Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Published: September 29, 2011 by Dutton
Received: borrowed from Cynthia - thank you!!!

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. {taken from goodreads.com}

Have you ever read a book that just completely consumed your world while doing so and loved every second of it?  I picked up Lola (yes that is what I refer to the book as, in short) with anticipating fingers.  I had my suspicions though.  Anna and the French Kiss, being Stephanie Perkins debut novel, was such a huge success.  I have yet to meet someone who has read it and didn't love it.  With that knowledge I was iffy on her sophomore novel.  Could it be just as good? or quite possibly better?  My answer to both of those questions: yes & yes.  A thousand times YES!!!!

Lola (the name she gave herself) is an outlandish teenage girl who wears her personality on her sleeve, literally.  From the elaborate costumes she creates from her imaginative mind, to her warm & bubbly personality -- how could one not love her.  Immediately I was drawn to this character.  Always wondering what outfit she'd have on, and what crazy thoughts she'd be coming up with.  I loved her family dynamic as well.  Raised by two dads added a nice variety to the storyline.  Lola's parents are present in so much of her life.  They showed Lola to never be afraid of who you are, no matter how different it may be from what's "socially acceptable".  She always held her head high, and her parents were always supporting her every step.  The only hiccup in their fathers/daughter relationship would be Lola's rocker (older) boyfriend Max.  Their disapproval of him only propelled Lola to want to be with him more.

Just outside Lola's bedroom window sat a very close neighbor boy that she shares a past with.  Cricket Bell.  He's tall & charming, every thing a girl could ever dream about being only a few feet away.  Due to his family's tight schedule centered around Cricket's twin sister, who happens to be a professional figure skater, they are often in and out of the house.  Cricket's absence creates a void that Lola tries to ignore.  On his final arrival back in to the house, just a side yard away, something from their past creeps back in to Lola's bedroom window.  Just when she thinks she is happy with her boyfriend Max, it's Cricket who has changed and starts to shed some new light on Lola's already sparkly world.

I loved, loved, LOVED the late night window chats shared between Lola and Cricket.  I think every teenage girl dreams to have a hot neighbor boy living right next door.  The dialogue shared among all the characters pulled me in and made it oh so difficult to put down.  There are even two notable characters who make a few appearances in this novel, that you may remember from Anna and the French Kiss.  The setting was another aspect of the story that grabbed my attention as well.  It's set in San Francisco, where Lola spends a lot of her time walking the streets of various parts of town.  I loved the culture represented through out and thoroughly enjoyed the visual backdrops it created for this masterpiece of literature.

Reading this story was like devouring a delicious cupcake.  It's sweet and creamy, filled with just the right amount of goodness to satisfy your taste, but never quite enough -- leaving you wanting just one more bite.  It's a story about a girl accepting herself for who she is and not being afraid of showing that to the world.  It's also a love story, the kind that take your breath away and sigh a heavy sigh of, "I hope this sort of stuff really does exist out there."  I will be pushing this book on to every one I know.  Stephanie Perkins has out done herself.  If you didn't think that was possible after Anna and the French Kiss, give this one a try and I promise you'll be satisfied -- sweet cupcake and all!

Check out these awesome peeps who are currently hosting a GIVEAWAY for Lola:
+ April @ Good Books and Good Wine
+ Christin @ Portrait of a Book
+ Savannah @ Books With Bite 
+ Tahereh Mafi, author of Shatter Me

Anna & the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Published: December 2, 2010 by Dutton
Received: gifted by Melanie from Reclusive Bibliophile

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited? {taken from goodreads.com}

I received this book from my good friend Melanie at Reclusive Bibliophile back in early December.  After witnessing so many people gushing about it, I decided to hold off & read it when the hype died down a little bit.  Anna and the French Kiss sat on my bookshelf for months.  This poor lonely book kept getting passed over for something else.  In an attempt to cut down my TBR pile, I decided to finally pick it up.  And let me just say.. I am so, so glad I did!  Yes, all those comments you've read about how amazing this book is - are true!!!  There's a reason (many reasons) why Stephanie Perkins' debut novel has gotten so much attention among the YA realm.  Let me just tell you a few...

If you're a fan of quirky, humorous, yet realistic YA fiction then Anna and the French Kiss is the perfect book for you.  The story follows an American teenage girl who is sent to boarding school in Paris, France by her pompous father & hands-off mother.  The reality of leaving behind her best friend Bridgette, her little brother Sean, & the potential of a new boyfriend Toph devastates Anna.  How could her parents do this to her??  Immediately Anna feels helpless & alone in one of the largest & supposedly most romantic cities in the world.  She does not speak the language, eat the food, or dare to venture out past her school's grounds.  Just as she's settled herself in to become the hermit that she's trying to be, Anna meets Etienne St. Claire.  Oh Etienne (or is it St. Claire??)... *swoon*  He is half British, half American, half Parisian - a mut if you will!  But a beautiful mut, with beautiful hair.  Immediately Anna is drawn to him.  She becomes friends with his friends, a close-knit group who have grown to know one another at this American boarding school in Paris.

Slowly Anna emerges from her shell & attempts to experience Paris.  With the help of Etienne & her other new friends, Anna begins to come around & appreciate Paris & all it has to offer.  Anna's personality is what stole the show for me.  I loved how honest she was, mainly in her thoughts to herself.  Her lust for Etienne made me laugh so much!  From the inappropriate thoughts about the way he bit his pinky nail, to the smell of his freshly shampooed hair.  I was right there, inside her mind, experiencing it all just as she was.

The build up between Anna & Etienne was unreal!  Yes, it was obvious where this story was taking us; however, I loved loved LOVED the path it took us on to get there.  The relationship between the two of them started out as friends, which any good stable relationship should begin as.  They took the time to really get to know each other.  Then the heat began to rise slowly between the two.  I could literally feel the tension when Etienne's arm would graze Anna's arm.  The jolt of electricity that shot right through her body, simply because his knee touched hers.  The stolen glances & irresistible grins.  It was the small moments which escalated to much bigger, more grand moments in their relationship.

Stephanie Perkins' writing style is fresh & upbeat.  After reading this book I will definitely pick up another book of hers in the future.  And good news!  A companion novel for Anna and the French Kiss will be published September 2011 titled Lola and the Boy Next Door.  Along with the rest of the YA book blogging community, I am very eager to get my hands on that book!  The wait in reading Anna and the French Kiss was so worth it!  If you were reluctant, like I was, I suggest you stop holding off & pick up this book NOW.  If you're a fan of Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling series, then you may come to like this story & Stephanie's writing as well.  How's that for persuasion??

Now I must go find me a British/American/Parisian man with beautiful hair!