Book Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door


Lola and the Boy Next Door
By: Stephanie Perkins

★★3/4
57% out of 100 
Teen Book
338 Pages

 Blurb:

 Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the 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.

 What I Thought:

 I expected to like this this book a lot, but I didn't.  I felt that this book had a plot extremely similar plot 
to Anna and the French Kiss, that it almost seemed the same.  In Anna the lack of plot didn't
bother me too much, but the characters were so lovable and cute.  In this book, I liked just a few characters. The characters that I did like were Cricket, Lindsey, Andy, and Nathan. I didn't even like the main character. Not clicking with or even finding the main character interesting is a HUGE turnoff for me. 
I found Lola to be frustrating at some points, and her complaints that were petty. Lola was too angst ridden and bratty.  The only thing I did like about Lola was her costumes/sewing.  I did find some parts to be not explained well enough. Cricket was one of the few redeeming parts in this book.  He was unique, smart, and I felt, too good for Lola.  I liked how Cricket wouldn't give away his inventions until it was completely finished and perfect.  I also liked the way Perkins' writing style made the book pass quite quickly.  I read this book in about five sittings, which I do not usually do when I read a book 
I dislike so much.  

 Summary of my Review:

 I liked a few of the characters, but not the main character. I didn't even find Lola interesting. I did really like the writing style and how it made the book fly by. I did not like the lack of plot and the overall story that was told.  I would not personally recommend this, even if you like contemporary novels. I believe that there are plenty of contemporary novels that are better use of time reading.












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