RT 2012 book 21: lola and the boy next door

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Another Stephanie Perkins novel. Obviously, I enjoyed Anna & the French Kiss that I picked up the author's other novel right away. So was Lola and the Boy Next Door as swoon-inducing as Perkins' first novel?

The answer is NOT QUITE.

I think I liked Anna & the French Kiss better because I liked the main protagonist, Anna. I'm a little undecided whether or not I like Lola.

The Bells are back after two years and Lola Nolan has been dreading just that. At first, I thought it was because of "mean girl" Calliope, but it was really all about Cricket, the boy she has this huge crush on. Cricket broke her heart and upon his return, she's afraid that her crush on him might also make a comeback.

Cricket talks to her. Lola becomes this ball of nerves with matching butterflies pa in her stomach. Apparently, Cricket likes her in that way and what happened two years ago was just a big misunderstanding which was orchestrated by Cricket's twin sister, Calliope. But that doesn't make things easy for them because Lola has a boyfriend. Max.

I really like Cricket because he seems really nice and smart, but every time I try to make give him a face, I see Nolan Ross (Revenge). Why? Because Cricket is supposed to be tall and gangly and Nolan Ross is tall ang gangly and geeky. So anyway, Cricket's also that kind of boy you could bring home to mom (in Lola's case, bring home to her dads). Just imagine, Lola's practically throwing herself at him but he's the one backing off because of the boyfriend. If it were other guys, I bet they'll pounce on the opportunity. I wonder if nice guys like him really do exist. So Cricket Bell was my source of swoon in this book.

Lola frustrates me. She obviously likes Cricket and she's been lying to Max all this time. Clearly, she knows there's something wrong here. In other words, may malisya ang lola mo. Pun intended. Ha. Maybe Max is really this rock n' roll sex god that she thinks she can't let go of. If I were Calliope, I'd dislike Lola too.

Don't get me wrong because I absolutely enjoyed reading it. Hindi ko lang masyado type si Lola.