Reviewed by Christina Wilson, librarian, who can often be heard saying "You should read this book and let me tell you why..."
Imagine you’re about to begin your senior year of
high school with all your friends, when your dad announces you have to go to
boarding school in Paris.
Well that’s Anna Oliphant’s life. Anna’s
famous novelist father decides his daughter needs a more “respectable” education
and sends Anna, without considering her opinion, to a boarding school in
Paris. At first Anna is livid; she has to leave her loyal best friend, her
perfect job, and her “about-to-be” boy friend to move across the Atlantic
just so her dad can feel more cultured?!
Anna’s anger starts to fade, however, as she
quickly makes friends with Meredith, the girl next door. Meredith
introduces Anna to her group of friends, including Etienne St. Claire- gorgeous
Etienne St. Claire. St. Claire, as everyone calls him, is perfect and
absolutely irresistible. Plus he’s a true international; born in the U.S., grew
up in England, and lives in Paris (His accent is, of course,
crush-worthy). St. Claire’s only flaw? He’s completely
taken. But Anna might be too if things work out back home.
Anna’s year in Paris is full of friendship
issues, romantic drama, tons of near-misses and frustration. Who, if
anyone, will Anna get her French kiss from?
Honestly? I can’t think of anything I didn’t like
about Anna and the French Kiss. I don’t care what anyone says, I’m a
sucker for chick-lit and this one might just be one of my favorite chick-lit
novels of all time. Stephanie Perkins’ writing is just plain good.
I work with teenagers (albeit younger teens than Anna and her friends), but I
know how they talk and the dialogue in Anna and the French Kiss is
a pretty darn good match. It can be hard to write in a realistic teenage voice
and not come out sounding artificial, but Perkins manages it well.
I also think the relationships in this novel are
very realistic. The way Anna and her friends often (mostly) don’t
actually address the real issue of specific situations until it’s too late is
so true to real life (teen or adult). I felt like I was reliving conversations
with my friends back when I was in high school. Also, the mixed feelings
Anna has towards her own family are sound; she stresses how much her dad makes
her crazy, but also strives to defend him when she really gets down to it;
normal emotions for anyone.
Oh and the romantic tension! Holy
junk! The relationship between Anna and –?– (no spoilers) grows and
builds so slowly, but surely that I turned into a version of my 15-year-old
self; so many misunderstandings, awkwardness and sweet moments all mixed
together! Le sigh…
I think Anna and the French Kiss is
appropriate for older middle schooler readers and above. There is some
language (i.e. the realistic teenage dialogue) but its very minimal.
If you enjoy chick-lit, romance and Paris (!!!) you’ll definitely love Anna
and the French Kiss as much as I did!
I can’t wait to read more of Perkins’ books.
Now, who wants to pay for me to move to
Paris?!
Market: Young Adult
Language: Moderate
Sensuality: Moderate (mostly just discussed rather than done lets say)
Violence: None
4 comments:
This is one of my most favorite books EVER. It made me so giddy. I love it when a book does that.
I loved this book! It made me want to go to Paris sooooo badly! Terrific review, Christina.
I heard this book was really good, got the "free trial" from amazon...but haven't purchased it yet. Happy to see that it would be worth my while. Thanks!
I've heard a lot about this book and need to read it!
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