Bookishly Yours,
Vanessa
Because Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door are companion novels, this review comes to you in two and a quarter parts.
Part One: Anna and the French Kiss
My first thought when I grabbed this book was, “What is going on with this cover?” Let’s face it, the Stephanie Perkins books do not have the most sophisticated book jackets (Fortunately, this is easily remedied by taking off the book jacket). Not so easily remedied is the hideously cliche title. Perkins' writing is smooth and eloquent, with much deeper tones than your typical young adult book. It is a shame that the title gives off the aura of a terrible teen romance book (which it is, only sans the ‘terrible’).
Anna Oliphant's story is a good old coming-of-age tale with a travel twist as Anna leaves the comforts of Georgia for an American boarding school in Paris. As a up-and-coming author, Perkins is quite skilled in capturing the true spirit of growing up.
Besides the awful cover, and the terrible title, I absolutely loved the book. I read it twice. The story is told from Anna’s point of view, which is sharp and hilarious, I laughed aloud in the library more than once—much to the annoyance of the other library patrons. I don’t want to give anything away, just trust me, and try to forget about the cover and title. It may seem silly, but just read it, you’ll thank me.
Part Two: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Alright, Lola and the Boy Next Door suffers the same awful book cover case as Perkins’ previous novel, as well and the equally off-putting title. I made the mistake of reading the inside cover that babbled on and on about Lola and her oh-so-difficult middle class, first-world problems. But as I stood there in the book store—novel in hand—I took a deep breath and put my faith, and eighteen dollars, into Stephanie Perkins’ capable hands.
Lola and the Boy Next Door reads similarly to Anna and the French Kiss, but honestly I think Anna and the French Kiss was a little better. Both were lovely, but Lola and the Boy next Door just didn’t ‘wow’ me in the way Anna and the French Kiss did. Still, I would recommend it, as it was just as funny and well-written.
What I love most about Perkins’ writing is how humorous it is, yet with characters that are still deeply relatable and dynamic (no static Bella Swans here). Therefore, despite the major qualms I have with the façade of the books, I absolutely love the characters—even the supporting characters have a spark to them—and totally recommend both novels.
—Amanda
