Madame Bookworm: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Lola Nolan is a lover of costumes, veggie dogs, and her two dads. She is NOT a lover of confrontation, her homeless birth mother, or the Bell twins next door. She’s always been good at being different. What she isn’t so great as is facing the fact that she just might still have feelings for her next-door neighbor, Cricket. Lola looks to the wit of her fathers and her own tenacity to pull her through her break-up with her rocker boyfriend. She just might rely on Cricket for a little bit of help, too.

Nothing I say can accurately portray my love for Stephanie Perkins’ awesomeness, but here’s a tidbit, anyway:

This is only Perkins’ second novel, but her voice is amazing. She perfectly captures the angst of your not-so average teenager in Lola. There are so many issues dealt with in this book (homosexuality, drugs, sex, homelessness), but it feels like a lighthearted, fluffy read. Lola is anything but lighthearted and fluffy though. She is a fierce personality who is trying to find her place in her own little corner of San Francisco. You can’t help but smile at some of her crazy ideas.