July 15, 2016

Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss #2) by Stephanie Perkins 3/5 stars

Hey, guys!  After reading Anna and the French Kiss and Isla and the Happily Ever After (all of which you can read out of order), I decided to read the second and final (for me) book in this "series" of teen romance books.  I was disappointed.  It was much worse than the other two books.

The Cover:

The Cover:
It shows Lola is a fairly normal outfit and a purple wig in a neighborhood with Cricket, the main love interest.  It's boring but okay.  B- cover.

Official Description:
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:
Honestly, just from the description, I knew I wasn't going to like Lola and the Boy Next Door nearly as much as the other books by Stephanie Perkins. It was somehow cheesier.

I hated the main character.  Lola might be one of the most unlikable protagonists that I've ever read about.  Instead of facing her problems, Lola decides to avoid them at all costs and through a variety of ways such as: playing detective, creating drama, talking to the moon, leading Cricket on, and costumes.  Lola would not wear normal clothes, instead wearing elaborate costumes and daily wigs as her everyday clothes.  Her dream is to wear a two-foot-long wig to her school's dance.  When reading Lola and the Boy Next Door, you are supposed to support Lola's fashion choices and praise her as "original" and "creative."  It wasn't.  It was weird, not just in a quirky way but in a stay-away-from-me way.  Lola also just spent the whole book acting really immature.  She didn't feel like a junior, but like a sixth grader.

Stephanie Perkins also had an agenda when writing this book.  There's no problem with agendas in general, but one of her main points is the relationship between Lola's two fathers.  She was trying to prove that two men could raise a perfectly normal child (which I don't doubt), but she failed at proving it.  Lola was anything but normal.  In fact, she might have been clinically depressed at one point.  If you can't make your agenda work, don't try to prove it! 

Most of this review is just an explanation of why I hated Lola.  The other characters were fine.  I actually really like Cricket and Calliope.  Some of the characters were fun to read about and the writing in general was engaging.

If the main character was anyone other than Lola, I would recommend this book.  It was cute and had good writing; however, Lola was so awful I couldn't do that to you.  If she doesn't sound irritating to you, feel free to read Lola and the Boy Next Door it was generally good, with the exception of the main character.

Phrase:
Tea leaves

If You Liked This Book, You May Also Like:
Anna & the French Kiss
Eleanor & Park
Isla and the Happily Ever After
An Abundance of Katherines
This Lullaby

If you're looking for a good book, check out my Suggestions Page!

Happy Reading!

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