"Twenties Girl" by Sophie Kinsella

What's not to love about Sophie Kinsella?  I love everything she has written (interestingly, I am not as fond of the Madeleine Wickham novels).  Twenties Girl is not exception.  Lara is about to go o her great-aunt Sadie's funeral.  However, she and her family don't really know great-aunt Sadie and attend more out of obligation than anything else.  It's at the funeral when her crazy adventure begins.  Sadie's ghost shows up at the funeral demanding the return of her necklace- and only Lara can see/hear her.  So now she has to stop the funeral, find the necklace, keep her newly founded business afloat, convince her family she's not crazy and try to get her ex-boyfriend back (on top of this, Sadie finds herself a man she wants to date but had to live vicariously through Lara).  Needless to say, you are in for a very fun read.

Kinsella's books are always just enough out there that you cannot put them down, but at the same time they are completely believable.  Her characters are the perfect blend of a little bit over the top, a little bit zany, and 100% loveable.  The writing is fast paced and I always find myself giggling as I read (sometimes to myself, sometimes loudly, out loud, in public).   Basically this review is just a gush of how much I love Sophie Kinsella.  But if you like books that are fun/funny, not really intense, and have a happy ending, then this (and her other books) is for you!



Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Lola and the Boy Next Door" by Stephanie Perkins

I Love Lola!    Lola and the Boy Next Door  by Stephanie Perkins is a fantabulous book!  In this companion to   Anna and the French Kiss, we meet Lola, a San Franciscan being raised by her two fathers.  She has an amazing sense of fashion, an older "bad-boy" and in a band boyfriend, and just realized that the Bell family has moved back in next door.  She has been dreading this day ever since the family moved out several years before.  Her entire world is about the turn upside down and her relationships with just about everyone in her life are going to change forever.

So, if you've read my earlier post, then you know that I wasn't crazy about Anna and the French Kiss.  While I enjoyed it, I felt that it was a very generic piece of YA fiction.  This was not the case with Lola.  I felt that her character and her experiences were quite unique.  She goes through many of the same ups and downs that you can expect in a book about a teenager (especially when two guys are involved) but it didn't feel like I was reading the same story over and over again.  Lola is awesome!

One thing that I absolutely LOVE about Lola is her fashion.  I felt that the outfit modeled on the cover didn’t even come close to the way I envisioned Lola in my head (and frankly, the model looks a little too posed and uncomfortable if you asked me).  As I was reading, I couldn't help but envision Lola in clothing I have seen on the website SmarmyClothes.com.  It was fun to actually have something to base my imaginings of the character on since I am very much a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl and have no real experience in the fashion world.  

While reading, these are the sort of
outfits I envisioned Lola wearing

SmarmyClothes.com

This book is definelty going on my "to-purchase" list (thank goodness for the library.  Otherwise I would be beyond broke) and will certainly be reading it again and again!

Happy Reading!
-Melly