Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins

Lola and the Boy Next Door – Stephanie Perkins

Lola and the Boy Next Door is the second book in Stephanie Perkins series, following a different character, and a different couple. Set in San Francisco, we follow Lola and her story, with her relationship with Max, and the sudden reappearance of the neighbours she has dreaded returning for almost 2 years. Calliope Bell, professional figure skater and ex friend and Cricket her twin brother, and Lola’s first ever crush. I read this book in less than 24 hours, as i really could not put it down.

‘Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighbourhood. 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.’

Lola is such a fun, quirky character, she is completely out there and so expressive with her outfits and costumes. She is raised by gay parents, one of whom we discover is actually her biological uncle. We see that Lola has a troubled history with her birth mum Norah, but it doesn’t hold her back being who she wants to be.  Everything seems to be pretty perfect otherwise, with a great best friend in Lindsey, and her much older, rocker boyfriend Max. That is until the Bell twins return home after a couple of years, and a whole world of emotions are turned on their head with Lola, leaving us completely in the dark about what has happened and just who are the Bell twins to her, and what was done to hurt her so much.

Cricket Bell, is quite literally the boy next door, but not as we know it.  He is an inventor, and is quite possibly as quirky as Lola is, yet he is kind caring, and incredibly supportive of his twin sister Calliope, as she furthers her career as a professional figure skater. Forever living in his sister’s shadow, and quite often bypassed by his parents, it is a joy to see Cricket step out of that shadow, and find himself, and try and rekindle the friendship he once had with Lola. All be it, she is now taken and in a relationship with Max. One thing i would really like to know about Cricket...just where did the name Cricket come from? what were the origins behind it? i would love to know as i have never met anybody named Cricket before.

I did not like Max, Lola's boyfriend. Nothing about him seemed right, he came across as caring and supportive enough, but something wasn’t right about him. I know most people probably think it was because he was 22, and Lola was 17. But that wasn’t it, he came across as incredibly controlling, his attitude towards Lindsey Lola’s best friend, and his almost attitude when having brunch with Lola’s parents every Sunday. If you love someone, you wouldn’t then go on to hold that against them as suffering through it. Right from the get go, i was team Cricket, and i wanted nothing more than for Max and Lola to break up. 

This novel covers very real issues within some relationships, the being in a relationship you are not quite sure you are happy in, where you believe you love a person and they are the one and yet you have doubts that those feelings are real, especially when the likes of you first crush comes back. The journey of trying to deny the feelings you have, and not being able to accept them as you are in a relationship with someone else. Not wanting to hurt that person and yet somehow find yourself then lying to them, in order to protect them but in actual fact that only highlights your guilt even more. The way Stephanie Perkins covers these issues truly is brilliant. I also loved the fact that Stephanie allowed Lola the time to find herself again after everything unravels from under her.

This story is such an adorable and easy read, i read it all in under a day as i simply could not put it down, i just wanted to know exactly what was going to happen and where the story was going to go, and just what happened for Lola to not want the Bell twins to return.  What i thought was just as great was the cameos by Anna and St Clair, Anna working with Lola in the movie theatre and St Clair being friends with Cricket at college, i loved that we were still able to follow the previous couple from the first book. It almost felt like sprinkles on top of the cake to have that within this book too.

Lola and the boy next door will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside, with a great romantic tale, humour and a bumpy journey throughout. I would say if you were looking for a light hearted, charming, easy read filled with romance then I’d say this series is 100% a read for you and i highly recommend it, with great characters, brilliant writing and an amazing journey, what more could you want?

I have given this 4 out of 5 stars.