Bookworm Blogger #YA: Stephanie Perkins

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive 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, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- 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.

My Review:
This was a whole lot different from Anna and the French Kiss, and almost a role reversal to that story. Lola is a gifted designer with a rock star wannabe boyfriend, two dads, no significant mother figure in her life and a fantastic best friend. Life is complicated enough with her boyfriend being so much older than her (her fathers don't approve wholeheartedly), but she expresses herself through her clothes and the costumes she wears, and she never wears the same outfit twice!

Everything's hunky-dory and not so different from any other teenagers life. But when the Bell twins move back next door, Lolas life begins to unravel, like the seams of her creations and everything changes.

What I loved about this book is my wrong preconceptions. When I first started it I thought Lola dressed the way she did becaue her mother was a non-existent entity in her life and she was brought up by two loving fathers. Possibly a reaching hand to empower the woman inside her and show off her feminine side. But a little way into the story we find out that Lola has always been this way. Wanting to create beautiful designs and wear them with pride. It's part of who she is - Lady Gaga style.

Another preconception was that the Bell twins were almost perfect. As we examine the story we realise that Calliope as insecure as Lola despite her perfect skin and perfect body. Her achievements as a figure skater have diminished Cricket's significance in the family, he goes where she goes, and because of this I feel even more sorry for him as he really is a genuine nice guy.

Max started off as a great character, going through all the right motions of being a great older boyfriend while staying sensitive enough that family-life is important to Lola and abiding by her father' rules. But gradually his shine wears off and we see his rebellious side peeking through that can only drag Lola down. When he started taking time away from her and revealed his nasty side to her friends he showed his true face.

Lola's fathers, Nathan and Andy, were what held this book together. Being brought up by two fathers is nothing new these days and I loved that Lola was a really happy person from a loving home. This isn't something you see very often in YA books and made a nice break. Norah also proved to be exactly what we envisaged from the beginning. But Lola gave her hope, and for people who are in unfortunate circumstances, she really gave us a glimpse of her maturity.

Overall, there are so many little stories going on within this book. All of the characters have their weaknesses and troubles and I loved how everything, through the heartache and the pain, finally came together at the end. Stephanie Perkins is now one of my favourite authors and I can't wait to read more from her.

You can reach Stephanie Perkins here:

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My Dusty Read is the very popular Anna and the French Kiss.
My paperback had so much dust on it before I started reading.
Why did I wait so long?

~~~~~

x

Dusty Reads is a weekly meme hosted by Giselle at Xpresso Reads where we spotlight a book sitting in our TBR pile.
My twist is that I actually, finally, read them!

Synopsis:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

Final Review: 5 out of 5

If you've read my previous contemporary reviews you'll know I'm not fond of the contemporaries. Thats just me. The reasons this has been sitting on my shelf for so long is that a) yes, it's contemporary and b) I've read a lot of school based books and I needed a break and c) I love the Paranormal genre and would gladly put those first. Sadly for me I missed out on reading a great book since I received it in March 2011!

So, you've read the synopsis and possibly even read the book. The first thing to say is that the first preson present tense really works well with this style of book. It's a style I'm getting more and more used to but learning to enjoy all the more.

So, Anna moves to a new school in Paris because of her horrid father and his insistance that she'll gain worldly wisdom from attending a school in a foreign country. Why Paris is chosen as that school is never really discussed. Probably because its a School of America. At the end of the day this isn't relevant at all as all of the characters are American origin.

Anna as a character was extremely likeable, and her new friends were easy to relate to. She fell into a group of friends quickly and stayed being herself, and they immediately included her.

Etienne St Clair is also a likeable character but certainly insecure when it comes to girls. His reluctance to end his previous relationship but be so friendly towards Anna gave me concern. Mainly because if it was me I would have insisted that he make a choice. Not straight away but especially after the Christmas holidays. Sadly Anna and Etienne face that age old problem that we all suffer from. The inability to really talk about their feelings. Yes, they play and joke around one another, they enjoy each other's company when they're in Paris and remain close friends. But the barrier is always there and Anna waited almost a whole school year before exploding at him after a drunken night out. Kudos to her for finally venting her feelings but I was frustrated it took so long! Although I did also cheer a little!

Of course there's no end of complications that occur throughout. They start building up from the beginning when Anna realises her first friend Meredith has unspoken feelings towards Etienne. And Dave comes into the story early on as a would be rival. Josh and Rashmi have problems with their relationship that sink further and Rashmi's upset because of Etienne's girlfriend.

But what I loved most besides the gradual growth of tension was Anna's acceptance that she isn't a perfect person, or a perfect friend. From the beginning we see her flaws and watch them grow but she makes amends when she realises them. Anna is couragous and towards the end we see her determination to help those around her, especially Etienne.

Overall, you've probably guessed it - I loved this book. So much that I'm going to buy Perkins other book very soon! I can't wait!