Never met a cricket I didn't like!

So, guess what? LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR has a cover!! Stephanie Perkins (muah! Love her!) just posted a blog post about it not too long ago.

Meet Lola and Cricket! *laughs out loud* Gotta love that name. Never met a cricket I didn't like, especially this hunk on the cover!

 

And of course, here's the official summary:

"In this companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss, two teens discover that true love may be closer than they think.

For budding costume designer Lola Nolan, the more outrageous the outfit—more sparkly, more fun, more wild—the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins move back into the house next door.

When the family returns and Cricket—a gifted inventor and engineer—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 has an official release date of Sept. 29 from Dutton (Penguin) publishing. And get this: you know how this is supposed to be a companion novel to ANNA, and how there's supposed to be a connection, well, Stephanie Perkins revealed that this story takes place in San Francisco! And who, my fellow ANNA fans, just recently moved to San Francisco????!!

I know, I know. I'm freaking out, too! Especially about the fact that ANNA in paperback edition is being released August 4th (right around the time of my bday... I wonder if I can snag this copy to match with my hardcover...) AND a super special sneak peek of LOLA will be inside. Excited yet? Thought so.

Please be sure to visit Stephanie's blog to check out other fun stuff!

Thanks for reading, peeps!

Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

A n n a  a n d  t h e  F r e n c h  K i s s by Stephanie Perkins

Release Date: 12/2/10 (Hardcover)

Publisher: Dutton

Upcoming: Lola and the Boy Next Door
& Isla and the Happily Ever After
Age Group: Young Adult (14+)

Pages: 372

Source: Own/got it for Christmas
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Kindle
Word Blurb: Utterly and completely FANTASTIC!

"Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?" Goodreads»»

I'm in love with this book, like I haven't fallen in love with a book in a long time. The last time I can honestly say that I enjoyed a book THIS much was with Jandy Nelson's The Sky is Everywhere, aka my all time favorite young adult novel ever. And that's saying something. I've been kicking myself in the ass ever since I finished it for a) holding off on reading this one due to skepticism which was derived from reading mixed reviews and for b) holding off on reading it!

Gosh, it has everything! Intense romance...hilarious bits...awesome, comical characters... and it's in FREAKIN' PARIS for crying out loud! Paris! As in the French city, or the famous city in France. However you slice it, this novel is - again, I say this - in PARIS, FRANCE! I've always wanted to travel the world, but reading a novel like ANNA makes me want to sell my soul for airplane tickets (and other necessary accommodations, of course! Can't come back from Paris without some Mousse au chocolat. <-- indeed a necessity.) I can't tell you how bad I want to see all the huge and historically significant monuments (their beauty doesn't hurt either)... and I've seriously been craving croissants since I put this book down! It's not fair to tease a girl like that!