Lola and the Boy Next Door is Stephanie Perkin’s companion novel to her incredible debut, Anna and the French Kiss.
What’s it about?
Synopsis:
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.
Lola is a quirky, unique main character who doesn’t have all the answers and who isn’t always likeable because of the choices she makes, but as a reader you always love her. Lola has been through a lot. Her parent gave her up at birth and still drops in and out of her life from time to time. Lola is raised by her uncle and his partner. Stephanie Perkins handles the family dynamics with grace and realistically portrays a family with same sex parents. It is a refreshing change to see parents in a YA novel because often they are lacking as part of the story line.
Lola thinks she has it all figured out. She has a rocker boyfriend and dreams of being a costume designer — then Cricket Bell returns. Cricket aka the boy next door reminds me of a young Doctor Who (Tennent version). He has an ease about him that Lola can’t shake and at times she isn’t sure she wants to. I enjoyed the dichotomy of the boys in this story and the lack of the generic hunky bad boy. The thing I love most about Stephanie Perkin’s writing is that it feels incredibly real. You’re immersed in a story that you know with people you can identify with.
Stephanie Perkins writes realistic fiction that is entertaining, heartfelt, and quirky. When you read one of her stories it’s easy to fall in love with the characters and feel as if you’ve known them forever.