Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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 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?

There's a reason why this book has a 4.25 average rating on goodreads. C'est magnifique! Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this one since the title was so corny, but I picked it up and read the blurb since I'm very much interested in the French language. It wasn't until last summer that I actually read it. I'm the kind of person who reads books about the places they're at when he or she is on vacation. However, I read this on an extremely delayed train ride from Venice to Rome which was after I was in Paris. I still got that magical feeling of being there though, and was like"Oh, I was just there!" or "Darn, I didn't know that cool thing was there!"
On to the story, yes it is a bit predictable but the characters are what makes the story. All of them are funny and very real. I love Anna because she's just a girl who's trying to get situated in a new area. She fails initially at speaking French, but she gets it together (If you don't speak French, don't worry. Everything is basic since Anna is learning throughout the book.) I felt for her when she was ostracized. And of course there's the Etienne St. Clair. Why don't boys like this exist in real life? He's witty and kind to everybody. He is probably my number one literary crush.
This is a light, cute read with a ton of humor and romance that is not overbearing.

Would I recommend to a friend? MOST DEFINITELY!

P.S. I wrote a letter and sent my copy of Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door to Mrs. Perkins, and I received a thoughtful postcard and my books back. I love this lady and everything she writes!



View all my reviews

P.P.S. I took these this summer after I had read the book.  You'll understand if you read.

Metro

Point Zero

Notre Dame