Review: Anna and French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

ISBN: 9780142419403
Released: December, 2010
My copy: Purchased
Series: Yes, Anna and the French Kiss #1
Page Count: 372 pages

     GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

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?

       REVIEW:

WHAT I LIKED:

• Well written, the writing flowed and kept me interested which made for a very easy, quick read.
• Anna is hysterical and so relatable. I found myself laughing out loud at her and several times crying - yes, crying - with her. Plus she's a blogger/reviewer! Maybe not of books, but how many of you cant love her just for that?
• The romance was  a believable high school romance and then some. I can honestly say I felt my heart flutter many times and I maybe, possibly, almost *coughswoonedcough*. Ahem.
• Etienne wasn't perfect. And neither was Anna. Etienne was short. Anna has a gap in her teeth. I like it when a character doesn't make me feel like a waste of space.
• The whole "love interest has a girlfriend" thing was a first in the bookish world for me. And  I loved it. Don't get me wrong, Etienne was definitely almost a scumbag, but it was handled decently well, but I liked that it was a premise that happens all the time. Hell, its happened to me, to friends of mine, to people I've heard about in passing.
• Anna didn't decide the day after she met Etienne that she was in love with him. Basically what I'm saying is that even though it killed me sometimes that Anna and Etienne weren't together when I wanted them to be, I thought the story was paced well. I just loved this book!

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

• The only thing I can honestly think of was that the ending was a little too tidy for me. It wrapped up nice and neat after not being so nice and neat pretty much the entire time. Otherwise, I cant think of anything I disliked in this book.

     RATING:

I know what you're all thinking - well those of you who haven't read this one yet.  Anna and the French Kiss? Really? Seriously? I know it sounds silly. Even my own non-reader fiancé made a face at the title and cover when I picked it up off of my shelf to read. But I saw the reviews, I'd been told I had to read it, and I did, and now I am wondering why the hell I took so long! I am also wondering: (1) why did I stop reading romance, when I clearly adore it?; and (2) why do I keep telling myself I'm not into contemporary YA? I mean, I really, really enjoyed this book. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't epic or life changing and it was definitely just a fun, quirky read, but it actually had some depth to it, and Stephanie Perkins crafts characters that I want to be friends with. Like - you-can have my friends, can I have Rashmi and Josh and Meredith and Etienne. I would date him but he has better hair than me.

And even though the ending kind of annoyed me, the fact that this book had me up until 2:30 a.m. at night when I had a 13-hour work day starting at 9:00 a.m. the next day kind of cements the 5-star rating. And let me tell you: I do not stay up late. Oh no. Not this girl, not on the week days. But Stephanie Perkins got me. And I'm exhausted, but it was worth it! I even woke up excited about this book, so I cant be mad at myself for how tired I am right now. Read it - please. You'll love it.

★★★★★

(5 stars)

Have you read Anna and the French Kiss? What did you think? Do you agree or disagree?

A.