Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins is a companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss which I reviewed a while ago. Lola focusses on a different character who forms part of the same social group as Anna, the protagonist from the first book. Like Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door is a cutesy YA romance novel with great characters. It is an easy, fun read and I really enjoyed it.
What I liked
The character. Lola is an engaging protagonist and I enjoyed reading about her emotional journey. The challenges she faces were well portrayed and I liked how she overcame them. The supporting characters were also well developed, particularly Nora, and gave a good foundation for Lola’s romance. Although I didn’t enjoy the love triangle, it was consistent with Lola’s growing self understanding in the book.
The writing style Perkins’ writing style is very fresh and immediate and easy to read. I fairly flew through the book.
Lola’s non traditional family. It’s fair to say that Lola is growing up in a rather non traditional family. I appreciated the way Perkins portrayed this as just a variation of contemporary family life, despite the challenges it sometimes caused for Lola.
What I didn’t like
No School of America in Paris. I really loved the setting for Anna and the French Kiss and was a little disappointed that the setting for Lola and the Boy Next Door is back in the States. Ah well.
The love triangle. It was rather too obvious and predictable. In fairness though, the book was more about Lola’s character development and how it impacted her romantic life than the triangle itself.
I would certainly recommend Lola and the Boy Next Door as a fun, easy, cutsey read. I will certainly be reading the third in the series, Isla and the Happily Ever After.
Lola and the Boy Next Door earned four stars from me.
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