Lola and the Boy Next Door

by Stephanie Perkins, 384 p.  Release date: 9.29.11


Lola lives in San Francisco with her two dads, her dog, her wonderful boyfriend, an awesome job at a movie theater, and the memory of something horrible that happened with the next-door neighbors.  All in all life is pretty perfect - until the neighbors come back.  Lola's world (and heart) start to rocket around like a roller coaster as she figures out who she is and who she wants to be with.

So this is the companion novel to "Anna and the French Kiss" (which I ABSOLUTELY ADORED!).  I don't understand why it can be so hard to find a really good readin' book sometimes, but if Stephanie Perkins wrote more, I wouldn't have a problem.  Lola is fleshed-out, her problems are relatable, and San Francisco sounds beautiful.  After tearing through "Anna," I was a little bummed that I would be leaving this awesome world.  But thank goodness Anna went to school in San Fran so we could meet the lovely Lola and the even lovelier Cricket (if only I could have a nattily-dressed gentleman caller in real life...).

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

by Dave Eggers
p 437

Part memoir, part catharsis, HWSG (acronym for title) is a journey into the life and mind of Dave Eggers. Admittedly I did not know who Dave Eggers is, but after the first few chapters he introduces his family and the tragedy of losing both parents in less than a year. While struggling to get his magazine (MIGHT) off the ground he finds himself guardian for his younger brother. Together they struggle to survive the ordeal of caring for the sick and dying, then totally abandoning their past lives to move to San Francisco. While this may hardly seem like a light-hearted subject, Eggers deftly moves from the darkness to the light as he examines grief, loss and becoming a man in a way that is profound and profoundly humorous. His writing gives his internal dialogue a voice that is brutally honest, intensely aware, richly crafted and wildly entertaining. HWSG has received literary praise and awards, rightfully so. It lives up to it's title so check it out!
This one gets a full blown Rock, Chalk, Jay, Hawk!!!!!