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.
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I know, I know, I just reviewed a book on Friday, but I had the wonderful good fortune to read AFTERGLOW books back-to-back.
I loved LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR. I finished it at 12:30 last night after reading it in one sitting. I think I might have even loved it a little bit more than it's companion book ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS (which I also loved). Here's my review of that from June.
So, what did I love about Lola? Well, I'm a child of the 80's and she reminded me forcibly of Molly Ringwald's character in PRETTY IN PINK. And this time, the character ends up with her best friend, not the wildly inappropriate guy. Which I love! Not that the storyline is at all the same, but the characters share some characteristics. Lola makes her own clothes, and she has a very eclectic style. Cricket (the boy next door) is quirky, nerdy, hot, and brilliant, all at the same time.
I loved her gay parents. I loved Anna and St. Clair from the other book are a part of this book. I loved her friend Lindsay. Oh, and I want to be Stephanie Perkins.
If you love contemporary YA (or even if you don't) read this book. It's perfect.
I have hardly ever read YA- though I keep meaning to. But I've been wanting to read this book and its companion for months now. You just made me more anxious to get my hands on it. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI loved Lola's parent. They stole the show!
ReplyDeleteAAAAAAAAAAAAH Kris!! Spoiler alert please! GEEZ! That kind of ruined the whole book for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm also deathly spoiler-averse in an extreme way (I won't even read jacket copy) so it probably didn't spoil it for anyone else :)
You sold me with the comparison to Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink! Great review.
ReplyDeleteSorry Sophia! But doesn't the blurb give away more than my review? :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad others like the review--it's a great contemp YA. Still glowing about it two days later.
Like I said - I'm so extreme I can't even read the jacket copy/blurb! I literally read the 1-line pitch (and sometimes not the whole sentence). :D
ReplyDeletenice review my friend +follow
ReplyDelete