vagasker
Written on Jul 18, 2019
In this companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss, two teens discover that true love may be closer than they think
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.
- ISBN10 0525423281
- ISBN13 9780525423287
- Publish Date 29 September 2011 (first published 1 September 2011)
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 15 March 2024
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
- Imprint E P Dutton & Co Inc
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 352
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780525423287
Reviews
Sam@WLABB
Written on Apr 17, 2018
At first, I didn't get how Lola fit into this series, but then Anna and Etienne showed up to the party. I have to admit, I smiled when they first appeared. I love catching up with past characters and it was great to get this update.
Overall: A romance, which charmed me with its story of friendship, family, and forgiveness.
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kymmiejournals
Written on Feb 23, 2018
Bianca
Written on Oct 1, 2015
One day, the boy had to move away. He couldn’t bring the girl with him, so he brought the stars. When he’d look out his window at night, he would start with one. One star. And the boy would make a wish on it, and the wish would be her name. At the sound of her name, a second star would appear. And then he’d wish her name again, and the stars would double into four. And four became eight, and eight became sixteen, and so on, in the greatest mathematical equation the universe had ever seen. And by the time an hour had passed, the sky would be filled with so many stars that it would wake his neighbors. People wondered who’d turned on the floodlights. The boy did. By thinking about the girl.
Jo
Written on Oct 14, 2014
I picked up Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins as soon as I finished the first book in the trilogy, Anna and the French Kiss. I enjoyed it so much, I was eager to read more of Perkins' romances. And Lola and the Boy Next Door is just as sweet as the first!
Lola's life is great. She's got a hot, older boyfriend, Max, who is in a band, and she has come up with the perfect outfit for the Winter Formal - she will be going dressed like Marie Antoinette. It's not a fancy dress party, Lola is just very creatively expressive when it comes to her outfits, and she likes her look to be out-there. The only downer to her life at the moment is that her parents don't like her boyfriend, but life is pretty peachy. Until the Bell twins move back next door. Lola and the Bell twins have history, especially her and Cricket Bell, and she's flooded with bad memories. But seeing Cricket again is not being back just the bad memories, but also the feelings too. Lola is perfectly happy and in love with Max, so why do these feelings keep intruding?
As I said, Lola and the Boy Next Door is as sweet a story as the first book in the trilogy. Just as beautiful, and did make me "aww!" quite a bit. I wasn't necessarily the biggest fan of Lola and Cricket as people though. I didn't dislike them, I just didn't particularly warm to them. I don't really understand Lola and her desire to look different. I'm not really into fashion in any kind of way, so that whole side of thing wasn't something I could relate to or had much interest in. Saying that, it's really awesome that Perkins has given her protagonists interests that we don't read so much of in YA; Anna and her love of movies and film reviews in the first book, and now Lola with her love of costume design. Pretty cool. Cricket was a nice guy, really cute, kind of introverted, but very bold for the person he is - a guy who actually says how he feels! This is not a book where anyone can complain about the characters not communicating, Cricket lays it out there pretty early on. He's shy, embarrasses easily, and is a little awkward and geeky, but he's cute - as a person. As Lola is so interested in fashion and costume, she mentions the kind of thing Cricket wears several times - scarves, proper trousers purposely too short to show off socks and pointy shoes. Really not my type of guy at all, and so I couldn't find this character fanciable. But this is a story where you don't necessarily have to love the characters to root for them, and Lola and Cricket were very cute together!
But yet Lola has a boyfriend. And this is where this book is slightly different from Anna and the French Kiss - it got me thinking about moral issues. Lola is in a similar situation Étienne was in in the previous book, but as we see it from her point of view, it got me thinking. Lola does some not-so-great things and makes some bad decisions when it comes to her relationship with Max in regards to her friendship with Cricket, like lying and failing to mention things. Max really is a piece of work, and really not a nice guy - so jealous, and mean with it. However, Lola's situation got me thinking generally about what qualifies as cheating. If you're not actually doing anything with another person - no physical romantic/sexual contact - you're not doing anything wrong, right? But just because you're not doing anything, if feelings develop, then surely just hanging out with them is the wrong thing? Where's the line, and when does someone cross it? Does simply thinking about someone else count? Developing feelings? Or simply hanging out with them? Or is all that ok? I'm on the side of it not being ok, but I don't quite know where you start crossing the line.
I have to mention Lola's parents - not because it's a big deal, but because it's awesome. Lola and the Boy Next Door is the first book I've read where a character has same-sex parents. It's also the first book I've heard of where the fact that the parents are the same sex isn't integral to the plot. Lola just has two Dads, no big deal. It isn't to her, it isn't to anyone else. The fact that her parents are gay, and what that's like for Lola, comes up now and again, but it's not in anyway a major focus point. Like Anna and the French Kiss, there is some family drama in this book, but that's more to do with Lola's birth mother, Norah - her Dad Nathan's younger sister - and how she affects them, but nothing to do with sexuality. And it's awesome. They're just another family, and I love it! I hope other authors will follow in Perkins lead about things like this, so we get to the point where same-sex parents is so normal, it's not something to feel is awesome or exciting. It just is.
Lastly, I want to talk about Anna and Étienne. They're in this book! And I loved that they are! I don't think you can call their presence in the book a cameo, because cameos are so brief. Anna and Étienne appear quite often throughout the novel; Anna works at the same cinema Lola works at, Étienne is pretty much there whenever Anna is, but Étienne also lives in the same dorm as Cricket, who also attends Berkeley. They're not acquaintances, these people, they're friends. They talk, they offer advice, and we get to be kept updated on the goings on in Anna and Étienne's lives. It's so cool! And from what happens in this book, and from what I've read about the final book in the trilogy, Isla and the Happily Ever After, we'll see these four appearing in that book too! And I'm really looking forward to reading it!
Thank you to Usborne for the review copy.
Jordon
Written on May 7, 2014
This book was cute and sweet and the romance was intense which I loved. However I hated that Lola was so stupid and so blind to her own feelings, I also hated that she was trying to convince herself that she didn't like Cricket more than friends yet she continually led him on and put him in precarious situations that could have made her a cheater. I hated that Lola acted that way. I guess all of the books in this series has one of the main characters already in a relationship when they end up falling in love with someone else... I'm not really a fan of that.
This book was still a good read though.
Jyc
Written on May 21, 2013
jnikkir
Written on May 8, 2013
That being said, I think I went into Lola and the Boy Next Door expecting the same level of Feels as Anna, and on that front, I was a little disappointed. I still really enjoyed it, though.
My main "issue" (if you can call it that) was that I wasn't able to relate to Lola as much as I did with Anna in French Kiss. Lola is a great character - she's spunky and unique. But I didn't feel connected to her, which made me less invested in her story. She seemed kind of unbelievable at times, and often acted a lot younger than her age, in my opinion. She was also sort of annoying at times, especially when it came to anything to do with Max (her current boyfriend when the book opens). I really, really didn't like Max, and found him to be a total jerk most of the time (and not in the attractive bad-boy sort of way). I couldn't fathom why Lola was so smitten with him and why she hung on to him for so much of the book. When I find myself mentally yelling at characters for making bad decisions, that's not something I usually enjoy.
However, setting the whole annoyed-with-Lola-and-Max issues aside, the rest of the book was really fun. When I wasn't annoyed with Lola, I did enjoy her personality, and Cricket is adorable and super sweet (but I can't get over that name! UGH whyyyy, lol). I loved Lola's dads - they were actually a highlight of the book for me. The San Francisco setting was fantastic - at first I wasn't sure how great it would be compared to Anna's Paris, but it was really well-realized.
In conclusion...
This is a pretty short review compared to my others, but I really don't have tons to say about Lola and the Boy Next Door. It was enjoyable, but... I hate to keep comparing it to Anna, but I really can't judge it totally separate from Anna, either. I just didn't find nearly the same relatability or emotional depth in Lola. I think my emotions switched between entertained, annoyed, and amused. There weren't any really high points that had me grinning from ear to ear, and there weren't any sections where I felt deeply for the characters either. It was definitely a lighter read than Anna.
But, I am super excited for Isla and the Happily Ever After. I'm especially excited to read more about Josh, who struck me as a character with huge potential in Anna. Unfortunately, the release date has been pushed back until 2014... But I'm willing to wait as long as it takes, for what I'm sure will be a stellar conclusion. 3
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{ Find this and other reviews at my blog, There were books involved... }
nitzan_schwarz
Written on Apr 24, 2013
After reading Anna and the French Kiss, and loving it, I knew I needed to read Lola and the Boy Next Door... and fast. That's how I found myself starting this book right after I finished the first.
Like in Anna, I fell in love with the story from the first page. This is definitely a series I recommend happily.
Lola is the main character of this story is and she tells the story. She is a really cool person; wearing a different "costume" every day, designing and creating her own outfits. I'd love to have a friend like her! I fell for Lola's voice immediately. A reviewer I love said she loved her "More-ness", and I agree. Lola is definitely more. Her voice was also very authentic, much like Anna's, only in a different way.
Then there is Cricket. He's adorable. I love his name (contrary to most people). He's this quirky, awkward, shy guy. He's so sweet and thoughtful and kind. And he really, really cares about Lola. I think he'll make a fantastic boyfriend, and I loved him!
As for the side characters...
To read the rest of the review go to my blog; Drugs Called Books
Kelly
Written on Feb 11, 2013
Stephanie Perkins is the queen of light and fluffy teen romances. They are fun, flirty and the characters she creates are quirky and full of life. I quite enjoyed how the story included both Anna and St Clair from her first novel, and intertwined them throughout Lola and Cricket's story. If your looking for a light, feel good read, you can't go past Stephanie Perkins.