Lola and the Boy Next Door

Lola and the Boy Next Door
by Stephanie Perkins
companion to Anna and the French Kiss

For budding costume designer Lola Nolan, the more outrageous, the outfit-—more sparkly, more fun, more wild-—the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins move back into the house next door.

When the family returns and Cricket-—a gifted inventor and engineer—steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door. (description from Amazon.com)

Stephanie Perkins truly has a gift! She writes budding romance like no other currently in contemporary YA. Her romances are natural, realistic, believable, and swoon-worthy.

I was beyond delighted with many facets of this book. First off, can I just say, HOORAY for a love for the BOY NEXT DOOR!! I am a HUGE fan of this type of romance - boy next door, best friend since forever, etc. - and definitely feel that these nice guys do not get the recognition and love that they deserve often enough. Super huge kudos for that.

Second, I loved that Lola had two Dads. I loved that it was just the make-up of their family and there was no drama about that. It's just who they were. I loved that they were the guys that they were, too. They were both good, caring, fun Dads.

I loved that Lola was...well, Lola. She was fun, she was free, she experimented, she pushed the envelope, and she didn't apologize for herself. I felt so bad when someone else caused her to begin to doubt herself, and was so glad when Cricket reminded her that who she was...was just perfect. <3

I loved the way that Lola and Cricket interacted with each other. I loved the way that they strengthened each other. I loved the way that though they may have each doubted themselves, they never doubted each other. I loved their love. Every time I look up into the sky at night from this day forward, I will look at the stars and think of Lola and Cricket.

Worthy of a gold star? Absolutely. You should read this one immediately.

New Hunger Games Movie Photos!

So, I know I'm a little late to the party when it comes to "revealing" these pictures from the Hunger Games movie, but I'm going to blame this all conveniently on Winter Storm Alfred and the fact that I currently have no power. *I am secretly blogging to you from work on a break!*

The delay, however, means I get to share NEW deliciously awesome photos with you that were just revealed today, as well as the posters that came out...what almost a week ago? *cringe*

So! Not only did they come out with eight great looking posters for the movie (you can see Katniss and Effie Trinket below), but they also just did a great cast photo shoot for Vanity Fair/Entertainment Weekly that I grabbed a couple of pics from...







I'm started to get really excited about the film! They really look like the characters now...

Oh - and as a bonus...here's a pic of Jen from Yabooknerd dressed as Katniss for Halloween!

I think she did a great job with the costume! Kudos, Jen!!

I was really disappointed that this storm totally cramped not only my style at home (I mean, how can you sleep in a place that drops down to 20 degrees at night?? Brrr....), but also my Halloween spirit at work. We had a costume contest at work on Monday and I was all set to go as Effie Trinket (I had a pink wig and everything!!) and ended up not going to work because of the dangerous driving conditions ... *sad face* Oh well, guess I'll wow you all next year! LOL.