Lola and the Boy Next Door

With two dads, a tattooed rocker boyfriend five years her senior, and a penchant for over-the-top fashion, Lola Nolan is not your average teenager. But as she struggles with the everyday issues of family, friendship, school, work, identity, and determining the difference between love and lust, Lola proves a realistic character with which young adult listeners will easily relate. With a 17-year-old narrator, snappy dialogue, and more than a dozen main characters, narrator Shannon McManus has a daunting task on her hands; however, she is up to the challenge and her reading proves truly exceptional. McManus creates fully realized voices for the book’s entire cast—from Lola, her two dads, and her two loves, Cricket the scientist and Max the rock star, to her snobby neighbor, her socially awkward best friend, and her deadbeat birth mother—infusing each character with subtle nuances and never resorting to stereotype. This winning performance makes for a fun, engaging audio experience. Ages 14–up. A Dutton hardcover. (Oct.)