Same Book, Second Look - Anna and the French Kiss

Published: December 2010

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Pages: 372

Copy Provided by: Library

Summary: Goodreads

Summary:

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 Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming,beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend. 

Review:

If you follow our blog regularly, you know that I'm not a big fan of contemporary YA but I do read it every now and again for a break from the supernatural and because there are some books that receive so much buzz that I have to find out what the hulabaloo is all about.  Anna and the French Kiss is one of these books.  I have been waiting nearly 4 years to read it and found it to be incredibly refreshing.  Stephanie Perkins captures the very essence of falling in love for the first time.  I had this book finished in two days and it takes a lot for me to read that quickly.  Or rather to find the time needed to read that quickly.  

Anna was not thrilled to go to Paris for school and was totally against it.  She has to cope with making new friends, culture shock, adjusting to language barriers.  She's got a lot on her plate.  Normally I don't like it when books make modern day references but I love how Anna compares her board in school to Hogwarts without everything cool.

Not to mention, Anna starts to fall for a friend.  A guy friend who has a girlfriend.  And a friend who has another secret admirer.  It is all very confusing but somewhere along the way, Anna and St Clair develop a bond that makes sense and works for the time being.

Anna's journey takes her through a lot of personal development and she bends the rules a little bit.  She is a good girl who makes some really good decisions.  I loved this book.  It felt real and the environment in Paris made me want to spread my wings and try something new.  Read Anna and the French Kiss if you want to reminisce about falling in love, going outside of your comfortable boundaries and exploring the limitations of your heart.