Anna and the French Kiss

Read this! What are you waiting for? Trust me. Read.

Let me just start off by saying that "I only read paranormal" or "I only read fantasy" is not a legit excuse for not reading this book. I've never been a fan of published general fiction for some unknown reason, but I don't think I've met a single person yet who hasn't liked this book.

Of course, it helps that this takes place at a boarding school. In France. I think that ought to get anyone interested.

The book starts off with Anna's parents leaving her at her school in France. Practically abandoning her. I found it kind of funny, because really, whose parents just abandon you on a different continent when your kid knows nothing about her school?

Anyways. The characters. Definitely the best part of this book. Anna's narrative is so easy to read and understand, even easier to connect to. Her emotions seemed real and realistic.

I still can't get used to calling St. Clair Etienne, though. That was a problem of mine -- for more than half the book, Anna calls him St. Clair, but then suddenly it's Etienne every time she's talking to him. It seemed to come out of nowhere.

Anna and St. Clair's relationship was never dull. From the moment Anna met him, she was practically in love. (Not that she knew that. But still.) And St. Clair was always so nice and funny . . . . The only problem was his girlfriend.

Throughout the book, St. Clair takes Anna all around Paris, especially to the theaters, since Anna is a film freak. That's another thing I liked about the book - how realistic Anna was. She had a hobby, she wasn't perfect, she didn't understand any French, her emotions were almost never irrational. And St. Clair was that way, too. Maybe not at first. At first, he seemed perfect, and that irritated me, but then you started to see that he was just as human as Anna, that he had his hobbies too.

Another great thing - Etienne had flaws. He was clinging to his old life while basically having an emotional affair the entire book, which you really don't see much of these days.

The only complaint I have about the book is that there was a lot of unnecessary drama. Okay, obviously St. Clair couldn't dump his girlfriend right in the beginning. What kind of story would that be? But like Michelle said, there were about twenty unnecessary pages at the end, all because of a very stupid and pointless thing that St. Clair did. I felt like Perkins was trying to make everything that could go wrong actually go wrong.

But that's the only thing I didn't like. Which is saying something. And on top of being adorable and realistic, Anna and the French Kiss was funny, too. Anna's got some subtle sarcasm that I absolutely loved.

I feel like you'd have to be insane not to like this book.

I can't think of another book that made me SMILE this much. ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS had me giggling and swooning at the same time. The writing was fantastic, and the romance was pitch perfect. I am prepared to devour the next book.

I really love Stephanies two books. She write amazing yet unique stories and wonderful characters.

Reasons I wasn't sure if this book would appeal to me:

1) It sounds like a cheating book. I hate cheating books.

2) It takes place in Paris. I don't like Paris. I know, I'm weird, but when I visited Paris, I just didn't like it. For whatever reason. I don't know. I just don't like it.

3) The summary uses the phrase "swoon-worthy," which makes me cringe.

HOWEVER.

None of my problems with this book turned out to actually be problems with this book. Which was a pleasant surprise.

I loved Anna. First off, Anna also kind of hates Paris, and thus I felt a kinship with her. She also is socially awkward and goes to painstaking and impractical lengths to keep from coming in contact with other humans, and I was like, YES. I can relate to this!

And then I also liked her friends. So often in books, I wind up liking the protagonist and then hating their friends, and then wondering why they're friends in the first place. Not so in this book. They had a natural friend dynamic, where every member of the group had a distinct personality and role to play, and you could see why they would all have gravitated toward each other.

Of course, the majority of the plot circles around her relationship with Etienne St. Clair, and her struggle to determine how she feels when she knows he has a girlfriend and she has a maybe-something-or-other back in Atlanta. I was prepared for this to be extremely irritating, either because their friendship wouldn't feel like a real friendship, or because one of them was going to cheat. And I just can't root for cheaters. Period.

But. It wasn't irritating. Or at least, not irritating in a way that kept me from enjoying the book. I was irritated alongside Anna. She berated herself for looking for hidden meaning in his actions, and I could completely sympathize. And while there were a few times I just wanted to throttle St. Clair (who, while not a cheater, was a monumentally crappy boyfriend on several occasions), he never crossed that point-of-no-return line where I simply would not be able to hold out hope for him and Anna anymore, because I'd be too busy thinking he was scum.

I liked that their friendship was real. They were comfortable, their personalities were complementary, and they just worked well together. One of my favorite chapters was their back-and-forth holiday email exchanges, which is normally one of my least favorite book gimmicks. But their banter seemed natural and easy, and I enjoyed it.

Anyway. I could keep talking about this book and how much fun it was and how I loved Anna's snarky yet awkwardly endearing inner monologue and how happy it made me to read about friendships that felt real and a friendship-turned-romance that didn't feel forced. Or I could stop talking and you could just go read it. Which you should.

This book in one word? Fantastique! Seriously, I loved everything about this book. The characters were great, the setting was great, the writing was great. I'm could just go on and on about this book. Why have I not read it before now?!?

First off, I absolutely loved the characters in this book. Anna had such a great voice. I thought I'd read books with believable high school girls, but she totally blows everyone else right off the page. Her thoughts were the kind almost everyone can relate to. Especially the inner SCREAMING in capital letters. Of course, I want to hit her on the head and tell her she was a dummy sometimes, but I'm sure others would have been doing the same to me had they been following me around and listening to my every thought. Everyone else was great too. So great, in fact, I wanted them to be my friends instead of Anna's sometimes. And, of course, who could forget St. Clair? Personally, I prefer his first name, but I shall not delve into French on the keyboard. He's totally droolworthy, but not just in the looks department. He's funny and just naturally charming. And amazing. Enough about Euro boy though.

How could someone not love a book set in Paris? All of the descriptions whether it be about the weather or Notre Dame were great. I also loved the little peppering of French words throughout the story. It really helped in making me feel like I was actually in Paris. Plus, the whole French thing adds to the hilarity of Anna's situation (I love when she orders lunch for herself the first time!). And speaking of food: the descriptions alone made me want to shove some things in a bag and board a plane for the City of Light immediately.

I absolutely loved the relationship drama in Anna and the French Kiss. It was a totally new take on the high school boy-meets-girl scenario for me. It was much more emotional and engrossing than I ever could have possibly imagined. I hurt for Anna when she hurt and was pulling out my hair right along with her in frustration.

Final thoughts: This book was amazing. You absolutely must read it. I was cracking up all over the place and loving every minute. This book is a great escape that takes you not only to the City of Light, but captures your heart in the process.

Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. Stephanie Perkins has written some well-rounded and believable characters. In addition, her ability to bring Paris to life made the story all the more believable. A great book and a great love story that shows that not all relationships have an easy start!

What can I say about this book aside from the fact that I LOVE IT.

I started reading the book because I felt like I had been under a rock, having not already read it. They hype over the book is well deserved. Anna Oliphant is a brilliant character. Shes one of the most realistic female leads I've read in a long time. The relationship between her and her male love interest is one to die for. Not only is he dreamy and foreign, but he's a great friend to her and they're both great together. I was a bit unsure about this novel in the first couple of chapters, but just as Anna slowly falls in love with her love interest, I fell in love with this book. It was both sickeningly sweet and heart breaking.

St. Clair has ruined my chance of finding a boy who will fit my standards. (A French-American guy with an English accent? To DIE for.)

LOVE IT!

There are some books that make you cry. There are some books that make you laugh. Then there are those that make you laugh so hard that you cry. Anna and the French Kiss falls under the last category. I'm not the biggest fan of contemporary. It was all I really read in High School and Middle School. It's like eating too much cheesecake. You love cheesecake, but since it's the only dessert you ever ate for four years you start to get a little sick of it. Then by the time you reach college the very sight of cheesecake makes you want to gag.


Okay, so the cheesecake metaphor isn't a true story...but you get my gist, right?
I have been dodging contemporary for some time now, but am I glad that I finally dove back in with Stephanie Perkin's novel! It was funny and it felt REAL! All the awkward moments made me feel so bad for Anna and I too felt that awkwardness. It's also very rare (at least for me) to find a light read that has depth. This book had depth. The characters were three dimensional and had emotions and feelings. They weren't there just to throw out some quips. In short, they weren't caricatures...and sometimes I feel like many YA characters become just that.


So yeah, I loved it. I adored it. I want to go to Paris and fall magically in love with an English man. If only. I'm actually from Atlanta, GA...which made it that much more entertaining since Anna is from Atlanta. There is a line about how everyone from GA goes to Panama City Beach...well this is soooo true! I have been to PCB (yes we abbreviate it) or around PCB every year for every Spring Break along with the rest of the state.


Lastly, don't think I forgot...Etienne St. Clair. Who has now taken the position as one of my all time favorite guys in YA. He's English, he's hot, and he's not perfect. Yeah, that last line may be weird...but I adore guys who aren't perfect in books. Because let's face it - that guy DOES NOT exist. Etienne isn't perfect, which makes him more real and give his character more depth. His relationship with Anna is really natural and definitely not insta-love, which is a plus. I swoon. He's the best almost-perfect guy you could get.


I have Lola and the Boy Next Door on my shelf, so I'll be reading that soon. I recommend this book for anyone who wants a good laugh, loves Paris, and who has a soft spot for accents. If you're hesitant to read contemporary like I was, this book may be the best pick-me-up for the genre! Be brave and take a chance! I know I did, and it sure as hell paid off !

What a sweet book. It’s long and there are lots of secondary plot lines, but the main takeaway is that this is a sweet book. Anna is bummed when her newly rich dad decides to impress his friends by sending her to Paris for a school year. Sure it’s Paris and all, but she has a life at home in Atlanta. It’s hard to start over in a new school, especially when you don’t even speak the language.

She’s immediately drawn to St. Clair (as is every single girl in the school). He’s handsome and nice and they have lots in common. The only problem is, not only does he have a girlfriend, but the one girl who’s been nice to Anna is secretly madly in love with him. Plus, Anna maybe has a boyfriend back home. It’s best if she and St. Clair are just friends.

Best laid plans and all that jazz…

I love how nice Meredith is to Anna on her first day and every day thereafter. She made all the difference in Anna’s first few days. There are a lot of supporting characters and they are all great. Every one of them is believable, with quirks and personalities. As the friends grow closer as a group, there are lots of opportunities for them to get along and fight and make up, all in very real ways. They make mistakes and learn from them, especially Anna.

The dialogue is perfect, everyone has their own personalities and the dialogue is a great reflection of that. Snappy comebacks and not-so-snappy comebacks. Friendly banter and the more serious stuff. All of it is realistic.

I think Stephanie Perkins must have been a foodie in a past life, because she can paint a yummy picture with her words.

Anyone with a sweet tooth or a love of French food will enjoy this book.

This book is so romantic, it is like a perfect depiction of falling in love. Seriously, this has everything you could want in a teen romance book. It’s sweet and tender, but has typical teenage issues like friendship, jealousy and immaturity.

The Sum Up: A wonderful story about falling in love and growing up. It’s long, but you’ll love every minute of it. This is contemporary ya at its finest.