Lola and the Boy Next Door

Publishers Weekly

Like its predecessor, Perkins's companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss has snappy dialogue and sexy love interests, though high-school junior Lola is a much more unconventional heroine. With an array of wigs and costumes at her disposal (her outfits include an Egyptian-inspired gown made from a sheet and a cheetah-print number adorned with red ribbons and brooches to protest game-hunting), she has no interest in blending in. As Lola begins her junior year, her goals are to get her fathers to approve of her 22-year-old boyfriend, Max, and to create a masterpiece Marie Antoinette costume for the winter dance. But complications arrive when Cricket Bell moves back next door. Two years ago he broke her heart, and seeing him again shakes her faith in her relationship with Max. What's a girl to do when two guys are into her? Lola indulges her inner angst plenty, but her self-deprecating sense of humor and Perkins's skill at capturing Lola's seesawing emotions make for a lively romance about a girl trying to understand who she is under all the gowns and glitter. Ages 14–up. (Sept.)

Children's Literature - Lisette Baez

Lola is a promising young designer that believes fashion should be expressive. She thinks the bigger the better. Bring on the sparkle, the outrageous, the wildest outfit or costume and express yourself. She has big plans for her future, and life is good. That is until Cricket returns, a not so wonderful part of her past. Cricket, a gifted inventor and previous neighbor, forces Lola to finally face and resolve her lifelong feelings for her him. Although she goes to great lengths to avoid Cricket and his twin sister Calliope, he seems to keep showing up in her life. Cricket's constant appearance begins to create some friction especially with Lola's rocker boyfriend, Max. How will this not so perfect event effect Lola's pretty perfect life? This is an exciting, romantic coming of age tale of young love. It seizes your heart and allows the reader to connect with Lola on a personal level. You are instantly captured by Lola's spark as she literally comes to life through each page and faces some very difficult life and love choices. Will the "boy next door" help Lola free her of their past or will he become part of her future? Reviewer: Lisette Baez

School Library Journal

Gr 9–11—Seventeen-year-old Lola lives with her two fathers in San Francisco. An aspiring costume designer, she has an extreme style and a penchant for outlandish outfits, sequins, and wigs and no longer cares what anyone else thinks about her exotic outfits. She also dreams of a future with her boyfriend, Max, as he pursues his rock-and-roll career. But life rarely follows a plan, and Lola's seems to be falling apart. Her parents don't like Max, who is 22, and seem to go out of their way to express their displeasure (not that the restrictions have stopped Max and Lola's more amorous activities). Then Cricket Bell, the guy who broke Lola's heart two years earlier, and his twin sister move back into the house next door, and Lola's unstable birth mother moves in until she can find a new place to live. As everything begins to come apart at the seams, she learns that, like fabric, life's pieces can be sewn back together to create something better than what was originally designed. Perkins's novel goes a bit deeper than standard chick-lit fare, and Lola is a sympathetic protagonist even when readers disagree with her decisions. Her shaken certainties and the obstacles that are thrown in her path give her maturity and depth and, ultimately, settle her more firmly into her dreams with a greater confidence. Secondary characters are well developed and lend believability to the novel. Step back—it's going to fly off the shelves.—Heather Miller Cover, Homewood Public Library, AL

Kirkus Reviews

Perkins avoids the second-novel curse with a delectable companion to her debut hit, Anna and the French Kiss (2010).

Seventeen-year-old budding costume designer Lola Nolan (who vows never to wear the same outfit twice) has finally recovered from two years of heartbreak at the hands of amateur inventor Cricket Graham Bell (Yes, "[t]he Bell family is THAT Bell family. As in telephone"), her first love and neighbor who moved away suddenly without a good-bye. Although her two gay dads are always looking for "[e]vidence of debauchery," she's found contentment with her 22-year-old sexy musician boyfriend, Max. She's in for a jolt again, though, when Cricket and his family return to their San Francisco neighborhood so his twin sister, an Olympic skating hopeful, can train with a new coach. Fans of the first novel will be happy to know that Anna and her boyfriend have not only remained together but play a role in helping Lola confront her renewed feelings for the boy next door. Along with the possibility of romance, Lola also reconciles her lineage to a homeless, drug-addict mother, while Cricket deals with the revelation that his notorious ancestor stole his famous idea. Just as Perkins did with Paris, she embeds a tour of San Francisco culture throughout the snappy storyline.

And steamy kisses and tingly touches? There are still plenty of those, too. (Chick lit. 14 & up)