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

Pinstripe pants!

Real hot cocoa. Rainy fall days. Cozy, soft flannel shirts. Flickering camp fires. Crisp, cool sunrises. Steph Perkins' writing. These are a few of my favorite things. Cue Julie Andrews. What's better than a musical with singing nuns and running from the nazis, I ask you?

Seriously though, I fell in love with Steph's writing last year when I read her debut novel, Anna and the French Kiss. (See my review here.) If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, or you know me in real life, you know that I am exceedingly, excruciatingly critical of American popular culture's view of love. It makes me physically ill at times. It's setting up generations to think that love should feel or look this specific formulaic way, and if it doesn't, then it's not really love. And that we need another person to fix our own neurotic issues, to achieve "real" happiness. Or that our love is just about you and me, baby. Who cares about all the people in our lives that we may be alienating and harming, because everything's permissible in the name of love! Oops, sorry. Couldn't control my gag reflex any longer. I'm surprised I lasted that long.

In case you are unfamiliar with Stephanie Perkins' books, she writes YA contemporary romances. Yes. You heard me. AND THEY ARE AMAZING. Her sophomore novel, Lola and the Boy Next Door, was released yesterday. Yes, I finished it last night.

Here's the back 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.

Lola and the Boy Next Door is a companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss. It's not a sequel, but the characters exist in the same world. This is a very different story than Anna, though we do get to see Anna and St. Clair post events in the first book. There are also some fun easter egg references to characters and events in Anna. You don't need to have read Anna and the French Kiss to follow and love Lola and the Boy Next Door, but it does increase your understanding of the people. Trust me, it would be better to meet Anna and St. Clair when they were in Paris. Their relationship makes a lot more sense if you do.

Just like with Anna and the French Kiss, getting lost in the voice that Steph created is inevitable. Although, Anna and Lola are very different narrators and very different people. Her characters are so real, with their strengths, their flaws, their mistakes, their attempts to amend wrongs. You just want to hang out with Lola Nolan and Cricket Bell. You want to go on walks with them. You want them to pick out clothes for you. You want to help them make pies. Also, I couldn't help but keep picturing David Tenant as the 10th Doctor with the descriptions of Cricket--tall, skinny, pinstripe pants, and crazy hair that sticks up. THIS IS IN NO WAY A BAD THING.

I think what makes me love Steph's books so much is that she shows real people struggling with real love. She seems to delight in jabbing holes in what teenagers think love should be or who the ideal person is. It's not the cool rebel boy; it's the boy next door.

Do yourself a favor and go pick up Lola and the Boy Next Door. If you're anything like me, you'll start re-reading it as soon as you finish. The last line is a stunning example of turning a cliche on its head. Happy reading!