I couldn't have asked for much from Stephanie Perkins. Whatever happened to all the legions of Etienne and Anna fans? Why? Why did Perkins have to break up with all of you fans to make that dull sequel. Today the Bookish life has returned after such along time to discuss, no, actually tear apart Lola and the Boy Next door. I read the book long time back. I still hated it to the core. Cricket, Lola, Max and everything in between. Before reading this post, if you haven’t read my review of the Anna and the French Kiss, you should. This is because Anna And the French Kiss was one of the best debut novels (that is after Graceling) I have ever read. It was pure perfection though sometimes clichéd but over all I still believe that it captured every single moment and made all the fiction seem so realistic.
I had built up such huge expectations for this book after Anna that it just kind of ruined it for me. San Francisco Paris
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Lola is a costume girl; she does not believe in fashion at all. Her new years resolution was not to repeat one costume more then twice in a year because life is too short to be the same person. She has a boyfriend who is five years older then her called Max who she thinks is really intelligent and smart. She has plans for the future and wants to be a designer. Lola’s believes her life is perfect until her old neighbor moves right next door. The person she dreaded the most, Cricket Bell.
My Opinion:
I practically worshiped Stephanie Perkins when I read the Anna and the French kiss. I had to give it the title of the best YA Chick-lit. Now, Lola was my next target. I mean obviously, to any person who has ever read any chick-lit, they will forget all of those trashy Meg Cabot’s and Sarrah Dessens and cry over the fact that why they hadn’t read Anna till now. This was like a betrayal. Everything about LOLA was a betrayal. Aren’t the sequels supposed to be even better then the first book? Look at Harry Potter, The Queens Thief series and even The Mortal Instruments. (Not Twilight, it get worse with every single word)
Things I hate about LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR:
Lola: I hate heroines that do two-timings or emotionally cheat with their boyfriends. I hated the fact that she was in a relationship with Max who was a “wrong” guy to be with and that she had to be with him till the last minute to break up with him. This was such a classic chick-lit. My definition before Anna and the French kiss was basically what Perkins wrote in Lola and the Boy Next Door. Lola annoys be to death with all her sparkly costume and her sense of dressing. Not to mention her superior air, lying to parents and her attitude. I felt that she was like those 12 years sisters that many people have. She was a completely un-relatable character, I don’t even see how people gave this 5 or 4 or even 3 stars on Goodreads. The point I will never ever get is: Why did she make such a huge fuss over a guy and still hasn't gotten over it after 2 years? Its pathetic the way she has over-reacted to the whole scenario with just one boy who happened to live next door. By the end of the book, I really don’t see much transformation in her character. Perkins writes that she had changed but where was it? I couldn't even feel so called “I have changed”.
Cricket: Doesn't it make you think of this?
Lola has had a crush on Him (above) her entire life. What kind of a name is Cricket? Who would anyone want to name their child Cricket? Why?Why?Why? Oh, Perkins! You ruined our trust! Why did Cricket wear striped pants or too short shorts or pointed shoes? It was not cool. Do you hear me Perkins? Not cool at all. Even after reading Anna for the 7th time I still kind-of believe that if I can go to Paris I will find Anna and Etienne standing in Point Zero in front of Notre Dame. The story seemed that realistic. If I think of Lola and the Boy Next Door I think of their abnormal Crickety names, costumes and pointed-shoes inventors and Moon talking. Yes, you read what I just wrote “Moon Talking”. They sit in their balconies and TALK TO THE MOON. I don’t want to describe it so don’t get me going. Cricket just seemed like a jerk sometimes, not because of what he had done because that wasn’t as bad as Lola made it seem but because of his emotions toward her during the entire book. It freaked me out. He knew that she had a boyfriend, still he stalked her. Ugh. Twilight. *Shudders*
Max: Yet, another jerk who is even worse then the other. Come on Perkins! We are NOT two year olds. The books is called “Lola and the boy next door” Max is not her neighbor. Its annoys me to death knowing that Lola is with the wrong guy, a.k.a Max when she has to definitely end up with Cricket, the skinny insect! Max has tattoos, does pot, smokes and whatever not. We know that she is with the wrong guy yet still we have to wait until Lola get some sense in her to realize that Cricket is the one!
Anna and Etienne: I am sorry to say this, I really am, but I hated these two the most in the entire book. For those of you who don’t know, they made many appearances through out the book and I despised whenever each one of them was around. They were STUCK LIKE GLUE. Not the song, but literally stuck like India
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| ❤ ❤Me and my beloved copy of Anna And The French Kiss ❤ ❤ |
