Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Before I even picked up this novel, I was told that it wasn't as good as 'Anna and the French Kiss' (AFK) and after reading this book, I have to agree. With a book that is so closely entwined with the universe of AFK, it is almost impossible not to make comparisons between the two, which though I do feel slightly bad about, is a given.

This book had some wonderful characters in it. I really liked Lola for her eccentric fashion choices and her ability not to conform. I personally wouldn't have made some of the decisions that she made and actually got quite annoyed with her at points, but I think that that was important to make her a well-rounded character. I also liked her for her creative skills, both in baking and in her sewing. My nan is always telling me that having sewing skills will come in handy one day and although I don't think I'll be making a costume for a national figure skating star, it definitely inspired me to want to pick up my needle and thread again.

I think that this may be the first book that I've read that has the main character with two dads, even if the circumstances of her being their child were slightly out of the ordinary. I think it was great how natural this book made it for them to be a couple and how it challenged certain ideas, like the 'who's the woman?' question, which I always get really tired of as well. I'm really happy that even though this book is about Lola and her various boyfriends, this book had that aspect of accepting all couples within it.

If I were Cricket Bell, I would have probably stopped trying with Lola as soon as I found out that she had a boyfriend. Obviously though, I'm not and without that key factor this book wouldn't be a book. Personally, I really liked the idea of communicating to your neighbour through windows that face each other. It reminded me of that Taylor Swift music video that we all know and love and almost made me wish that I could have something similar. The idea itself does sound very romantic and added something to Lola and Cricket that was wholly theirs.

With each time that we met Max, I started to dislike him more and more. Firstly the fact that part of his and Lola's relationship was technically illegal and yet he went with it, made me think that he was a bit untrustworthy. If they really liked each other that much, surely they could have waited? Then the next moment that sticks out is when he was rude to Lindsey. Being rude to your girlfriend's best friend is on the unacceptable list to me and if I were Lola, I would have ended it right there. Finally, we have the overwhelming evidence of how he treated Lola throughout the whole book. I saw a spark of hope for him in the beginning, but the candle never even got close to lighting.

My final point on characterisation is that it was great. I love how Perkins goes into so much detail with all of her characters, even if they are not the main protagonists. I could have talked about Lindsey's love of crime shows and Norah's past and present as well. To me, characterisation like that it what makes a book real. In real life we aren't all flat, so it was good to see characters that weren't.

I have to say, however, that this novel was utterly predictable and in some aspects seemed like AFK, but with the roles reversed. As soon as Cricket was introduced, I knew that Lola was going to end up with him and it would have been nicer if Max were someone that I could actually find myself rooting for, rather than getting annoyed with Lola for being an idiot over her boy choices. I also couldn't help but make the comparisons of Lola to St. Clair and Cricket to Anna. That was what this book felt like to me; AFK, but with adapted characters.

As well as that, I personally feel like Anna and St. Clair were in this book too much. I liked where the end of AFK left me and from then on I could use my own imagination to come up with what happened to them when they graduated and from then on. Of course, they had an important role to play, but their involvement just wasn't to my taste.

Overall though, this was a good book and I'm happy with where it ended. I look forward to getting my hands on 'Isla and the Happily Ever After' next.

(Goodreads parallel)