Publisher: Dutton Books
Publication Date: September 29, 2011
From Goodreads:
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:
Having recently finished Anna and the French Kiss I was really looking forward to reading other books by Stephanie Perkins so I was thrilled when my library had this one available. My only serious critiques are that the book should have come with photos of Lola in her fabulous wardrobe and there should have been some discussion of responsible sex versus sex based purely on attraction. In other words, I truly enjoyed the book and I loved the fact that the boy was constant in his affection while it was the girl who couldn't make up her mind. I also appreciated the two dads and the mom who just couldn't get it together.
While the other characters in the book are interesting I never became emotionally invested in them and didn't quite understand the strength of the relationships between Cricket and his sister and between Lola and her best friend. Setting the book in San Francisco was fun as I was able to remember my own trips to many of the destinations described and I loved the family trip to Muir Woods!
If you haven't read Anna and the French Kiss I would actually recommend starting with Lola and the Boy Next Door so that you are more likely to enjoy both books rather than comparing Lola to Anna! Yes Anna is in Lola but you don't need to read Anna first and it's not like there was any doubt that Anna and St. Clair would get together!
Posted by Sheri
I am planning a trip to San Francisco in March! I should read this one while I am there or something. I read and loved Anna and I've been meaning to read this one for forever. Yes, that's the new plan. Read in March!
ReplyDeleteThis will be a great book to read while you are there or possibly right before if you want to know all the places discussed in the book before you get there! Try to go to the national forest if you can it is as amazing as described in the book. ~Sheri
ReplyDeletegood review - i'd heard about lola & the boy next door, but didn't realize this book was connected to anna & the french kiss. i didn't actually love aatfk though (St. Clair's behavior re: having a gf and still sending a lot of mixed signals to Anna made me so mad!!!) so i'll prob skip this one, but i appreciate the honest review!
ReplyDelete