Book Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Summary: 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.

Review: Going in, I knew I would love this book because I loved Anna and the French Kiss. But gosh darn it, I really LOVED this book! No seriously. This book was amazing. 

The first reason I loved this book was Lola (aka Delores). She is such a spunky character who wears outrageous outfits. I'm so jealous of her style and how she is comfortable wearing whatever she wants. Her bedroom sounds amazing, with it's glitter, glitz, and organized chaos. I wasn't a big fan of Max and didn't really understand what Lola saw in him AT ALL, but I guess she only wanted to feel wanted. Besides her terrible taste in men (in terms of Max that is), Lola is such an amazing character and made me wish I was kind of like her. Her dads were awesome too (she was adopted by her Uncle and his boyfriend), and you could really tell they cared about her. Lola is surrounded by so many great people that I just wanted to jump in and live her life. 

But let's get to the real reason I loved this book. Cricket. I mean seriously, why can't someone as perfect as him move next door to me and fall madly in love with ME? He's cute, funny, caring, and he dresses well. He's always there for Lola, even if it means missing out on friends or projects. Cricket was just so patient when it came to waiting for Lola to get over her problems, but he never left. Yeah, he's perfect. PERFECT. 

You know what else added to this already amazing book? The fact that Anna and St. Clair were in it (from Anna and the French Kiss). They were SO adorable and helped Lola and Cricket figure out their own relationship throughout the book. We were able to see Anna and St. Clair actually together for an entire book and it was so gosh darn cute! 

So this book was over all amazing. If you haven't yet, READ IT NOW. And Anna and the French Kiss. If Stephanie Perkins writes another one, Lola and Cricket better be in it (sorry I spoiled that they get together but come on, you know you already knew it was going to happen, you just don't know how). What are you doing? Go pick this book up now!