|| C O M P L E T E D || Nɪɴᴀ and Rinji || Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ}]

Packing, sounds like it was fun~~ (kidding :p). I read a bit more of Lola! I'm beginning to remember the cons of Stephanie Perkins' stories, even with all the pros lol.

[Rinji]

Ahh. I will read a few more chapters today.

[Rinji]

I can understand where Lola is coming from when it comes to her mother. I kind of feel the same way. My mother was around and worked hard to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads but she was never really around. She spent more time away from home than she did raising my brothers and I. I raised myself pretty much. It sucked. And I hate my mom a bit too because she always makes me feel like crap.

[Rinji]

Finished Chapter 16. She and Max are still together and all I want is for Cricket and Lola to be together. She asks him if he will be coming home the following week and I love his reaction.

""Cricket?"
"Yeah?"
I peel my gaze from the sky to meet his eyes. "Will you come home next weekend?"
He closes them. I get the strangest sense he's thanking someone.
"Yes," he says. "Of course.""

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ}]

I spent the last hour finishing off the book, read more than expected, but I was feeling incredibly lazy and tired today!

Haha Cricket's reaction was adorable.

Lola on the whole is a relatable character, I do like how she handles her mother. Well not handles, but rather how Perkins defined and dealt with their relationship.

I got annoyed at Lola when she kept Cricket a secret and was still dating Max, but with any of Perkins' books there are valid reasons behind all of Lola's actions and I don't get too pissed at reading Lola's lack of reason at various moments of the book. I think I do like the end where Lola helps Calliope out. I feel like that was a really good scene, and the comparison of both Lola's and Calliope's characters was well done.

Max was an ass, but I also couldn't help feel sorry for him for a bit. I mean he did a lot to be in a relationship with Lola, and even if Lola was a sympathetic character, it was still really unfair of her. Especially with how they got together in the first place.

Anyway, on the whole I did enjoy this book. It's cute, light and fluffy and good for lifting my half asleep mood haha.

[Rinji]

I have not finished the book yet but I will work on it today. I got to chapter 18 last night and there are only 34 chapters. It should not take me long to finish. I am enjoying it, though not as much as I thought I would.

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ}]

Ahhh After chapter 18, it's really easy to fly through to the end!

For me, it had a really good beginning, but the second half dips a little because of Lola's character, but it ends well :).

[Rinji]

I just finished the part of the book where Lola tries to kiss Cricket and he hurries out of her room and has not spoken to her again yet. Honestly, if she is having feelings for another guy and feels that the excuses are hollow then she needs to dump Max and just get it over with.

[Rinji]

FINALLY! Lola and Max had an explosive fight and are no longer together. Ten chapters to go. I did not like Max all that much but after the last bit of Chapter 24, I feel a bit bad for him. At least she does not have to fight her feelings any more.

[Rinji]

Okay I really like Andy. I am in the middle of Chapter 27 and her fathers found Cricket in her bed because he was trying to comfort her. He tells her that she is never to have any boy in her room again. She asks, "What about when I'm married?"
"We'll buy a cot. Your husband can sleep on that when he visits."
They both laugh and he gives her a hug.
"I'm not kidding," he says.

[Rinji]

I like that even though Lola does not really like Cricket's sister, Calliope, but helps her out when she needs it the most. I thinks he does it more for Calliope than to make Cricket like her more. She does not need that to make him like her even more after all. I also appreciate that Stephanie Perkins has the two talk about Cricket and come to an understanding. I did not really like Calliope in the beginning but I understand her a bit better now.

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ}]

Lol Andy is the man. I liked that the parents played a big role in this book. I mean there are plenty of YA books where parents are just missing from the picture.

Mhmm, Perkins does that. She makes you like nearly all the characters, and gives them more than just a 2D personality.

[Rinji]

I agree. I love that they are a big part of this book. I just finished it by the way. I love the last couple chapters of the book. This was a good book though there were some rough spots I liked it. Though I don't think it is one of my favorites. The gift that Cricket gives Lola in the end is perfect and beautiful. It made me want to cry.

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ}]

Omg yayyyy ^^^^

And yeah, it's the same way I felt about the first book, but on the whole it's a light, fluffy, easy read ^^.

Haha yeah, that gift was so cute!! I loved it (makes Cricket even more amazing haha).

[Rinji]

I agree. I liked Cricket through the whole book even if I did not know what had happened between the two of them when they had been younger. Then again it wasn't his fault. And Calliope had redeemed herself in the end.

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ}]

It definitely wasn't Cricket's fault. He was a kid too. But I felt real sorry for him when he came back and was partly stuck in the past, whereas Lola had already moved on and gotten herself a boyfriend :/. Cricket's your all round nice guy ^^.

[Rinji]

I agree. He did try to move on though because it was mentioned that he had a girlfriend once. Even if it did not last long he had tried. I thought it was his fault that she was mad at him and heartbroken for a time but then it was all explained and I understood.

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ}]

I like that Stephanie Perkins gives each character valid motives and reasons for what they did and why. I like Cricket's background story a little more than Lola's. Since I liked seeing the complexity of his feelings for his family, specially for his sister.

Sometimes I felt Lola's feelings were a little selfish (the way she thought them, and not the actual feelings themselves, since I'm fine with the way she is, and how Perkins wrote her; it's not as though Perkins gave Lola stupid reasons for the way she acts.) With Cricket being her first love and all, I mean totally understand why she acted that way, but sometimes it exasperated me!

[Rinji]

I agree with you on the thoughts of Cricket's background story over Lola's. He took the backseat so that his sister could follow her dreams. I also like how Perkins tied his family to Alexander Graham Bell. I did a research paper on the invention of the telephone and already knew that he had not been the first, but loved how the family was tied to him anyway.

I agree. I felt she had very selfish thoughts throughout the book and it got on my nerves a bit. Then again, a lot of teenagers are selfish.

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ}]

Exactly. I so badly wanted to shake Lola and say 'the world doesn't revolve around you honey! Just because he's back, doesn't mean much. Just because you wanted a great love, doesn't mean you had to treat Max like that (even if he might have deserved it!' But then...like you said, there are a lot of selfish teenagers out there, but still, Lola's thoughts in the book, reminded me of Anna in Anna and the French Kiss. Hence why I usually drop stars for Perkins' books. But still, on the whole it ends sweetly, and I can't complain about the good feelings I'm left with but heh, I probably won't read it a second time, but I will still check out Isla and the Happy Ever After!

[Rinji]

True. Though I don't know if I will pick up the other two. I guess the book did not impress me enough to want to read them. I might try Anna and the French Kiss later but I don't know. I did like the way it ended and was glad that the time Lola spent on the dress did not go to waist by her not going to the dance because she was no longer with Max. I also liked that Cricket came back from Nationals to go to the dance with Lola even though he did not have to.

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ}]

I think I read Anna's story back in 2011, so I don't know when I'll read Isla's, but it's on my tbr list, since I usually don't like not finishing a series, even if they are companion novels of each other haha.

Yeah that was a cute ending. The beginning was great. The end was cute. It was the middle that kind of annoyed me!

[Rinji]

That makes sense. Though for me if I don't like a book of a series, and I usually start with the first, then I don't read the rest of it.

Same here. I felt that it kind of dragged on a bit in the middle.

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ}]

Fair enough, I usually do the same too. Though I have to find the first book really bad for me not to consider picking up the second book. For some series, the second book is a whole lot more engaging than the first. But if the second is also no good, then I drop the whole series entirely ^^.

It dragged quite a bit. I mainly blame it on Lola's indecisiveness.

[Rinji]

Same here. On both counts. :D

[Rinji]

So I take it we are finished with this book? And discussion?

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ}]

Oh yes! We are :). We can discuss more if you like, but essentially the buddy read is finished.

(Oh yes, btw before I forget, I'm still on the waitlist for our other buddy read :/ sorry I haven't got it yet!)

[Rinji]

It is okay. I understand. I am going to return the book and I can get it back easily so it should not be a problem. Just let me know when you are able to get it. :D

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ}]

Awesome! I'm just a few people behind in the queue--it's surprisingly popular haha. But will let you know as soon as I can get it!

[Rinji]

Ok

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ}]

:)