Anna and the French Kiss
By: Stephanie Perkins
The first book I decided to read for my “Mid-May Challenge”, was “Anna and the French Kiss”, by Stephanie Perkins. Since joining the BookTube Community, I have heard nothing but amazing review after review about this book! So I knew I had to read it ASAP. I haven’t read any YA Romance in sooo long, so this was a fun little treat.
Where to begin… So basically this book was as adorable and perfect as everyone said it would be! It was not only a love story between the two main characters, but this book also made me fall in love with the idea of living in Paris. I’m heading there for a trip this coming October, so this really couldn’t have come at a better time.
**** Mild-Spoilers Ahead ****
So this fantastic little story is all about a young girl named Anna, who gets sent to a Paris boarding school for her Senior Year of high-school. She’s pretty pissed about this at first, but soon falls in love with not only Paris the city, but also Etienne St.Clair (the most crush-worthy YA book-boyfriend since Augustus Waters, in my opnion). Basically this guy is every teenage girls “dream-boy” come to life. He’s got a French name, an English accent, and the whole “floppy-hair-in-the-eye” thing working for him. It’s great. The only problem with the idea of falling in love with this Etienne St.Clair.. is that he has a girlfriend (obviously)! I won’t spoil the rest of the book for you, but if you like YA Romance, and Paris, this book is 100% up your alley.
It’s not all about Etienne however. There is quite a bit of friend drama, family drama.. and when it comes down to it, this book is really at it’s core about Anna finding herself and growing up in a new city (which is terrifying to her at first, but she soon realizes she can survive, and make a home away from home in beautiful Paris, after all). This book was a fast read, and it left me with a smile on my face. I can’t wait to read the next two books by Stephanie Perkins.. “Lola and the Boy Next Door”, and “Isla and the Happily Ever After”.
I would give this book a 9/10, just because I loved it, and it was the perfect cutesy YA read 🙂 Here are a few of my favorite quotes,
“At first everything seemed too sophisticated for my tastes, but three months into this, and I understand why the French are famous for their cuisine. Meals are savored. Restaurant dinners are measured in hours, not minutes. It’s so different from America. Parisians swing by the markets every day for the ripest fruit and vegetables, and the frequent specialty shops for cheese, fish, meat, poultry, and wine. And cake. I like the cake shops the best”. — Page 157
“Maybe St.Clair is my new home. I mull this over as our voices grow tired and we stop talking. We just keep each other company. My breath. His breath. My breath. His breath. I could never tell him, but it’s true. This is home. The two of us”. — Page 250
Thanks for reading,
Book 1/10 of my challenge done! 9 more to go 🙂