LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins

The blurb, from Goodreads:

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.

***

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.

ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins



From Goodreads:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.
As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

***

I can't believe it's taken me so long to read this book. And I can't believe I'm posting on Afterglow twice this week--that might be my quota for the month. But I am positively, absolutely glowing about this book. And that's the name of the blog, right? I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK. It reminded me of falling in love for the first time. Even though I've never been to Paris. I totally related to Anna and so much of what she does in the book (in particular, I distinctly remember stealing glances at a cute boy in a movie theater in my peripheral vision. LOL). I loved the boy, Etienne. The friends were real, but not perfect. And they were nice. It was group of people I wished I knew.


Contemporary YA at it's finest. Read it.