The Bursting Bookshelf

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:
If you didn't read my review of Anna and the French Kiss, let me get you up to speed: I ABSOLUTELY ADORED IT. With that in mind, Lola had some very high expectations to live up to. Luckily it did; using the same wit and romantic formula that Anna did, but it didn't ever feel like a rerun. I loved how the book served both as a stand alone title as well as a bit of a catch up on the lives of Anna and St. Clair; giving the reader a taste of their lives after Anna, without making the book all about them. The new characters were Lola and Cricket, along with a whole new cast of secondary characters. I really loved Lola in particular because she pulled off her zany spirit without looking overdone or exaggerated; she was realistic and fun to read. Cricket was a great character as well due to his quirks and interesting features; he was the most original character I've read about in a while. He wasn't built to be the perfect, idealistic version of a boy that the media portrays, he was far more interesting and complex than the stock type love interest. The relationship between the two was entertaining and had a lot of background and history: not instant love.

The story began with the meat of the story and used flashbacks to catch the reader up on missing details that were crucial to the strength of character relationships. With the utilization of these flashbacks, the characters grew in leaps and bounds, allowing for a well rounded plot to occur; it felt as though you were truly there with them. This fact may also have to do with how well Stephanie is able to write; she just knows how to please her readers while still making them feel a large range of emotions. Altogether, I give Lola and the Boy Next Door a 5/5 for being an excellent read that I'd recommend to anyone even remotely interested in Young Adult books.

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

Review:
I got this a long while back and wasn't sure when I would get the chance to read it. I had one major fear that was the main reason I didn't read it earlier; what if it didn't live up to the hype? I can gladly say that it did live up to it all; in fact, I may have found a new contender for my Top Ten Books. This book successfully matched humor with romance, but it never felt rushed. There was no instant love; there was a classic boy meets girl, and it played out in a truly enjoyable way. Anna was a quirky, amazing characters; realistic and fun to read about, she was a great main character. When a character is able to teach you about things about love, that makes for a remarkable reading experience. St. Clair was just as fun to read about, he had depth and humor rolled up into his characteristics. He dealt with his life in a realistic manner and was never annoying or over exaggerated. Even the secondary characters were deep, all with a sense of background and emotion.

Stephanie Perkins has a way of writing that entraps the reader's attention, she wrote with finesse it showed in the way she could turn an awkward situation into one with comedy and heart at the same time. The plot was one that kept moving no matter what, demonstrating the love aspect along with other themes that showed morals and more. At the end of the day, Anna and the French Kiss was just as good as the hype proclaimed; perhaps even better. It marked itself as one of my favorite contemporary books I've read ever, a high honor to me because of the fact that I often do not enjoy this genre. I give Anna and the French Kiss a 5/5 for being an awesome read that I'd recommend to any fan of YA.