"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.Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins has been sitting on my TBR list for a long, long while. As an avid nerdfighter, I was aware John Green and all of my other esteemed authors and friends absolutely loved this book. Still, I held off reading it for a long time; finally, I picked up my copy and started.
"As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?"
After a page and a half, I fell in love with the writing style and story. The characters were funny, witty, and real. I loved the Beatles and otherwise very realistic (in my life, at least) references. Anna was a brilliant narrator, perfectly illustrating friendship, loyalties, awkwardness, and her own fun quirks and, forgive me, but I never understood the obsession with the English male ideal until I read this novel. St. Clair was fun, quirky, real, and hurting.
Admittedly, the plot summaries also deterred me from reading this book- A girl from Atlanta? In Paris? Falling in love with an English boy? -but the book was so in depth beyond the romance, that it earned a place as my first and foremost favorite book.
If you haven't read this novel for yourself yet, you're probably, as I was, intending not to read it (and leaving your expectations low); don't be afraid to go buy or check out a copy of this novel! If you don't believe the reviews yet, read it for yourself and let us know what you think!
I'm also really excited about the companion novel: Lola and the Boy Next Door- although I can't possibly imagine how it can compare to the first!
"Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.
"When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door."
Did you enjoy Anna and the French Kiss? Are you hoping to read or enjoying Lola and the Boy Next Door? Let us know!! -Caressa
