Mark This Book Monday: Lola And The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins!!!

Hello guys! A new week starts today and although Monday might not be everyone's favourite day, in my case it's not that bad, since I have it off!

I'm starting this week's Mark This Book Monday with the next book in the Isla Is Coming readalong hosted by Andi from Andi’s ABCs, Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner , Judith from Paper Riot, Lindsey from A Bookish Sinister Kid and Meg from Cuddlebuggery!

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Continuing with the #IslaIsComing readalong, I started Lola at 1 am Wednesday night (since it was already Thursday) and finished it at 4 am, when I had to wake up at 6'30 am for work! And it was totally worth it!

Lola is a teenager that is not scared of being different, she has her own style and she wears whatever she felt like every day, one day she'd be a strawberry and the next she'd be wearing 50's vintage style. She is happy now with her rock star boyfriend and she's planning the most amazing Marie Antoniette dress for the winter formal. Things change when the Bell twins move back next door.

I was a bit worried about Max and Lola's relationship, because even if the age difference wouldn't have been an issue at any other point, when you're under eighteen, it can be quite an issue. I liked Lola's determination to get what she wanted, but she seemed a bit blind to the issues that others could see in that relationship. It was understandable that her dads were not happy but were still trying for her sake, but it should have been quite a warning the dislike between her best friend Lindsay and Max.

When I first read Lola's reaction to the return of the Bell twins I was quite worried about what the other sibling might have done to Lola, and wondered if it had been some sort of bullying... but I was relieved when I discovered what had happened two years back. Misunderstandings & heartbreak would be ok, but starting a relationship with a bully... I wouldn't have been comfortable at all with that!

Cricket was simply an adorable love interest, he's quite the complete opposite of Max, and he's not a broody bad boy at all, and it was quite refreshing seeing someone so supportive of their family and so upfront with his feelings with Lola.

Lola might have not been very fair to either Cricket or Max, but she wasn't fair to herself either and it was quite a journey for her to acknowledge her feelings and then decide to act on them. And it was good for her that she had Anna and Etienne as friends to help her see things on a different perspective.

I loved seeing Anna and Etienne as secondary characters and see how their relationship kept on progressing and just kept on rooting for them as I did on their own book!

And another thing that I loved is how unusual Lola's family was, and how it was presented, it might not be usual, it might have been a reason for some bullying for Lola at school, but they were her family and she loved them as they were, or ended up learning to love all of them, not only her dads, but also her biological mother.

A story full of self discovery and acceptance, not of one self but of others and discovering that not all the things we feel we want are the right ones for us. Very much deserving of 5 stars too!



View all my reviews