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nishaali's review against another edition
4.0
I was excited about reading Lola and the Boy Next Door having read the awesome Stephanie Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss which is easily in my Top 10 favourite YA books. I was looking forward to more relatable protagonists and swoonworthy romantic interests and Lola certainly did not disappoint.
Lola Nolan is a girl who has life sorted. She is happily dating her boyfriend Max, who just so happens to be a few years older and a sexy rocker to boot, and busy cultivating her outrageous and original sense of style. Her only concerns are bringing her parents around to accepting Max and creating the ultimate costume for her winter formal. At least that is until her old (and incredibly gorgeous!) neighbour, Cricket Bell, waltzes back into her life reawakening old feelings and memories Lola thought she had long since buried. Soon Lola finds herself juggling her jealous boyfriend Max, her crazy family life and of course her confusing relationship with Cricket Bell. It isn't long before she realises that some feelings refuse to be silenced so easily...
Although Lola is the second in the Anna and the French Kiss series, it did not feel like a rehash of Anna. Lola is very different personality-wise to Anna and I found that really refreshing. Lola is louder and more confident but just as lovable. And she had an awesome sense of style that made me want to be more experimental myself. Check out this snippet for an idea of her wacky outfits:
Read the rest on my blog: bookishatheart.com
Lola Nolan is a girl who has life sorted. She is happily dating her boyfriend Max, who just so happens to be a few years older and a sexy rocker to boot, and busy cultivating her outrageous and original sense of style. Her only concerns are bringing her parents around to accepting Max and creating the ultimate costume for her winter formal. At least that is until her old (and incredibly gorgeous!) neighbour, Cricket Bell, waltzes back into her life reawakening old feelings and memories Lola thought she had long since buried. Soon Lola finds herself juggling her jealous boyfriend Max, her crazy family life and of course her confusing relationship with Cricket Bell. It isn't long before she realises that some feelings refuse to be silenced so easily...
Although Lola is the second in the Anna and the French Kiss series, it did not feel like a rehash of Anna. Lola is very different personality-wise to Anna and I found that really refreshing. Lola is louder and more confident but just as lovable. And she had an awesome sense of style that made me want to be more experimental myself. Check out this snippet for an idea of her wacky outfits:
"Today I'm a strawberry. A sweet red dress from the fifties, a long necklace of tiny black beads, and a dark green wig cut into a severe Louise Brooks bob."
Read the rest on my blog: bookishatheart.com
kofolapumpkin's review against another edition
5.0
Just like Anna and the French Kiss I absolutely loved Lola and the Boy Next Door.
Lola is that kind of person who will tell you something, look a certain way or do something and the next day she says/wears/does the complete opposite without changing who she is. I know that sounds weird but that's really how it is.
Anna and the French Kiss had that foreign feel to it (being in Paris and all) and the cheesy (but good!) romance of course but in Lola's case it wasn't that dramatic or predictable, it was authentic. Extremely so. I felt Anna's and St. Clair's story was pretty exciting and romantic but Lola and Cricket's story is much more realistic.
At certain points I felt so connected to Lola that I got teary-eyed. She's been trying to be herself and showing people who she is but they see it as a facade (or a "costume", literally) and when she stops trying they tell her even more frequently how she is not herself anymore. No matter what she does, she can't please everybody and then Cricket comes along and she realizes that she doesn't have to.
It's so beautiful. I'm getting emotional. Read it now. But don't pay attention to the characters' names because they're ludicrous.
Lola is that kind of person who will tell you something, look a certain way or do something and the next day she says/wears/does the complete opposite without changing who she is. I know that sounds weird but that's really how it is.
Anna and the French Kiss had that foreign feel to it (being in Paris and all) and the cheesy (but good!) romance of course but in Lola's case it wasn't that dramatic or predictable, it was authentic. Extremely so. I felt Anna's and St. Clair's story was pretty exciting and romantic but Lola and Cricket's story is much more realistic.
At certain points I felt so connected to Lola that I got teary-eyed. She's been trying to be herself and showing people who she is but they see it as a facade (or a "costume", literally) and when she stops trying they tell her even more frequently how she is not herself anymore. No matter what she does, she can't please everybody and then Cricket comes along and she realizes that she doesn't have to.
It's so beautiful. I'm getting emotional. Read it now. But don't pay attention to the characters' names because they're ludicrous.
adrienne_reilly's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sophiaknudsen's review against another edition
5.0
If it were possible, I would give this 4.5 stars, but since I can't, I just rounded up to 5. Overall, this was a super sweet book that I truly enjoyed reading. I love the way Stephanie Perkins writes and recommend her to anyone. Although this book wasn't as great as Anna and the French Kiss, it was still wonderful. I did think it was a little on the predictable side and there wasn't enough character development as I wished there was. The characters didn't seem to change as much as in most contemporaries. I also wish Lindsey appeared more in the story; I personally liked her character a lot. All in all, I really liked this and recommend it.
loniereads's review against another edition
4.0
I couldnt put this book down. its fun its full of humour and who doesnt love a cute love story. seriously read it... its great
kmparsons's review against another edition
5.0
This is the perfect cute romance. I love Stephanie Perkins. The characters are so well developed and go through a lot of realistic change. I definitely recommend this book.
nathalyalvarez's review against another edition
3.0
No he estado pendiente de mi goodreads ni mis lecturas ni de muchas cosas en los últimos meses. Tuve un blockeo y no podía leer ni reseñar ni concentrarme debido al stress pero decidí re-leer algunas frases de este libro y casualmente salio esta reseña.
Lola siempre ha sido conocida por los colores vivos en sus atuendos y por única personalidad. Ademas de su llamativo estilo de vestir, todo en la vida de Lola esta perfectamente planeado. Hasta que en el verano antes de su ultimo año, la familia Bell vuelve a mudarse a la casa de al lado, y con ellos, los gemelos Bell quienes hacen que Lola comience a dudar sobre su amor por su novio, su enemistad con Calliope Bell y su antiguo (y ya "superado") enamoramiento con Cricket Bell.
Todo la trama me pareció un poco menos típica que la de Anna & El Beso Francés. De hecho, este libro no tiene demasiado parecido al anterior excepto en que ambos son muy ligeros y fáciles de leer. Todos los personajes eran diferente, extrovertidos y diversos. Desde Lola quien ama la ropa y tiene el valor de usar cualquier cosa que le guste hasta Cricket, un chico sencillo que tiene el extraño talento de fabricar aparatos y hacerlos funcionar.
Cricket me gusto un poco mas de lo que me gusto Etienne. Él era inseguro y no estuvo tan idealizado, ¿lo que mas me atrajo? su sinceridad. Aunque la forma en que era creativo y los pequeños detalles que parecen no importar lo hicieron incluso mas especial. Por otro lado, Lola, oh Lola, quise matarla mas veces de las que puedo contar con las manos y los pies. A pesar de que era testaruda y todo, podía ser soportada pero entonces llego al punto en que ella sabia que amaba a Cricket pero seguía con su novio y lo único que pensada era "¿¿¿Que estas esperando para terminar con él??? no te compliques" pero se complicaba la vida. Nadie mas que ella causaba problemas.
Me molesto como la autora quiso utilizar a Etienne y Anna. ¿Va utilizar a los personajes del libro anterior? Bien, siempre quise saber que fue de ellos. ¿Vas a sobre utilizarlos y hacer que les prestemos mas atención a ellos que a Lola y Cricket? No, eso esta mal en niveles astronómicos.
Tres tristes estrellas aunque no puedo decir que esperaba mas.
carlisajc's review against another edition
3.0
Lola was actually my least favorite of the three, but it’s ironic because I literally finished it in less than a day. I finished Anna one morning, picked up Lola right after, and was finished before I went to bed that night. I think it’s just my least favorite because I relate to Lola the least.
Lola is the very dynamic girl who is constantly wearing costumes. She dreams of designing outfits for celebrities and movies and she loves being the center of attention. In her costume, of course. I’m just not that type of person. I wear casual clothes and not a lot of makeup and let my hair do whatever it wants (and it’ll do whatever it wants, trust me). And I don’t like to be the center of attention. But, Lola, like I have said, is still very realistic. She has all this big personality traits, but then she still has insecurities. She still worries about what people think of her, especially when she’s just herself: no costume, no makeup, just her.
And let’s just talk about this sentence: “It’s maddening how someone so easy to read can be so impossible to understand.” When I read this sentence…I just stared at it for a minute because I completely get it. I’ve often described boys are being so simple they’re complex. Literally, I feel like boys shouldn’t be so hard to understand…but they are. And I loved this simple sentence that made me feel better about my lack of understanding, hahahah.
And Anna and St. Clair are in this story, too! I forgot to mention earlier. So Anna is the story of Anna and St. Clair at a high school in Paris. Then the following year, Anna and St. Clair both go to (different) schools in California, where Lola lives. And Lola and Anna work at the same movie theater. So in this sequel, Anna is a secondary character, but I loved that they were still in it, because I loved them. Just look at this conversation between St. Clair and Lola:
"‘Exactly how far into the future are you planning?’ [Lola to St. Clair]
‘Far.’
The word hangs between us, loaded with strength and meaning…’When it’s right, it’s simple,’ he says to my unasked question. ‘Unlike your hair.’"
Lol.
But one thing about this book: Lola opens the story with her boyfriend, Max. And I just wish there was something redeeming about him…because there’s really not. He’s just a toolbag the entire book. Oh well, I guess.
Lola is the very dynamic girl who is constantly wearing costumes. She dreams of designing outfits for celebrities and movies and she loves being the center of attention. In her costume, of course. I’m just not that type of person. I wear casual clothes and not a lot of makeup and let my hair do whatever it wants (and it’ll do whatever it wants, trust me). And I don’t like to be the center of attention. But, Lola, like I have said, is still very realistic. She has all this big personality traits, but then she still has insecurities. She still worries about what people think of her, especially when she’s just herself: no costume, no makeup, just her.
And let’s just talk about this sentence: “It’s maddening how someone so easy to read can be so impossible to understand.” When I read this sentence…I just stared at it for a minute because I completely get it. I’ve often described boys are being so simple they’re complex. Literally, I feel like boys shouldn’t be so hard to understand…but they are. And I loved this simple sentence that made me feel better about my lack of understanding, hahahah.
And Anna and St. Clair are in this story, too! I forgot to mention earlier. So Anna is the story of Anna and St. Clair at a high school in Paris. Then the following year, Anna and St. Clair both go to (different) schools in California, where Lola lives. And Lola and Anna work at the same movie theater. So in this sequel, Anna is a secondary character, but I loved that they were still in it, because I loved them. Just look at this conversation between St. Clair and Lola:
"‘Exactly how far into the future are you planning?’ [Lola to St. Clair]
‘Far.’
The word hangs between us, loaded with strength and meaning…’When it’s right, it’s simple,’ he says to my unasked question. ‘Unlike your hair.’"
Lol.
But one thing about this book: Lola opens the story with her boyfriend, Max. And I just wish there was something redeeming about him…because there’s really not. He’s just a toolbag the entire book. Oh well, I guess.
brisingr's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 actually because /thanks god/ Lola was so much more bearable and the story ended up being really cute