{Review} Lola and the Boy Next Door

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton Books (Penguin Group USA)
Release Date: September 29, 2011

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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.

Oh, this is one of my favorite books ever written. Seriously. Lola and the Boy Next Door is a contemporary YA book that had me doubling over laughing, squeeing on the edge of my chair, and most of all...wanting things to be alright for Cricket and Lola. If any two people deserve happiness, it is them.

Lola has been through hell and back. Her mother got pregnant young and decided to let her brother adopt Lola, knowing that he could provide a more stable home life than she ever could. However, Lola's mom still shows up at some of the most inopportune times, bringing sorrow and disarray into Lola's otherwise perfect life. Lola dresses in costume. That is who she is. When her boyfriend tells her that she is a liar, changing her appearance everyday, never letting anyone see the "real" Lola, she knows that relationship is headed downhill. And...to add insult to injury, the Bell twins have moved back in next door.

Calliope is a figure skater, headed for the Olympics. Cricket's life has always been overshadowed by his sister's life as a star. Moving each time she decides to drop one coach for another, being home-schooled, never having friends. He left his life in San Fransisco years ago. Now he's home and hoping to reclaim that life. If only things were ever that easy. Cricket is going to have to work for Lola's trust, much less her love. Between him and Calliope, Lola had her heart ripped out and shredded into pieces.  Cricket might have a chance if he was only making up for his mistakes, but he also has to make amends for what damage his sister caused all those years ago.

Cricket meets a little known character, St. Clair, at Berkley. They become quick friends...as everyone does with St. Clair. This works to Cricket's advantage since Anna is Lola's manager at the movie theater. I love that Stephanie included St. Clair and Anna in Lola and the Boy Next Door. They made a perfect avenue for Cricket to get closer to Lola. And who can resist St. Clair.

Honestly, Cricket is one of my favorite characters ever. He is full of energy and shines like the sun. You just can't help but love him. Again, he is one of Stephanie's perfectly flawed characters. Cricket is weird in his own right, the crazy inventor type. Wild hair, a flair for the flamboyant, and good at everything he does - even though he can't see it. He's a bit insecure about himself...both because of past mistakes and a questionable heritage. He puts himself out there in ways that will cause him pain but he knows what he wants and if he is patient, perhaps he will get it.

Stephanie Perkins is a master at creating beautifully weaved love stories. Love stories that make your heart ache with desire. You cannot not pull for these characters. Nothing about them is perfect and nothing comes easy. That's life, right? But Stephanie's stories flow at a perfect pace, never giving you that break you need to put the book down. I read bot Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door in one sitting. Well, one sitting each. Each time I thought about putting one down...I felt my heart break, needing to know how things would end. Because Stephanie makes her characters work for their happy endings, the chemistry and tension are always palpable on the pages.

It wasn't until these books were recommended to me by some fellow bloggers that I started reading an YA Contemporary...now I seek these books out. 

One last thing, I want to say thank you to Stephanie for including a bit about alternative lifestyles in this book. I have family who belong to the LGBT community and it is important to me that their lives are acknowledged in a positive and loving way. I'm not sure it could have been done any better than Stephanie did it.

{Review} Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton Books (The Penguin Group)
December 2, 2010

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Synopsis: 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 Etienne St. Clair: 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?

After needing a break from reading so many dark books, I needed something fun. When I asked for recommendations I was repeatedly told to read Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door. Perfect recommendations...both of them.

I don't read a lot of contemporary YA but after reading Anna and the French Kiss, I can promise I will be reading tons more of this cute little sub-genre...plus lots more by Stephanie Perkins. She is so much fun to read. Her books are spunky and light. Her characters are always flawed in some completely human way but undeniably loveable. The kind of loveable that there is absolutely no way you can't fall in love with them.

Anna and the French Kiss tells a story of Anna, obviously, who is forced to go to a boarding school in France. How sad for her...right? Well, actually it really is. Her dad is now a famous author and decides that this is what she needs. She is a senior for goodness sake. Going to school in a different country for the last year of high school is completely ridiculous. Agreed? Well...personally, I would have loved to have gone to high school in Paris, and eventually Anna is grateful that she has this experience. It just takes time.

Anna wants nothing more than to become a film critic. She loves movies, all movies, but she doesn't want to be an actress. She lives to be the next great female film critic. Anna misses her home in Atlanta; her job at the Royal Midtown 14 multiplex; her friend, Bridgette; hopeful boyfriend, Toph; and her brother, Seany. Now she is in a new country, unable to speak French, without friends.

It doesn't take her long to make friends though. Meredith finds her crying in her room and invites her next door for hot chocolate and that marks the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Okay, a little far...maybe but it is exactly what Anna needed to make it through the night and the first day of school. Anna is soon surrounded with Meredith's other friends...including the infamous Etienne St. Clair, or just St. Clair. SWOON! I loved St. Clair from the moment Anna ran into him in the hall. I fell a little bit more in love with the turn of every page.

St. Clair has a girlfriend, Ellie. He has been with her for over a year and she may be the undoing of Anna. St. Clair proves to be a good friend, with great hair, and a sexy English accent. He has his own set of problems that only get worse throughout the year. His father is a giant @$$, refusing to let St. Clair go to San Fransisco to see his very sick mother. St. Clair goes a little insane, drinking a little too much, showing up at Anna's door and professing his undying love...only to be dragged away by his girlfriend. Things are changing all around St. Clair and he needs some sort of stability in his life, so breaking up with Ellie is out of the question...at least for a little while.

This it the first book I remember reading that is written in present tense. I remember reading an article somewhere stating that books written in present tense often sound like movie scripts. I never got that feeling from this book. Stephanie's writing is fun and upbeat. I love her fascination with hair. Her descriptions are out of this world. And her world building is completely made of awesomeness.

This book didn't make me want to go to Paris, it made me NEED to go. I loved the school, the sights, and the city. I loved St. Clair's crazy fear of heights and his love of The Hat. I loved that Anna couldn't speak French and was terrified to order food in the cafeteria. I loved that not one single person in this book was "perfect." This aspect of Stephanie's writing created perfect characters. I know...a little backwards...I know. I love that love didn't come quick or easy for Anna and St. Clair. They worked for it. I love that they were friends before they were anything else. I love, I love, I love.

I would like to tell you there was something I hated about this book but there wasn't. There wasn't even something I disliked...with the exception of St. Clair's dad...in this book. It left me smiling and happy. Completely refreshed for another round of darkness.