I am normally not a fan of "break up" romance. Romances that focus on a girl finding out that the person she's with isn't right for her when someone better comes along. However, Perkins gives us a boy that's so wrong for our heroine (he's 22) that you're just itching for her to see the light (and she does get flack from the people around her for lying to bad rocker boyfriend and stringing along Cricket). Lola is a delightful and funny girl who isn't afraid to be different. Cricket is cute (cute enough that I can forgive him for being named Cricket) and a perfect match to Lola's courageousness. Lola's gay Dads are a nice addition and portrayed as normal adoptive parents who just happen to both be men and her troubled relationship with her birth mother seemed realistic. I loved this book and could not put it down. It is super romantic (even though it's breakup romance).
Appropriateness: This is a sweet and funny romance. Lola starts the book in a relationship with an older guy (she's 17, he's 22 making it borderline illegal) however, she slowly realizes that he might be attracted to her because she's young. It makes for a good starting point when talking to your child about why older guys go after younger girls. Lola is sexually active however there are no sex scenes. Her boyfriend (who is legal) drinks and smokes (he's a bad boy) but she does not because of her family history of alcoholism. I would recommend this book to fans of romance 12+
