ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS
BY: Stephanie Perkins
LEVEL: YA
PAGES: 372– ( Paperback Edition) PUBLISHER: Penguin Young Readers Group
SUMMARY: Anna can’t wait for her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a good job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she’s not too thrilled when her father unexpectedly ships her off to boarding school in Paris – until she meets Etienne St. Clair, the perfect boy. The only problem? He’s taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her crush back home. Will a year of romantic near-misses end in the French kiss Anna awaits?
MY REVIEW: I absolutely adored Anna and The French Kiss! First I have to say that it’s very refreshing to read a book that takes place somewhere new. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve read over the last year and a half, that take place in New York! As much as I want to visit it, I needed a change of scenery as a reader and Paris did that for me! Anna is a senior in high school and her dad decides to send her to boarding school in Paris. Anna isn’t too pleased with the idea, because she is fine with the way things are in her hometown of Atlanta. However, Anna settles in pretty quickly into her new life at SOAP (School of America in Paris), you must be American to attend. Merideth is the first person Anna meets after arriving at SOAP and they quickly bond. The next day she is introduced to Josh, Rashmi and of course St.Clair, all of whom are friends of Merideth. Anna is attracted to St.Clair from the time she meets him. Although, St. Clair has a serious girlfriend (Ellie), and Meredith also has a huge crush on him. Anna struggles to speak french when she first starts SOAP, however St.Clair helps her whenever he can and he also helps her settle in as well. I was attracted to St.Clair as well. He has a British accent, he was born in America and raised in London. Anyway, Anna and St.Clair quickly become good friends. There’s also np denying their attraction for one another. I particulary thought it was refreshing to see how their relationship developed from a friendship into a romance. Anna wasn’t looking for love nor did she need someone to come into her life and and change her point of view on anything. She was perfectly happy with how things were back home. She had a crush on Toph, a guy she worked with at the movie theatre. However, the more she is around St.Clair she can’t stop wishing that he would leave Ellie for her. One thing I really liked about Anna and St.Clair’s relationship was how they could be themselves around the other and how they had this funny sense of humor between them. It was enjoyable to read! Stephanie is another great author that makes supporting characters have depth to them. In my opinion they should add to a story. There was some drama between Merideth and Anna over St.Clair, and there were times when Rashmi was giving Anna love advice. Anna also had problems with her best friend Bridget betraying her in the story. It was all very real and believeble, making the story more interesting to read. I can’t tell you enough how I enjoyed the descriptions of Paris, from the food to the scenery it sometimes felt so real! One of my favourite scenes was when Anna and Merideth were in a pastry shop. The way Stephanie described the food had my mouth watering! I also really liked a scene when Anna and St.Clair were on top of Notre Dame (that’s all I’m saying for now!). Overall, I could not put this book down! Stephanie’s writing flows very well, and she added a lot of depth to all the characters not just Anna. Anna was very fun, likeable with a great sense of humor!
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Make sure you check out Stephanie’s Official Website for more information on her books!
Check out Lola and The Boy Next Door September 29th, 2011
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