REVIEW: "Lola and the Boy Next Door" By Stephanie Perkins - Juhina

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis (via Goodread)

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.

My review and thoughts:

I would first like to point out that my expectations were SO HIGH for this book that i was actually scared to start reading it because i didn’t want to be disappointed. I’m telling you, Anna and the French Kiss set the standards so unbelievably high i thought my disappointment would be inevitable. BUT, i’m glad that this did not happen! while this is no Anna and the French kiss, it is definetly one of the top contemporary YA novels i’ve ever read.

Lola, my adorable lola. I enjoyed every single one of her creations! the dresses she wore and the wigs! they made me smile at their descriptions. I loved how Stephanie Perkins gave her this cute and creative personality, saying i adored her is an understatement! Now on to Cricket. Let me point out that when i read his name i instantly fell in love with him. I wasn’t a huge fan of the name St. Claire in Anna but his hair and accent made up for it at the first encounter, but Cricket? Cricket! *squeel* and he’s tall so the name totally applies to him. I loved how Cricket would do anything for Lola, and that he would come all the way from his university just to see her! and i especially loved their quality time while they talked through their room windows.

I remember, chapter 3. This is when i screamed “OH MY GOD” because that was when Anna and St.Claire appeared. You don’t understand how happy i was! thank you Stephanie Perkins <3. Even though they appeared through out the book i didn’t count the pages until they appeared again (you would think that because of my love for Anna), but i was totally invested in Lola land. I would love to wear one of Lola’s creations.

The story was wonderful, even though the settings and outcome are predictable (which is the case for most contemporary novels) but the HOW they got there is what’s so special about this book. I liked her best friend’s obsession with Nancy Drew and mysterious (I was a huge fan of the Anime Conan). Personally I didn’t find Lola’s birth mom interesting at all and she just made me frown for taking precious pages from the story but i loved Nathan and Andy. I’m a fan of Andy. They remind me of Modern Family’s Mitchell and Cameron  . As for Alex (Lola’s boyfriend at the beginning), i was slightly heartbroken when they broke up because i truly thought that he did love her and treated her well, not like the usual douches in some contemporary YA novels. To round it up, i am a huge fan of Lola’s individuality and independence, i would never in a million years be courageous enough to wear clothes like hers and not be bothered about people’s opinions (well most of the time).

I was hesitant to write this review since it would mean that i am officially done with Lola and i have to wait another year for Isla *cries*. I’m going to miss Lola and Cricket’s window adventures. I believe Stephanie Perkins writes the most amazing, addicting books that nake you end up in withdrawal mode for days, MONTHS even. Stephanie Perkins, please never stop writing.