Friday, April 3, 2015

Review: Lola and the Boy next door by Stephanie Perkins



Lola and the Boy next door
                                         By Stephanie Perkins

This is the book that follows Anna and the French Kiss also by Stephanie Perkins. This story talks about Lola or Dolores who is a really extravagant person. She never wears the same outfit twice, she dresses all sorts of wigs and make up styles and colorful outfits (which I really like about her).She has a twenty-two year old boyfriend named Max who she is deeply in love with but starts to wonder if he is really the one once her former neighbor Calliope who she did not get along with comes back. And she is back with her twin brother Cricket.

This book might be my least favorite out of the three just because it was hard for me to relate to a character like Lola, she is just so outgoing and rebellious, which I am definitely not. I loved Lola’s craziness and how she expressed her feelings in her eccentric outfits and that was kind of the only way I could relate to her (though I do not dress in crazy outfits but I am kind of crazy when I am in my comfort zone) otherwise I didn’t really understand her feelings of rebellion and it didn’t help that I really didn’t like her rocker twenty-two year old boyfriend (which I start strongly –disliking at the end). I still really enjoyed the book nonetheless and it was pretty sweet and showed how messed up but united her family actually is.

Talking about her family I loved Lola’s dads, yes dads. Her fathers are gay and it just makes the story so much more different from others. Some people might find it shocking but I really didn’t mind, plus her fathers were so supportive of her and so protective of her as well which was really adorable. I also really like how Stephanie Perkins didn’t discriminate homosexual people in any way because now a days a lot of people judge gays and lesbians which I find really rude and I am so grateful she didn’t do.

It was nice to see how in the end her problems with her family seemed to have almost vanished and I loved to see her relationship problems with her mom seemed to go as well and they were still not on the best terms but they were much more attached and friendly towards each other than at the beginning. Also at the end Lola changes a bit and learns things about herself that make her feel more confident and it’s just so nice and heartwarming to see (or read in that case).

Also Cricket, He is just such a cute character his describe as extremely tall and thin and just like Lola he dressed differently, maybe a tiny bit less extravagant then her but still pretty different then what most people in the streets wear. He is also so supportive of her as well and doesn’t really mind her crazy outfits or if she is just dressed in her less eccentric outfits. Plus he doesn’t pressure her into anything he doesn’t tell her to leave her boyfriend he lets Lola do the thing she thinks is right and I found that twenty times sweeter than her jerk of a boyfriend Max who doesn’t even acknowledge Lola’s friends.

Overall this book was all kinds of awesome even though I didn’t agree with Lola’s opinion and sometimes actions I still found her to be an awesome character with lots of personality who was part of a lovely story.

Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins



Anna and the French Kiss
                                         By Stephanie Perkins

This is the first book in a series of companion books by Stephanie Perkins. It is a story about a seventeen year old girl named Anna who is forced to leave her city in Atlanta to go live miles  away from  her family and friends, in a country she has never been to before, a country with a completely different language which she can’t speak , she has to go live in France. She soon makes friends and starts feeling more than just a friendship between her British friend, Étienne which is unfortunately taken.

Out of the other two books Lola and the Boy next door and Isla and the Happily Ever After this one is my favorite. I just love this book so much! It made me laugh and smile and sometimes tear up even though it wasn’t even sad at all! It was just such a cute book and the characters were so endearing, I loved every single one of them!

The fact that this book was set in France made me love it even more! As a French  person living far away from her homeland  this book made me feel so intrigued to know more about how strangers felt about my home country, and I adored it! All the clichés and the ideas on French people, it was just really cool to see her point of view on these completely different people. Also the ways Stephanie Perkins described Paris and the people living in it was wonderful, she described the places so well I could imagine myself walking down the Quartier Latin alongside Anna and her friends or visiting Notre Dame de Paris or just taking the metro(which I strangely do miss doing).

Another thing I found really interesting is that the books were sort of connected, in a way. Some of the characters in Anna and the French kiss appear in the other books as well as the characters from Lola and the Boy next door and Isla and the Happily Ever After appear in the other books.
Sincerely  I grew attached to the characters in this book with their witty ,quirky and funny personalities .They were all so sweet and friendly towards each other and even in the hard moments or during arguments they always found a way to get over the problem and apologize.

Also how can you not fall in love with the two main characters, Anna and her strong but lovely personality and Étienne and his British accent, shortness and friendliness .Reading books with a protagonist like Anna who does not allow people to step over her but is still really sweet and funny makes the book so much more enjoyable and fun to read.

The only thing I didn’t like that much about this book is the fact that Étienne already had a girlfriend which made it kind of hard for me to not feel guilty about them liking each other while she was around. Otherwise I loved seeing all the feelings and emotions Anna went through from the begging of her journey when she wanted nothing else than to leave Paris and go home, to feeling like she finally belonged in France.



Book Reviews?

Hi guys!
It's Mimi!
I wanted to tell you that as you guys may know I love books and I have been reading a lot of them lately, so I thought that maybe I could have a book review section  where I would write reviews and if you are interested in it you can just check out my new “Books” page on my blog!
I hope you find that new section interesting or helpful or something and if you don’t really care its fine!
See you soon!
:)
Mimi

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Meet my Dolls:Sarah!

 Sarah is the little baby of the family and also the most compationate,animal loving girl that has ever set foot in this houshold.She loves both of their pets Meatloaf (the dog) and Masie (the cat)tenderly as much as she loves ice skating.

Name:Sarah Lee Givani
Age:6
Birthday: May 2
Nationality: Italian
Hobbies:Taking care of the pets and ice skating.
Favorite color:Green
Favorite book:The Lorax and other Dr.Seuss books
Favorite food: Risotto
Favorite animal: Baby Bunnies 
Date I got her: She was given to me by my sister during the year of 2013

 So here is Sarah; if you want  check my other dolls out in the My Dolls  section.
:)
Mimi