Review: Anna and the French Kiss By: Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton, 372 pages (December 2nd 2010)
From: Barnes and Noble

Synopsis: 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. Claire: 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?

Review: 4.5 Stars - Anna and the French Kiss by author Stephanie Perkins was a much anticipated title for 2010. We were all excited by the synopsis, then giddy over the cover and then melted after reading. Yep, melted. Into a puddle. The setting – the magical streets of Paris, the characters interesting, true, honest, likeable and realistic - Perkins has taken crushes and boys and teenage life in general, and forged a story – girls and boys alike - will find themselves completely caught up in.

When Anna finds out she’s not going to be spending her senior year of high school at home, going to school with her friends she’s scared and not sure how she’ll survive in Paris. The reader gets to watch her struggle and grow as she finds friends, finds her way around the new school and language and most importantly, herself. She’s a typical teenage girl with a love for movies and the knowledge of cinema that run deep. I liked reading Anna’s story and see her change throughout the book. See her grow into a stronger person because of the choices she makes and because of the people around her.

And then we have St. Clair. What girl could resist his charm? And he is extremely charming. With his own set of teenage boy insecurities Perkins found a perfect blend of insecure boy and charming boy and created a character that could be found in high school boys around the world. With his own issues with home life and relationship with his girlfriend, we see him struggle through Anna’s eyes, making him more real to Anna and me as a reader.

Their friendship was sweet and came through in that awkward and confusing “Does he like me? Or doesn’t he like me” way that many of us have faced at one point or another of our lives. The characters themselves have flaws everyone can relate to as well. Perkins did a fantastic job layering her characters into teens that could be the girl or boy next door.

Anna and the French Kiss was sweet and charming. It’s an entertaining addition and welcomed breath of fresh air to contemporary Young Adult fiction. Without a doubt I was an instant fan of Perkins writing and her characters. If you are one of the few who haven’t picked up this title yet and enjoy a good contemporary story with realistic characters, you don’t know what you’re missing. I for one can’t wait to read Perkins next book – Lola and the Boy Next Door… or for that matter anything she writes in the future.

FTC Disclaimer: I DID pay for this book and have NOT been compensated at all in any way or means for reading this book and or writing this HONEST review.