Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Grade: 4.5 Butterflies
Series: Anna and the French Kiss #2, #1 (review)
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton Books
Pages: Paperback, 368

Goodreads 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.

So, I read Anna and the French Kiss a little bit ago and really loved it. And naturally I wanted to read this one. So, I went out and bought it and started reading it as soon as I got home. I Loved this book!! I did have same minor problems with it, but overall it was such a sweet fantastic read that in the end will give you the silliest smile. It was great!

This plot starts out with our main character, Lola, at Sunday Brunch with her parents and her boyfriend. And its a somewhat nice meal, but than the neighbors move back in. This freaks Lola out. it goes from there.

I loved this plot!! Stephanie Perkins did it again. She wrote a outstanding, fun plot and she weaved in just the right amount of seriousness so it wasn't fluff. This plot was so fun to read! I could hardly put this book down! And I like how we get to see a person in a relationship falling for another person, which is the opposite of the POV in Anna and the French Kiss. And I also liked how the author did this in a way so Lola didn't seem like a cheater. She was a person who's emotions from the past where coming out and she really tried to ignore them and think of her Boyfriend (for the most part). And I like how it ties in with the first book, you get to see Anna and St. Clair happy. That was great!

There was one little problem with this book. Okay, in the beginning there's this mystery with why Lola doesn't like the Neighbors, mainly Cricket. That really hooks the readers and I loved that part. What I didn't like was how the author revealed the mystery past. It wasn't executed all that while. After I read that part I got so confused on how many times she talked to Cricket since he got back, what happened when. I was just confused. Luckily this didn't last long, but it still annoyed me. And I think if I re-read it I would skip that part since I know what happened and it would just confuse me again.

I also really loved the characters in this book. Lola was my favorite! I loved how well she knew herself and what she wanted in life. I really admired that about her. And I also liked how towards the end she started doubting herself. It made her so much more real, because you always doubt yourself sometime in your life.

The other thing that I had a problem with was the romance. First off I loved how Lola and Cricket where perfect for each other! I loved their interactions, they had so much chemistry! The thing I had a problem though is that Cricket was to much like my brother. Which sucked, because I couldn't swoon over Cricket like Lola was and that made me feel a little disconnected with her and the whole romance. Which, again, Sucks.

Overall I loved this book!! I loved it more than Anna and the French Kiss. It was such a great, well thought out, fantastic book. If you like reading books you will love this one. It's outstanding!!

This book got...

4.5 Butterflies

Beautiful, this is a great book. 

Happy reading