you do not just jank off a wig when you're done with it. I am also very confused how she put on her wigs without using a wigcap and a thousand bobby pins. The way Lola does it is exactly how it happens in movies, the girl takes off her wig without trouble and has beautifully styled hair underneath (except Lola didn't have that last part, but still). Are you really making a fuzz about the wigs? Yes, yes I am.

Like I said, I had already sort of been spoiled by the ending, so all the interaction between Lola and Cricket didn't feel as genuine to me as it may have felt if I had gone into these books 'blind'. I did like Cricket much much more than Max, to be honest, even though Cricket did do some things that made me go 'wait what?'.

The writing was great, as usual, I really enjoy Stephanie's writing in general. I will definitely be picking up Isla and the Happily Ever After, and I am very much looking foward to her upcoming horror novel! If you love contemporary romance novels and you haven't read this series yet, do it! But start with Anna and the French Kiss, because even though they are companion novels, they are connected in a way.

My opinion on this book in one gif: 

[Angie]

Lola and the Boy Next Door is easily one of my all-time favorite reads. I just freaking love Lola. She does her own thing. She dresses weird. Really weird, like in costume weird. She never wears the same outfit twice, and she's just as likely to wear a sequined prom dress as you are to wear jeans. I LOVE her. I dressed weird as a teen, too, which is probably why I feel this kinship with Lola. We are the same! Although she lies significantly more than I ever did, but that's part of her journey. She's comfortable enough to dress how she wants, but she has trouble saying what she really thinks or feels to avoid conflict, therefore causing conflict.

Other than my undying love for Lola herself, Lola and the Boy Next Door has one of the most adorable romances ever. Lola and Cricket had been neighbors and good friends, on and off for years, as he followed his twin's skating schedule. Then, two years ago, they had a falling out, but it turns out that they never stopped liking each other. I loved how Cricket tells Lola how he feels instead of hiding it. He also didn't pressure her to return his feelings after learning she had a boyfriend. They went back to being friends. Awkward friends, but friends just the same. And I wanted to smoosh them together!

I just really, really, really love Lola and the Boy Next Door. Lola is great. Cricket is great. Lola and Cricket are great. Lola's dads are great. Cricket and Calliope are great. BFF Lindsey was great Even Norah was great once she got her crap together. Everyone was great! I love them all! I loved everyone's interactions with everyone, and the vast amount of unconditional love, and everyone helping everyone when they need help. It just gives me all the warm fuzzy feelings.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[girlinthepages]

3.5 Stars

Companion series are my new favorite thing. I love the idea of being able to have distinct, separate stories set within the same universe, and being able to see glimpses of characters from other books in them. It’s like getting to wave to a friend you haven’t seen in a while but miss terribly. Lola and the Boy Next Door is the second installment in Stephanie Perkin’s Anna and the French Kiss companion series, and it did indeed have the unique charm of introducing me to new memorable characters while allowing me to stay updated in Anna and Étienne’s life. If I was able to vote for the next trend in YA, it would be more companion series.

So if you’ve read Anna, you know that Stephanie Perkins is a master at writing fun, fluffy romances that take place in really awesome locations to read about. Lola is no exception. Right off the bat I was drawn to this book by the fact that is takes place in San Francisco, one of my favorite cities to visit! I feel like there aren’t nearly as many YA stories that take place in SF compared to the East Coast or even Southern California, so I loved that Perkins had a novel set in the iconic city. I also loved that Lola was just a perfect character to be born and raised in San Francisco, as she’s literally bursting at the seams with creativity, and I loved reading about all of her “costumes.” Fashion is depicted in this novel as an art, just as film is in Anna, and I love that Perkins gives her characters more unique forms of self expression. Lola also had two dads that were very present parents (almost overbearingly so) which made this book feel SO realistic, because who DIDN’T have their parents breathing down their necks about who they were dating and where they were going in high school? Everything about the setting, atmosphere, and family structures in this novel were spot-on for me as a reader.

Yet what tore me away from giving this book the five star rating that I had been hoping for? The romance. It didn’t work for me, and I’m so sad about that. This was partially due to the fact that Lola really annoyed me at some points, despite the fact that I loved her flamboyancy and self-expression. She came off as really immature at times, from her justifications for her boyfriend Max’s rude attitude to her destructive tantrums she had when she was upset (like that scene at the end where she just destroys something she worked so hard on in a fit of drama). I felt that even by the end of the novel she had yet to show substantial growth, as she put a lot of stock in what others thought of her habit of making and wearing costumes (I really wanted to see her rock that wig). Cricket, on the other hand, often irritated me with his completely submissive behavior, and unresolved angst over his great-great-grandfather’s less than honest behavior (he’s related to that Alexander Graham Bell). I was often disgusted by how often he was railroaded by his sister and took a backseat his whole life to her, and though he at least showed some growth by the end of the novel, I wasn’t convinced that he was truly out of Calliope’s shadow. Despite the fact that at times there were both things I really enjoyed about Cricket and Lola, I couldn’t enjoy them together, especially once you realize a lot of their relationship hinges on the dreaded “it was all a big misunderstanding” trope. There’s also no slow-burn romance like in Anna, and the romance starts very early on in the book, and while I knew the inevitable (the book is called Lola and the Boy Next Door, after all), I never really felt any passion between the characters. I will admit this may partially be due to my own bias, since I’ve never been a big fan of the friends-turned-lovers trope.

Romance issues aside though, I really liked how Stephanie Perkins added other elements into the story that kept me wanting to know the outcome for the characters, such as Lola’s tenuous relationship with her biological mother and more glimpses into Anna and Étienne’s lives. I actually think the love triangle in the book is well balanced, because though Max is painted to be a jerk (at the end) there are still elements of him that I could respect, such as his loyalty to Lola, especially with respect to her discomfort with her issues with her biological parents. In fact, he seems like a decent guy (aside from the large age gap) until Cricket comes onto the scene, and it felt like he sort of conveniently turned into a jerk, making it easier for readers to vote for Cricket. I would’ve liked to see less of a drastic comparison between good guy Cricket and “bad guy” Max and how Lola handled the decision between the two of them, as choices are not always black and white in real life, especially when it comes to relationships.

Again, though, there are so many little things in this book to love! From Andy’s pie baking company to Lola’s BFF’s obsession with all things snooping to delivering pies to snotty parties on Lombard street to afternoons at the Japanese Tea Garden. Perkins has a gift for writing stories set in famous locations and transporting readers there in the details, which is why I find myself returning to her writing.

Overall: Lola is a fun second addition to the Anna and the French Kiss companion series, with wonderfully descriptive writing that makes the city and Lola’s costumes jump off the page. Cricket and Lola are cute if a tad boring and predictable, and if there romance doesn’t impress you there’s a fun cast of other characters to keep you reading (especially Anna cameos!). I was underwhelmed by this installment compared to Anna, but it just bubbles along so pleasantly I had no problem finishing it. My main complaint is Lola’s immaturity, but her eccentric behavior does have its own appeal. It’s definitely a must read if you love San Francisco!

You can read this review and more at my blog Girl in the Pages

[bumblingbookworm]

This review was originally posted on The Bumbling Bookworm

It's no secret how much I ADORE Anna and the French Kiss, it was one of a couple of great books that got me back into reading again last year after a long hiatus. Now, I didn't think it was possible but Stephanie Perkins has done it again! Lola and the Boy Next Door is every bit as wonderful as I'd heard it to be.

Check out the rest of my review here!

[Stephanie]

Lola's life is going fairly well, even though her parents are very strict now that she's dating a boy 5 years older than her. Until new neighbors move in. But they're not so new. They happen to be the Bell twins, Cricket and Calliope, who had lived next door to Lola up until 2 years ago. 2 years ago when Cricket broke Lola's heart. Now her life seems to be falling apart. Lola can't avoid Cricket, or her feelings, anymore, now that he keeps popping up everywhere. She has to learn how to juggle being Just Friends with Cricket and being a good girlfriend to her rocker boyfriend, Max. But it doesn't seem to be working out too well.

Lola and the Boy Next Door was just as good as Anna and the French Kiss. I loved Lola and her costumes, Cricket and his strange inventions, Lindsey and her crime solving, Lola's very protective dads, Lola's birth mom Norah, Calliope and her figure skating, and even Max, even though he was a bit of a jerk at times. Basically, I loved everything about this book.

The one thing I was very happy to see? Anna and St. Clair actually woven through out the novel. I expected them to be mentioned in passing, but they actually have conversations and are even friends with Lola.

Lola drove me crazy with her being with Max. Max is the typical tattoo covered, rocker, band member, older boyfriend. He wrote songs for her, dealt with Lola's Dad's Sunday brunches, and had his sweet moments, but still. He wasn't Cricket, so I didn't like him. Cricket, on the other hand, was Lola's first love who broke her heart. Just the history between these two made you ache for them to get together. Especially since Cricket is the sweetest boy ever.

This was a very emotional story. Lola goes through many ups and downs. She knows she's doing something stupid, but she does it anyways and pays for the consequence later. She thinks Max is The One, but then she has the conflicting feelings for Cricket that she wants to hide from herself.

Expect butterflies in your stomach, swooning, and some tears (or at least some sadness) while you read. If you loved Anna and the French Kiss, you'll love this one as well. This is a fantastic love story that I urge you to read as soon as possible.