In Another Life

Published: September 29th, 2011
Lola and the Boy Next Door
By: Stephanie Perkins
Dutton Publishing
ISBN-13: 9780525423287


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.

Review

   Lola seems like she's a pretty normal girl other than her life-is-a-costume-party philosophy (which is actually kind of cool).  She's seventeen, has a cool rocker boyfriend Max (who at 22 makes her parents nervous), two Dads who love her fiercely and a great best friend she can always count on.  Everything starts to blow up in her face when the Bell family moves in next door again and she has to face the humiliating episode between Calliope, Cricket and herself from two years ago.  When Cricket seemingly shut her down, Lola's heart was broken and Calliope has always been jealous of the possibility that Lola could be important to her twin, when outside of her figure skating career he's all she really has.  Plus, Lola has to deal with her re-emerging feelings for Cricket, her dimming feelings for Max and all the drama that comes with her birth mother Norah, who is her adoptive Dad Nathan's biological sister and is causing all sorts of issues between him and his partner Andy.  A really cool thing about this book is that Lola works at a movie theater close to Berkley and her co-worker is Anna, also later on Etienne St. Clair.  So I got to see two of my fave characters in YA literature from Anna and the French Kiss again.  Other than that this book underwhelmed me quite a bit.  Lola came across as a confused, overly dramatic, spoiled brat, drama queen who didn't appreciate how good she had it.  Honestly Max's sudden trasformation from good boyfriend to complete asshole felt very contrived.  I felt like all of the feeling that showcased in this book was very shallow and one-dimensional.  That said, it was a pretty cute book.  Not very deep, but a cute and angsty teen romance.  I don't know if I'd recommend it to anyone other than people who have read and fallen in love with Anna and the French Kiss previously.  Overall, kind of a disappointment.  I honestly hope I connect better to the characters in Isla and the Happily Ever After.

VERDICT:  2.5/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*