![Book Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door]()
review, Romance, YA |
caI quickly needed a short and sunny read to wash out the bad after taste of the last book I read, and I picked out ‘Lola and the Boy Next Door on an impulse. I had wanted to read the Anna and the French kiss before this book, being the first of the series and all, but couldn’t find it on my book pile.
At a time when my Facebook wall is filled with pompous quotes from Augustus and Hazel from The Fault in Our Stars, Lola’s teenage love story came out as a refresher. It accomplished what I wished for. A quick breezy, light hearted distraction from all the chaos around me, without trying to be more than what it is. Don’t get me wrong, I do love reading about nerdy teens, even nerdy dying teens but that was not exactly what I wanted read just now.
Book: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Fiction – Romance;, Young Adult
Main Characters: Lola Nolan (Dolores Nolan), Cricket Bell, Calliope Bell, Max, Andy and Nathan Nolan, Norah Nolan
Setting: San Francisco, California, The USA
Dolores Nolan, a costume designer of 17, almost perfect daughter to her two dads and a part time worker at movie theatre. She is desperately in love with Max who is all coolness personified – a tattooed band musician with bleached hair roots of 22 years. She is pretty smitten over him, much like her namesake. She tries to earn her fathers’ blessings and freedom from their Sunday brunches with her boyfriend and check-ins through hourly calls. The parents and her best friend, Lindsey try to voice their concern over their age difference.
The story takes a turn when her first love, Cricket Bell (More about the name later) and his family return to their house after two years. Lola is unable to choose between cool and older Max or the childhood best friend and sweetheart, nerdy Cricket.
I loved the writing. It is a simple story, boy-girl break up, girl dates someone else, boy-girl meet again, gets back together after heart aches (and few sad tunes if it were a movie). I liked the way each character was described just the right depth without dragging the story line, yet deep enough to understand them.
I found it really hard to like Lola – for a 17 year old she is pretty dumb to be chasing a 22 old guy. Wait, that’s love – I am overlooking it. But she is too selfish, lying pretty much to everyone, ditching her best friend, and letting Max walk over Lindsey at every opportunity and then later gets completely dependent on Cricket for everything.
And what was the author thinking when she named a lead ‘Cricket’? He is Mr. Nice that’s it. Nothing to be liked about nor hated. But when he is with Lola he is just happy being a doormat. Wait again, it is love. Then what is this being a toy to his possessive sister? Both the male and female leads didn’t personally appeal to me, but I liked the mushy love story.
Oh, there is also yet another love story on the sidelines, Anna and St Clair from the book one, which made me feel I have to read that book but not right now. I will wait for my next mood out or another bad book 😉
![Book Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door]()
review, Thriller |
I just realized there are few authors that I fall in love right from their first book that I can lay my hands on, and then they go on to make me stay in love (unlike the people in real life, but that is a story for another time), with every one of their other books.
I am all praise about Gillian Flynn (of the Gone Girl fame) and her book Dark Places, and I can’t stop myself raving about it to everyone who would listen and who wouldn’t even. Gillian Flynn, you are my newest favorite author!
About Dark Places
Book: Dark Places
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Fiction – Thriller
Main Characters: Libby Day, Ben Day, Patty Day, Ronald ‘Runner’ Day, Diondra Wertzner
Setting: Kansas City, Missouri, The USA
Plot Summary of Dark Places
Twenty five years ago, 7 years old Libby Day testifies against her 15 years old brother Ben, for the massacre of their family – their mother and two younger sisters. Ben is convicted for life, partially on Libby’s testimony and partially on the evidences related to his practices of ritualistic Satanic worship and substance abuse.
Libby is still mentally stunted and turns pretty much selfish and broke, living these many years on the donations and trust fund for survivors of such murders. Libby blocks away, mentally and physically, anything to do with ‘those’ days – until she was contacted by an odd club obsessed with solving mysteries, called Kill Club.
The members of the club are convinced that Ben was not the murderer after all, and offer to pay Libby to talk to people related to the murder or the Day family. Libby agrees to do it for want of money. As she meets the people from her past, she unravels the dark secrets that happened decades ago as well as the poignant and confused memories she had safely locked up in her mind.
Their mother, Patty was shot on her head, both Patty and Debby had been slaughtered with an axe, and Michelle was strangled to death. The walls were covered with blood and scriptures and profanity. Libby confesses to the reader that she had not seen anything but was hiding and listening to a male voice and screeches of their mother. She tries to convince herself that she did the right thing and all the evidences did point to Ben. Was she correct? Did she put the right person in? Will she able to get past her past demons? Grab a copy of the Dark Places right now.
Book review of Dark Places
The narrative alternates from present day Libby, and voices of Patty Day (mother) and Ben Day on the day of the gruesome murders.
I have always been partial to stories with flawed characters and guess what, this book is so ridden with them that I can’t help loving the book and the writing – not the characters. And that’s there, that I didn’t love or even like any of the characters. The plot is gory, dark and depressing; yet poignant enough to strike a chord in your heart and hold my attention.
Each character is etched to perfection and the flaws are quite real. Be it Patty who hated her miserable life so much that she could see only the easy way out or Ben who wanted only a sign of approval from his girlfriend and friends. Or Libby who did not want to take a step to recount her past until she found it as a lucrative business. Yes, these are the kinds of people I look forward to in books. (Yes, I am creepy and weird)
Despite the gory theme with abundant violence, it was the writing of Gillian Flynn that kept me reading it. I love that she expresses so much emotions with few words. Having seen read and loved “Gone Girl” I was sure I would enjoy the book but I ended loving it as much.
Quotes I liked from Dark Places
As ever, some of the quotes that I loved from the book.
“I was not a lovable child, and I’d grown into a deeply unlovable adult. Draw a picture of my soul, and it’d be a scribble with fangs.”
“That was another of my mom’s words: glum. It meant having the blues in a way that annoyed other people. Having the blues aggressively.”
“I felt something loosen in me, that shouldn’t have loosened. A stitch come undone.”
“They were recognizable but totally foreign, an everyday word you suddenly couldn’t remember to save your life.”
Many might have a problem with the ending being abrupt but that is how life is. The twisted and vile nature of people and circumstances do play a lot of role in everyone’s life.
Of course, the book is not for everybody. Perhaps, Satanic worship, substance abuse, underage sex, teen pregnancy as well as the vivid description of the bloody massacre would be too much. But on the whole I loved her writing and I am looking forward to reading her other books as well.
Bottom Line
If you are up for dark thriller, with so many twists that you don’t see them at all and beautiful writing to accompany, the Dark Places should be your pick.
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Have you read Dark Places by Gillian Flynn or any of Flynn’s books? Have you watched Gone Girl? Let me know how you like her books.
review, Romance |
I can’t remember the last time I got myself so engrossed myself into anything – let alone a book that I forgot I had other plans for the evening. It so happened yesterday that we barely reached the cinemas to catch the movie on time – thanks to Kavipriya Moorthy’s I don’t wear sunscreen.
Book: I don’t wear sunscreen
Author: Kavipriya Moorthy
Genre: Fiction – Romance
Main Characters: Laksha, Pallavi, Sai Prabhu, Saurav
Setting: Chennai, India
Few really badly written books had let me strive away from Indian authors for a while, so I was little apprehensive about reading the book, when a mutual friend was talking about Kavipriya’s book, as I did not want to my snobby (sometimes) book taste to lead . But “I don’t wear sunscreens” made all my doubts disappear.
The story is about two childhood best friends Laksha and Pallavi who have different aspirations in life, and their respective love lives. The story is just not about friendship, love and career dreams – it tries to shows a life of a typical girl from Chennai, which makes it easier for the reader to feel related to.
The story is extremely fast paced and kept me wanting me not to stop reading till I reached the epilogue. Yeah, that led to few burnt and blackened dosas, but of course who could blame me – I was making them while I was reading – not the other way around. In a little more than an hour (according to my e-reader) I had completed the book and I was dying to write this review as promised to Kavipriya.
I liked that none of the character was pristine or the usual “best in the world” kind. Each had his/ her own explanation for their actions and none of them were too far fetched. Even the so called antagonist (I am not revealing who *spoiler*) had an explanation. And the story did end in a positive note albeit an abrupt one.
For such a short book, it does have quite a pack of characters – and most of them interesting too. In about eleven chapters, the book tries to takes through too many stories, which may or may not work for the other readers. Personally, I would like to be prodded by the characters, their flaws, eccentricities even after I have finished the book. So on that perspective, I would like to have had more than just a glimpse of the Laksha’s parents or even Priyanka.
The story holds its suspense till its epilogue. And I felt everything ended too soon – not that there were any loose ends but still a little bit clumsy, for want of a better word.
But more than everything else, my special kudos to the author for her efforts and perseverance in starting and more importantly complete her first novel. And a special thanks and word of appreciation to your editor – on a job well done. Keep going, Kavi!
P.S What is with the title?
I loved the writing. It is a simple story, boy-girl break up, girl dates someone else, boy-girl meet again, gets back together after heart aches (and few sad tunes if it were a movie). I liked the way each character was described just the right depth without dragging the story line, yet deep enough to understand them.
