Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins ~ adara

Blurb:

Could the boy from her past be the love of her future?

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. And life is pretty close to perfect in Lola's world, especially with her hot rocker boyfriend.

That is, until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighorhood and unearth a past of hurt and anguish that Lola thought was long buried.

When talented inventor Cricket 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.

Lola and the Boy Next Door bercerita tentang Lola--cewek yang pakaian sehari-harinya itu enggak pernah pakaian yang biasa dipakai sama orang-orang normal, dia selalu pakai pakaian yang aneh-aneh.

“I don't believe in fashion. I believe in costume. Life is too short to be same person every day.”

Hidup Lola awalnya udah nyaris sempurna. Dia punya pacar namanya Max yang gara-gara dia lima tahun lebih tua dari Lola plus anak band, agak enggak disukai gitu sama orangtuanya Lola. Tapi sejauh ini, hubungannya Lola sama Max baik-baik aja.

“What'd I tell you about musicians? That bad boy type will only break your heart.”

Sampai suatu hari, tetangganya Lola balik lagi. Setelah beberapa waktu pergi, keluarga Bell balik lagi. Lola udah panik banget bakal ketemu sama keluarga ini--lebih tepatnya sih ketemu sama si kembar Calliope dan Cricket Bell.

Calliope itu dulu temennya Lola, tapi sekarang udah enggak. Dan Calliope itu sekarang atlet ice skating gitu, dan dia itu model-model cewek yang bisa mengitimidasi cewek lain.

Tapi sebenarnya, Lola lebih panik ketemu sama kembaran cowoknya Calliope--Cricket. Jadi dulu, Cricket sama Lola itu deket banget. Lucu lah pokoknya, tapi terus tiba-tiba, sebelum Cricket pergi, dia bikin sakit hati Lola--kayak salah paham gitu. Nah setelah itu, Lola sama temennya--Lindsey--berusaha bikin Lola move on.

“Here’s the thing about Cricket Bell. You can’t NOT notice him when he walks into a room. The first thing that registers is his height, but it’s quickly followed by recognition of his energy. He moves gracefully like his sister, but with an enthusiasm he can’t quite control- the constantly moving body, hands, feet. He’s been subdued the last few times I’ve seen him, but he’s fully revived now.”

Sebenarnya, Lola udah bayangin suatu hari nanti, pas Cricket balik, dia bisa mamerin Max ke Cricket. Tapi kok, pas ketemu Cricket dia malah...

Malah,...

Malah apa hayo HAHA.

“There are some people in life that you can't get over.”

Oke, mungkin segini dulu aja ya. Saya enggak mau spoiler (walaupun mungkin udah pada bisa nebak kali ya wkwk). Silakan baca sendiri ^^

Jadi yaaayy! Akhirnya kesampean juga baca Lola and the Boy Next Door! Awalnya saya dikasih tahu sama temen saya kalau buku ini enggak sebagus Anna and the French Kiss dan Isla and the Happily Ever After, jadi awalnya saya agak males baca. Tapi setelah saya baca sendiri, saya pikir, enggak kok, Lola juga bagus! Saya sukaa!

Kalau menurut saya, buku ini tetep lucu kayak Anna, terus saya juga suka karakter-karakternya (WALAUPUN MAX APA BANGET EW), dan walaupun--kayak Anna and the French Kiss--ending-nya udah bisa ditebak, tetep aja enggak mengurangi keseruan buku ini!

Saya suka Cricket Bell (JELAS LAH). Dia itu satu dari seribu banget (kebelet baca Petjah-nya Kak Mongs). Tapi beneran. Coba aja saya punya tetangga kayak Cricket : ""

Terus saya juga suka Andy dan Nathan--ayah-ayahnya Lola wkwk. Mereka lucuu!

Nathan nods. "Have a good time. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

I hear Andy as I'm walking out the front door. "Honey, that threat doesn't work when you're gay.”

Dan saya juga suka Norah, walaupun kadang freak, tapi dia baik haha. Saya suka hubungan Lola sama Norah.

“You should show encouragement whenever you can. People try harder when they know that someone cares about them.”

Terus hmm, Lindseyy! Lucu banget diaa! Suka main detektif-detektif gitu wkwk. Sukses ya jadi Nancy Drew (+ sukses sama Charlie juga ooppsss hahaha)

Dan di sini juga ada Anna dan St. Clair looh! Bukan cuma numpang lewat, tapi ada pengaruhnya juga ke Lola. Aahh, sukaaa : ) hehe

"Lola." St. Clair rolls his chair over to my side. "I know things are shite right now. And in the name of friendship and full disclosure, I went through something similar last year. When I met Anna, I was with someone else. And it took a long time before I found the courage to do the hard thing. But you have to do the hard thing."

I swallow. "And what's the hard thing?"

"You have to be honest with yourself.”

Terus apa lagi ya...

Saya suka konfliknyaa! Enggak melulu ngebahas tentang perasaan de el el, tapi juga ada kayak tentang mencari diri sendiri di balik kostum-kostum yang dipakai, friendship, family, dan banyaak! Romance-nya kadang agak drama sih, tapi entah kenapa, menurut saya lebih drama Anna and the French Kiss wkwk. (Ini pendapat saya doang loh ya hahaa.)

“Being a good person, or a better person, or whatever it is you're worried about and trying to fix? It shouldn't change who you are. It means you become more like yourself.”

Ending-nya juga sukses bikin saya nyengir gede banget udah kayak apaan hahaha!

Ini beberapa kutipan yang saya suka (selain yang udah saya taruh di atas):

“I know you aren't perfect. But it's a person's imperfections that make them perfect for someone else.”

“When it's right, it's simple.”

“And if I'm the stars, Cricket Bell is entire galaxies.”

“Sometimes a mistake isn't a what. It's a who.”

“Life isn’t about what you get, it’s about what you DO with what you get.”

Mungkin segitu dulu, ya. Aslinya banyak sih, tapi enggak mungkin kan saya taruh semua HAHA.

Terakhir, saya kasih 4 dari 5 bintang buat Cricket--the boy who gave Lola the moon and the stars.