REVIEW ORIGINALLY POSTED http://hobbitsies.net/wordpress/2011/09/lola-and-the-boy-next-door-by-stephanie-perkins/

Ah MY GOD.

No, but really. REALLY. Stephanie Perkins is a badass.

I loved Anna and the French Kiss on so many levels. I cannot say enough good things about. Which is why I was really, really, really excited to pick up a copy of Lola and the Boy Next Door at BEA. SO excited. I almost cried and hugged the Penguin publicist.

And it totally lived up to my expectations. Lola and the Boy Next Door is damn good – just as good as Anna and the French Kiss. I mean jumping up and down good.

Let’s talk about the CHARACTERS. Because Stephanie Perkins writes some badass characters. Lola is great. She’s so different than Anna and spazzy and original and artsy and creative and so utterly relatable in a way that only Stephanie Perkins’ characters can be. I know some people like Lola more than Anna and I can see why, but Anna is me in literary form and therefore she automatically wins. But Lola still rocks and it’s so much fun to be immersed in her book.

And Cricket! You guys have already heard a lot about Cricket but CRICKET! There’s really nothing I can say that you’ll understand until you read the book other than CRICKET!

And Lola’s two dads – I have so much love for diverse family relationships and I love reading about them and I love Stephanie Perkins for helping to create Lola’s character in such a complex way that involves these two dads who are so awesomely real themselves and I just….gah. All of the characters in Lola and the Boy Next Door are basically awesome.

Honestly, if you haven’t read Anna and the French Kiss, you need to do it like, last year. When it came out. And you need to read Lola and the Boy Next Door when it hits shelves this month. Because Stephanie Perkins is definitely one of my favourite authors ever. After TWO BOOKS. I mean, really. Go read these books!