Lola and the Boy Next Door

CRICKET!!!!!!!(I liked this a lot better than Anna, and I quite liked Anna.)1. (+) Lola, the protagonist - Admittedly, I liked Lola less than I liked Anna, but I don't think it's fair to compare the books just because they have such different characters, and since Perkins's stories are so clearly character driven, it makes for a completely different story. (I think the reason why it was harder for me to identify with her over Anna is because Lola's quirk is her fashion taste and I've never really cared that much about fashion whereas Anna's quirk was her OCDness, with which I definitely can identify.) Anyways, Lola is quirky, smart, fashionable, talented and dedicated to designing things... and also way more mature than I was at her age.2. (+) THE BOY, CRICKET - lovelovelovelovelove! This boy is a personification of my type of guy ;p. Nice, nerdy, brilliant, thoughtful, has that sort of inner passion which drives me crazy. I think Lola describes it by talking about how he really uses his body, how he directs every part of himself to whatever he's paying attention to...ahh, and writing on his hands and his emotions written all over his face and his integrity--getting upset over his family name! Cricket, why don't you actually exist? (See, I stopped minding that his name was actually Cricket because this boy is that awesome.)3. (+) Her parents - I don't usually fuss over the role of parents in YA books, but I do appreciate it when it's portrayed well, and Lola's two dads and her homeless birth mother cut such an interesting family perspective. I liked the overprotective (but not too overprotective; my parents wouldn't have even let me date a guy like Max) behavior from her parents and the way Lola interacts with them. There's a lot of respect there and for them to include her birth mother and to see how Lola's relationship with her also grows made me like their family dynamic a lot.4. (+) Cameos by Anna & St. Clair - SO ADORABLE. Their relationship sets a standard for Lola and who she chooses to be with, but just seeing them from someone's eyes made me feel all giddy inside yet again. (Also, I love how Perkins set the stage for all of them to have cameos in Isla, her third book. So looking forward to that!)5. (+) The Writing - so much more lyrical and romantic than in Anna, but it fits, given who Lola is as compared to Anna. In general, though, Stephanie Perkins does such a good job with her dialogue and creating characters who are so... alive. Also so quirky and fun to hang out with & experience their lives.6. (--) The Pacing - At the same time... ah, this is just my problem with contemporary stories in general. I feel like there are so many pages filled with the protagonist's thoughts when I'm just like, "hurry up! Get to the scene with them actually there!" I mean, yes, Lola and the Boy Next Door has good character development, but sometimes I did wish it were shorter.7. (+) San Francisco - Admittedly, it wasn't as huge a part of the story as I thought it would be after reading other people's reviews, but it's still important and is still integral to the story (the Berkeley aspect & the cameos, the music festival/scene, the homeless surrounding the city, the transportation, etc.). It was described really well.8. (+) Little Focus on High School - The pacing was DEFINITELY helped by the very few mentions of high school (it would've been unnecessary had there been more). It wasn't like in Anna and how the two of them went to the same school so their assignments could be discussed and I liked that. I liked that Lola had this other life on the side and that it wasn't the tortured romance at school, time spent during class staring at the boy's back, etc.9. (+) Random - This is a random category of little things I liked... like how the people who weren't so nice still felt real; they weren't really villains, but if you wanted to consider them that way, they were complex villains with believable ulterior motives ;p.... also liked the last line!!! LOVED it actually. I would post it here, but I'm not going to ruin it for the rest of you :D.... also LOVED the history Lola had not only with Cricket but with her birth mother. I'd list more but really there is no end to how awesome this book and Stephanie Perkins's writing are.10. (--) The Cover - I have a couple of issues with this. I do like Cricket's outfit and the star on his hand and the rubber bands--those work. But Lola's outfit doesn't look as ... outrageous as I'd expect. The houses in the background are kind of cool, but they look so painted and fake. Also, the sky? Why didn't they do it like a nighttime cover? The book mentions the moon and the stars a lot so it would've made more sense to do that in my opinion at least.I loved Lola and the Boy Next Door so, so much. Pretty much, I'll now read anything Stephanie Perkins writes. She has completely won me over.

A sweet, and touching story, and a very worthy successor to Ana and the French Kiss!~ Premise ~Its summer and Lola's greatest ambitions for her time consist of spending time with her rock star boyfriend and creating a magnificent Marie Antoinette costume for the winter formal. Things start going awry for her when her childhood sweetheart moves back into the neighborhood. Old passions clash with new, making Lola who her heart really needs.~ Characters ~Lola: Lola is a different sort of heroine than Ana. She's quirky, loud, and spunky, with a temper and a sarcastic wit. Not really mind favorite type of female heroine, but it's hard not to like her. She's an amateur fashion designer with her own sense of style. For her every day like Halloween - dressing in costumes with wigs, tiaras, big boots, and tons of color. She's a good student, and a loyal friend. She also has a bad tendency to lie and hide things from people she cares about which will make you want to smack her at times.Max: Lola's boyfriend - he's 22, and a rockstar. Lola's "dads" have agreed to let her date him but have imposed a ton of rules to ensure she remains as protected as possible. He's seems to really appreciate Lola, but shows zero interest in her friends, her family, or really anything that matters to her, which makes us question the sincerity of his feeling for her.Cricket: The boy that got away. He's an inventor, shy, sweet, geeky, and often overlooked by the people in his life. Cricket and Lola grew up together - neighbors from the time they were little children. He was her first kiss - at the ripe age of seven, and the first person she fell in love with in junior highschool. He's also the first person that broke her heart.~ Romance ~Sugary sweet - this love could seriously give you a tooth ache. But it's not an unrealistic kind of sweet. Rather it's the sweet that comes from a story where the good guy really does get the girl. I loved Cricket - he's my kind of guy. He's sweet, loyal, honest, and awkward. You can't help but root for him, even though you don't understand in the beginning why he hurt Lola so much. I'd have enjoyed this romance all the more if Lola was more my kind of female heroine. She's just a bit too brash for me. That being said, there are still plenty of swoon-worthy moments to be had in this book.~ My thoughts ~I found this story to be in turns sweet and touching. It's a young adult drama, so don't expect tons of action. What keeps you turning the pages here are the character relationships, and the romance that builds between Lola and Cricket.I'd be hard pressed to say which book I liked better - Ana or Lola. I identified more with Ana as a character, but the romance in this book was perhaps even better than what we found in Ana. There were less ups and downs - breakups and misunderstandings. And I think there was more wisdom hidden within its pages on the nature of relationships and what really matters in them.In the pages of this book we travel with Lola as she grows up, and learns to both understand and accept herself. We learn importance of honesty in relationships, we most vitally we learn what real love looks like. That love should be full of natural magic, it's not always easy, but it should flow. That it's a person's imperfections that make them perfect for one another.So if you are in the mood for another sweet romance in the vein of Ana and the French Kiss, this book will sate your need quite nicely.

Muito bom, edição linda e de ótima qualidade, fonte confortável de ler, chegou antes do prazo, super indico !!

Todo perfecto vendedor muy amable

Lo ame me encanta es muy facil leer y una historia que te atrapa desde el inicio con personajes muy completos y como plus esta anna y st. Clair del libro pasado

In love with the story .. Stephanie Perkins works magic with words

Nice