Author: Stephanie Perkins

Rating: 3/5

Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighbourhood. 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.

The plot was fairly simple to understand. We have Lola, a promising costume designer trying to figure out the next step in her life. What I got from this book was the lesson that you should always be yourself, as cliche as it sounds. Lola literally doesn't care what other people think of her. She wears the most extravagant outfits to school, consisting of costume jewellery, different coloured wigs and many more. By doing so, she attracts the attention of her love interest, Cricket, who has never wanted her to be anybody but herself. He's okay with her costumes and I think that was what Lola needed the most - somebody who accepted her, no matter what she wore.

I think the main struggle was learning to accept herself because, at some point, she tries to be somebody she isn't all because of what somebody else said. At this point, she eventually cares and tries to restrain herself. Gone are the costumes and wild colours.

I don't know who you are. Every time I see you, you're someone different. You're a liar, and you're a fake. Despite what you think, despite what your dads have told you, there is nothing special about you. You're just a little girl with a lot of issues. That is what I think about you.

Hearing this makes her question everything about herself and she wonders whether there is truth to these hurtful words. Luckily, she overcomes this with the help of Cricket and her family. And the costumes make a humungous return, just in time for her school dance.

Where do I begin? I found it extremely challenging to connect with Lola, probably because I'm nothing like her. I couldn't relate to her confidence and I found myself cringing at the costumes she wore. But that's a me problem, not a Lola problem. Other than that, she was a pretty nice main character although I questioned her character a few times. For example, I didn't understand her relationship with Max and her reasons for wanting to be with him. It seemed like she merely wanted to be with him to prove the other kids at her school wrong. They all thought she was a weirdo and here she was dating an older bad boy who's part of a band. The only time I could relate to her was when she began questioning who she was.

I'm a child playing dress-up, who can't even recognise herself under her own costume.

There wasn't anything extraordinary about him, but he was likeable. He was a great friend and was always there for Lola. Of course, he disappeared and they didn't reconnect because of a misunderstanding. Although Lola has a boyfriend, Cricket sticks by her side and is respectful of her relationship. He likes her so much that he's willing to remain friends, just to be around her. That's really sweet if you think real hard on it. He's also super supportive of Lola which I loved. He eventually helps her out of the slump she's in.

And maybe some people will think that wearing a costume means you're trying to hide your real identity, but I think a costume is more truthful than regular clothing could ever be. It actually says something about the person wearing it. I knew that Lola, because she expressed her desires and wishes and dreams for the entire city to see. For me to see.

This was a slow burn so Cricket and Lola didn't get together until really later. Lola had been in a relationship with her boyfriend, Max, for quite a good deal of the book. Cricket was still her friend but there were many times when they had to fight the attraction between them. By the time Max was out of the picture and Lola had to deal with the aftermath of his hurtful words, there were only a few pages left and the majority of those were spent with her righting her wrongs. I would've liked it if the book was a little longer just to see a bit into the future regarding her relationship with Cricket. But overall, they were cute.

So you believe in second chances?

Second, third, fourth. Whatever it takes. However long it takes. If the person is right.

If the person is... Lola?

Only if the other person is Cricket.

This wasn't a five star read for me, but this could be for you. It has a cute little love story and really great lessons to learn from so if you're in the mood for that, pick this book up.