Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Recommendation: Anna and the French Kiss


Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins 
Release: December 2, 2010


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Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?
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Anna and the French kiss got a lot of buzz upon its release. And for the longest time, I ignored it.

Why, oh why, did I do this? *sigh* Because, to be perfectly honest, Anna and the French managed to rekindle my love for YA contemporaries. It's that awesome of a book. Is it cliched? Perhaps. But cliches are not always bad if handled by an author like Stephanie Perkins.

In Anna and the French Kiss, Anna is forced to spend her senior year away from her home, her family, and friends. She's sent thousands of miles away to a boarding school in France. Wait a minute. France? I WOULD HAVE DIED TO GO TO FRANCE. e'hem. Anna is far from pleased, however, and wants more than anything to be "home".

Anna's encounter with Meredith, Josh, Rashmi, AND Etienne (*SWOON*) is where the story really begins. Slowly, but surely, Anna falls for the already taken Etienne. And honestly, guys, I WANT to say more but it would take all the fun out of this book. 


Suffice to say, I loved the characters, I loved the romance (Anna and Etienne have such great chemistry), and I loved that Stephanie Perkins chose Paris as the stetting. If you are looking for something light and fun that will warm your heart, do yourself a favor and read Anna and the French Kiss. Or read it again, if you want to. My only gripe is that both Etienne and Anna were sometimes indecisive about their feelings for each other (more Etienne). This could have made the book incredibly predictable, boring, and long-winded, but somehow Perkins managed to weave together a magical story. These faults I find make Anna and Etienne incredibly flawed and real. Which I like. 


*sigh* If only the cover could convey how awesome this book is! I think the cover is pretty...meh. 


RATING: 5 SLICES 



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