Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Series: N/A, Standalone, Companion Book

Genre: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Chic Lit

Publisher: Dutton Books

Publication Date: September 29, 2011

Pages: 338 Pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

  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
.

  When I first saw this book, I didn't think it'd be better than Anna and the French Kiss. But then I was wrong. I liked this book more! (though many would disagree)

  What I really loved about this book is that their love was past appearances. Most books have the guy being hot, who would make us swoon and all that. And the girl would be really pretty too. I've been looking for this kind of read for a long time already, and I'm really glad that I finally found a book that looks past outer appearances.

  I mean, throughout the book, did Lola ever mention Cricket being hot or anything like that? No, right? Plus, he's tall, lanky and an inventor. Sounds like what a nerd would look like. And what about Lola? She wears wigs and costumes everyday. Anyone who doesn't know her would think that's kinda weird or odd. Heck, even someone who knows her might think it's odd! Plus, she has 2 dads! What the hell is that, right?

“Perfect is overrated. Perfect is boring."
I smile. "You don't think I'm perfect?"
"No. You're delightfully screwy, and I wouldn't have you any other way.”

  The love of these two characters weren't about appearances, and that's what love should really be about! I'm tired of all those books having good looking couples and all that cliche. I hope more books are like this book. If anyone knows a book like this, feel free to tell me about it. :)


“I know you aren't perfect. But it's a person's imperfections that make them perfect for someone else.” 

“So do you believe in second chances?" I bite my lip.
"Second, third, fourth. Whatever it takes. However long it takes. If the person is right," he adds.
"If the person is... Lola?"
This time, he holds my gaze. "Only if the other person is Cricket.”  

“And I hold my head high toward my big entrance, hand in hand with the boy who gave me the moon and the stars.” 


!SPOILER ALERT!
“Once upon a time, there was a girl who talked to the moon. And she was mysterious and she was perfect, in that way that girls who talk to moons are. In the house next door, there lived a boy. And the boy watched the girl grow more and more perfect, more and more beautiful with each passing year. He watched her watch the moon. And he began to wonder if the moon would help him unravel the mystery of the beautiful girl. So the boy looked into the sky. But he couldn't concentrate on the moon. He was too distracted by the stars. And it didn't matter how many songs or poems had already been written about them, because whenever he thought about the girl, the stars shone brighter. As if she were the one keeping them illuminated.

One day, the boy had to move away. He couldn't bring the girl with him, so he brought the stars. When he'd look out his window at night, he would start with one. One star. And the boy would make a wish on it, and the wish would be her name.

At the sound of her name, a second star would appear. And then he'd wish her name again, and the stars would double into four. And four became eight, and eight became sixteen, and so on, in the greatest mathematical equation the universe had ever seen. And by the time an hour had passed, the sky would be filled with so many stars that it would wake the neighbors. People wondered who'd turned on the floodlights.

The boy did. By thinking about the girl.” 

 

 

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