Lola and the Boy Next Door

Gr 9—11—Seventeen-year-old Lola lives with her two fathers in San Francisco. An aspiring costume designer, she has an extreme style and a penchant for outlandish outfits, sequins, and wigs and no longer cares what anyone else thinks about her exotic outfits. She also dreams of a future with her boyfriend, Max, as he pursues his rock-and-roll career. But life rarely follows a plan, and Lola's seems to be falling apart. Her parents don't like Max, who is 22, and seem to go out of their way to express their displeasure (not that the restrictions have stopped Max and Lola's more amorous activities). Then Cricket Bell, the guy who broke Lola's heart two years earlier, and his twin sister move back into the house next door, and Lola's unstable birth mother moves in until she can find a new place to live. As everything begins to come apart at the seams, she learns that, like fabric, life's pieces can be sewn back together to create something better than what was originally designed. Perkins's novel goes a bit deeper than standard chick-lit fare, and Lola is a sympathetic protagonist even when readers disagree with her decisions. Her shaken certainties and the obstacles that are thrown in her path give her maturity and depth and, ultimately, settle her more firmly into her dreams with a greater confidence. Secondary characters are well developed and lend believability to the novel. Step back—it's going to fly off the shelves.—Heather Miller Cover, Homewood Public Library, AL