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    Anna and the French Kiss
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    Anna and the French Kiss
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    Anna and the French Kiss
    Ebook353 pages5 hours

    Anna and the French Kiss

    By Stephanie Perkins

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “Stephanie Perkins’s characters fall in love the way we all want to, in real time and for good.” -Rainbow Rowell, #1 New York Times bestselling author

    Anna can’t wait for her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she’s less than thrilled when her father unexpectedly ships her off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Clair, the perfect boy. The only problem? He's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her crush back home. Will a year of romantic near-misses end in the French kiss Anna awaits?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Group
    Release dateDec 2, 2010
    ISBN9781101445495
    Unavailable
    Anna and the French Kiss
    Author

    Stephanie Perkins

    Stephanie Perkins worked as a bookseller and a librarian before becoming a novelist. She is now a bestseller in the US and Australia and has a huge online following for her books that include Lola and the Boy Next Door and Anna and the French Kiss. She is also the editor of the collection of YA short stories My True Love Gave to Me, and the author of There's Someone Inside Your House and The Woods are Always Watching.

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    Reviews for Anna and the French Kiss

    4/5

    1,371 ratings230 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Find this review and more at On The Shelf! So what can I say about Anna and the French Kiss? It was absolutely, brilliantly, marvelously AMAZING!! I am so glad I lsitened to all of the bloggers who raved about this book because it is simply wonderwul. I am definitely a fan of Stephanie Perkins now and will most likely read everything she publishes. There are so many things that make this book great. One thing is how realistic and relatable it is. I’m reading this whole book thinking “Wow I have definitely been there before.” The story is real, tbe place is real, the characters are real. I feel like I really know these characters and I could tell you about them as if they were someone I’ve known for quite some time. They may be fictional characters, but they have very real personalities. Mmmm, St. Clair. I was drooling over this boy from the first time Anna met him. He has certainly become a new favorite book boyfriend. He may even be #1! Edward Cullen can suck it! And how great was Anna? Awesomely so. Her freak outs, excitement, meltdowns, everything was put perfectly on the page. The descriptions of Paris are lovely, and though I have been to France, I didn’t get the chance to see Paris. It is a beautiful country and the author portays Paris beautifully. I have to make sure I get to go back and visit Paris. There have been books that have made me giggle here and there, but this book has me laughing so foten. It was such a fun read and I look forward to her other novels. This story will remind you of what it’s like to fall in love. Fabulous characters, wonderful story, humorous, playful writing, MUST READ!!
    • 5/5
      First of 3 : Anna and the French Kiss series. YA, romance.In her last year of school, Anna's father decides to send her to a new school. In a different city. In Paris, France, in fact. As well as being the new kid in school, Anna feels out of place in Paris, since she's never learned French before (only Spanish, which she keeps speaking accidentally).Thanks to Meredith, who has the room next door, she soon makes new friends, though, including Étienne St Clair who is funny and friendly and charming. Everyone likes St Clair; but maybe Anna more than likes him. She knows Meredith likes him, too, but he already has a girlfriend. And anyway, there's Toph, who kissed Anna on her last day at home, so she might already have a boyfriend.Will Anna get her French kiss before her year in Paris is over?This was a strongly written debut, and though it was from the YA section of the library, the characters had depth. There wasn't too much teen angst (which I've seen as a point against other YA books), though there were the usual romantic misunderstandings. I like the way that Paris and the Parisienne way of life featured throughout the book. I've been to Paris a few times (a while ago) and recognised some of the major landmarks, although I have no idea how accurate it actually is (the Latin Quarter, for instance), but it felt authentic, and the way it was brought into the story felt natural and not forced. There are other books in the series, but I suspect they deal with different characters. Though some of the resolutions at the end felt a little hasty, the story wraps up well (with a happy ending), so it works as a stand-alone novel.I picked this up (outside my usual comfort zone) based on heaps of favourable LT recommendations, and I have to agree with them. i enjoyed reading this book; once I had time to sit down to read it properly, it was very easy to keep going to the end. I'm glad there were no villainous villains to spoil things, and I do like happy endings. I also liked the fact that the 'hero', while good-looking and charming, wasn't especially tall i.e. wasn't 'flawless'. This was a 'feel good' book. I liked it so much, I think I'll hunt down a copy for my own shelves, so I can re-read it whenever I need some cheering up.
    • 2/5

      This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes

      Cover Impressions: The cover is cute, but pretty typical of YA romance novels. Not something that would grab my attention on a shelf.

      The Gist: Anna has been sent to Paris against her will. Her father has signed her up for a year at the School of America in Paris. There she meets Etienne, suave, charming and ... taken. As they grow closer, Anna learns about friendship, desire and love.

      Review: Anna and the French kiss is one of those books that everyone seems to love. It was remarkable 1) how many of my Goodreads friends had read it and 2) how many of them raved about it.

      I was not able to join them.

      The writing was great. The romantic scenes were sweet and exciting. You cannot beat a setting like Paris. However, I hated both Anna and Etienne. When characters or scenes annoy me, I have a tendency to skip or skim over them. But while listening to the audio book, I wasn't able to do that. Instead, I found myself yelling at both Anna and Etienne for being idiots. They were both hypocritical and got angry at each other (and the other characters) for actions that they themselves committed earlier or later. They danced around each other for an entire book and were constantly doubting the other's feelings. Etienne was the "beautiful boy" that every girl wanted and Anna was the girl that every boy immediately lusted after. Come on. No girl is so hot that every male within sight falls at her feet and she HAS NO IDEA! This called for some serious eye rolling.

      I read several reviews that claimed that this book was HILARIOUS. I did not get that. The only humorous passages that I can recall were where Anna was being a complete klutz (I hate the typical pretty, klutzy girl character) or acting like a moron - which annoyed me more than they amused me. The other characters only served to move the plot along and/or reveal information and did not really get a life of their own.

      I could rant and rave about all the nit-picky things that I didn't like about this book BUT I can completely understand why teens love it. It was cute and romantic (even though I only wanted the characters together so that they wouldn't force their special brand of idocracy on anybody else).

      No more Stephanie Perkins for me. I am far too cynical for this type of book.


      Teaching/Parental Notes:

      Age: 16 and up
      Gender: Female
      Sex: Kissing, Talk of sex
      Violence: Physical fighting
      Inappropriate Language: Dick, Bastard, Shit, Prick, Fuck, Slut, Bitch
      Substance Use/Abuse: Underage drinking
    • 3/5
      For more reviews, Cover Snark and more, visit A Reader of Fictions.Before I launch into what will be, for this book, a fairly negative review, I want to get some things straight. First, I don’t think Anna and the French Kiss is a bad book; in fact, I think it’s good, but in some ways not good for the particular person I am. Second, this review’s going to be somewhat ranty, but I really did like and sometimes even love much of Anna and the French Kiss. If my ranting will upset you because you love everything about this book, I’m envious that you had all the feels and send you on your way with my blessing.Perkins most definitely has the makings of a contemporary author who will write books that I personally will love. Even though this hasn’t been an entirely positive experience for me, I will undoubtedly be reading the rest of her books. She has great snappy dialogue and tons of pop culture references, both things that are total Christina bait. Plus, I totally adore the setting at SOAP (School of America Paris) with it’s dorm rooms that are small and awful to Anna but absurdly amazing as dorm rooms go. It’s great too because most boarding school books end up being so depressing and full of intense melodrama, but Anna and the French Kiss is free of that.The familial relationships and friendships in Anna and the French Kiss were largely great too. Anna’s father, James Ashley, an obvious reference to Nicholas Sparks, amused me no end. He forced her to go to Paris, so he can feel cultured. Initially, she’s very anti-Paris and doing the poor me having to go to France thing, but it’s really that her agency was taken away and not that Paris is awful. Plus, Anna’s very afraid of being rude or doing something wrong, which is something I can relate to in her fear of venturing out in France not knowing the language.I like the way that Anna’s new friends draw her out of her shell. She could, had she not found good friends, have ended up like Cath, shut up in her dorm room for much or all of her year at SOAP. Instead, she discovers resources within herself she never knew she had and ends up having an amazing experience.[Aside: St. Clair takes her out for panini and she's amazed at this rare and unusual sandwich, but this book came out in 2010 and Panera is everywhere. There are all kinds of sandwich places in Atlanta that serve paninis. It's possible, but seriously?] I think the whole crew of friends is interesting, though I would have liked to get to know Josh, Rashmi and Mer a bit better. I think Rashmi ends up getting the best development and their relationship helps Anna reevaluate a lot of how she perceives others.The problem is, though, that, in a romance, you’re pretty much sunk if you don’t ship the ship. Thankfully, I don’t quite unship the ship. For a while, I was walking up to board. I had my ticket purchased and my bags packed, ready to depart. Unfortunately, I got about three steps onboard, realized I didn’t like where it was headed and ran back off. This metaphor may have gotten out of my control a bit.What you need to understand about me is that I tend to have a very black and white sense of justice. I’m a bit like Darcy: “my good opinion once lost is lost forever.” Actually, like him, that’s not entirely true, but it is difficult to convince me to change my mind. My problems lie almost entirely with the character of St. Clair. I’ve tried to forgive him because he’s young and stupid, which is true, and because it’s believable, but I can’t. The last two chapters completely sealed me not wanting these characters to get together or at least not feeling happy that they are together.Anna and the French Kiss takes place over the course of almost a complete school year. During almost that entire time, St. Clair has a girlfriend called Ellie, who’s off at uni nearby. He spends the whole year alternately ignoring all of his friends and hanging out with Ellie or ignoring Ellie and hanging out with his friends, which also includes flirting with Anna. The flirting initially is mild, just some casual but intentional leg brushes, which is okay I guess. What bothered me from the start was the way that St. Clair would flip flop from friends to girlfriend, blowing off one then the other, like he can’t be a good boyfriend and a good friend at one time; it’s or the other. When he’s actually there, he’s great and so is the banter, but he’s not dependable.I’d be warned about the cheating thing and, honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I expected in some ways. If the reactions to it had been different, I actually wouldn’t have been bothered so much by this particular scenario. Of course, it’s all gray areas with what counts as actually cheating and blah blah blah, but using the most common definition, St. Clair doesn’t behave too badly. View Spoiler » That I could live with if St. Clair was really incredibly apologetic, which he sort of was but also wasn’t. I’ll move into spoiler tags now for safety.St. Clair makes so many excuses, which okay he doesn’t want to be alone because his mother is dying, but he also has tons of good friends and doesn’t really like his girlfriend. Why the fuck is he still with Ellie when he’s liked Anna since the very first day he met her? He’s been wishing on that fucking zero point in Paris for her to want him ALL YEAR. He tells her, once they’re together, that he’s never felt this way about anyone. And yet, the amount that he cares for Anna still isn’t enough to make St. Clair risk having to be single. We’re meant to forgive him for sticking with the girlfriend because she’s vaguely horrible in her couple of scenes, an easy target. Plus, he didn’t have sex with Ellie again after the admittedly incredibly adorable Christmas email exchange. Let’s ignore the fact that a couple that was having regular sex just stops for months and neither of them will FUCKING END IT.St. Clair, despite having a girlfriend, is jealous any time a guy pays attention to Anna. He shames her for kissing someone else, when she has made no promises to anyone. Once everything comes out, he accuses her of being part of the problem because she lied and pretended he hadn’t confessed feelings for her back in November when St. Clair was drunk off his ass. Yup, clearly Anna’s fault that you kept dating a girl you didn’t like anymore. He basically says it’s all also her fault because she wasn’t willing to speak up about her feelings, which is so incredibly unfair and dickish that I cannot even with this guy. And, yeah, they’re young and stupid but there’s nothing in the book to say that this isn’t cool. Anna believes everything he says and takes a share of the blame. Yes, she sometimes pushed him away, but ONLY BECAUSE HE HAD A GIRLFRIEND. Pretty sure she would have eventually said or done something had he been single that whole time. It’s not her job to watch out for his relationship, but she did a better job of that than he did.Then, once they resolve everything and get together, they’re so damn cheesy and insufferable, which I can’t handle with how un-sorry St. Clair is. He gets everything he wanted and that whole situation worked out fabulously for him. He decides to go to California for her (365), not for his mother or to obtain freedom from his father. They’re not even dating yet! I mean, I know they were best friends most of the year, but he obviously was planning this before he’d broken up with his girlfriend, because of when college applications have to be in. Then the last three lines: “For the two of us, home isn’t a place. It’s a person. And we’re finally home.”I cannot. I can’t. The ability to can has been suspended. This about a guy who claims to have loved her basically all year but who kept dating another girl for pretty much all of that year. I wouldn’t build my home on that sort of a foundation, but best of luck to you Anna.So yeah, that didn’t really turn out like anybody hoped. There are lots of good things about it, but I also have many non-happy feelings about one of the most loved YA guys. I has a sad.
    • 4/5
      I picked up this book because every YA reader and blogger I knew had reviewed it, and raved about it. I trust their opinions, so I knew I had to read it for myself. I wasn't disappointed! It's everything you could want in a YA novel - adventure, romance, heartbreak (ok, I guess you might not WANT heartbreak, but it's necessary!). Anna Oliphant is going to Paris! Sounds like fun, right? Except she's being sent away by her parents, she'll miss the senior year at her high school in Atlanta, and she'll have to attend a boarding school with other Americans. On top of all that, she's leaving behind her little brother she adores, her best friend, and the boy she was maybe-kinda starting something with. Understandably, Anna isn't too happy when she first arrives in Paris. Thankfully classmates take her under their wings and she grows to love the city. She even finds another boy to maybe-kinda start something with! Except there's one hitch… he has a girlfriend.
    • 4/5
      Mmmm meringue. Teen fantasy and angst whipped up into a froth and slowly baked into a sweet little story.
    • 3/5
      This was a very cliché book from the start, but it was a hidden guilty pleasure book of mine. Made me think back to my old favorite type of YA books I used to read.Could have had a bit more substance, in my opinion, but overall cute book to pass time on.
    • 5/5
      I have had this book on my e-reader for a few months, and with a push from a friend I finally started reading it at 2:00 p.m. today! From the very first page I couldn't stop reading. Anna and the French Kiss is sorta your typical YA romance, but with so much more.
      We start off meeting Anna as her parents are dropping her off at a boarding school in Paris. Her dorm neighbor Meredith (Mer) comes in shortly after her parents leave, and while I have never been to a boarding school, i don't think that friendships are really formed as fast as these two formed a friendship. I did like the interaction with Etienne St. Clair from the beginning and I must say, he does make for one swoon worthy character. He is nice to Anna from the beginning, as are most of Mer's friends from the previous year.
      We do run into a few snags along the way... Anna starts to like St. Clair, as he is called by his friends, and in turn we start to see St. Clair fall for Anna...but he's with Ellie, and has been for over a year now. And we can't forget Anna's almost but not quite boyfriend Toph!! So, where does that leave our to budding lovers?
      The story progresses with some twists and turns that I wasn't expecting and I was so glad to see that most of them were resolved. Stephanie could easily make this into a series of books, but alas we are all left to dream about what really happens with Anna and St. Clair after the story ends.

      While I am an AVID reader of YA, I tend to steer clear of the romances, Stephanie is a wonderful writer and while this is mainly a romance, you do get to see a lot of Paris through Anna's eyes, and we meet some great additional characters in Rashmi, Meredith, St. Clair and even Josh. There are always the bad characters, you know the ones I am talking about, that you know are going to make trouble every time they are mentioned, and we get that with Amanda and Dave. But thankfully those two are handled in the book. Overall I really enjoyed the book ( seeing as i finished it in 7 hours!) and i will more than likely come back to it again and again when I am in the mood for a fluffy read.
    • 4/5
      What do I say to explain this perfect book? The book is about Anna going off to Paris for her last year in high school. Truthfully, I didn't expect much of this book. I thought it would be a fun book to read over the Christmas break, but I was wrong. The book turned from a regular young adult romance novel into one of my favorite books. And it was because of how Stephanie Perkins writing style. The characters were the most relatable characters I've read. Anna and Etienne's romance which made me root for them from the beginning.

      Specifically, Anna has to be one of my favorite fictional characters. I grew up as a military brat and while I never had to move around a lot, my sister did. I have heard her stories of all the moves she had to make, and I'm glad because it made me relate more to Anna. Anna may me slightly annoying at the beginning, to some people, but when you're forced to leave everything you know and not just go somewhere else for your senior year of high school, but to another country. Her anger and annoyance are justified. I love hear character and she grows a lot while in Paris. I couldn't have asked for a better book or a better character.

      I loved everything about this book and have no complaints. I plan on re-reading it during the summer before I leave for London.

      5/5
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed that this book approached teenagers in a realistic fashion. It's wonderful read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a young love story. With some twists and turns throughout but of course the best type of happy ending.
    • 3/5
      Ok, I have to admit, this book was cute. A boarding school in Paris, a British-French-American love interest, references to movies classic and modern. That was good. But maybe I have aged out of high school romance books or something. Some of the feelings and writing felt too cheesy. The 1st person really grated as well. I had been getting used to it by reading so much other YA. But this was annoying. Too bad, I can see why people like this book. It had real conflict, both in the romance and in the friendship department. And in the family department. My favorite parts of the book were when the characters had to negotiate the changing relationships with their parents as they become independent adults.

      His book was cute. If you don't mind cheesy highschool romantic description, then this book is great!
    • 5/5
      Just like EVERYONE else has stated...."this book is nothing short of awesome"! I will read and read and read this over and over again.
    • 4/5
      I often say "You couldn't pay me enough to be in high school, again."I will start keeping a copy of Anna and the French Kiss for my primary evidence of this statement.I waited so long to read this book because I thought it was just silly, romantic fun but it is so much more than that.What could have been a cheesy, fluffy storyline builds into a remarkable book filled with loyalty, lust, betrayal, and self discovery.High school senior, Anna, is shipped off to a prestigious French high school in Paris by her cheesy, romance author dad. At first, it's miserable, as is to be expected. What 17 year old wants to curtail her life at the end of school to hack it with complete strangers in a totally strange land?As is imevitable, Anna makes her way through the year, making a close group of friends, succeeding in school, and ultimately finding herself crashing into love with both her best friend and her new city.There is a complex network of relationship trouble, both friendship and romantic, as well as the requisite Mean Kid cliques on both sides of the Atlantic.I can handle love related frustration. That's half the fun of romance novels. I can handle feeling out of place. That's been the human life story for as long as we gave existed. What Perkins does so well, though, is that utterly infuriating bullying that exists in every group in every country, in every decade.Part of the reason I am going into the feild of therapy is because I know that when bullies act out, that viciousness comes from internal hurt. It still doesn't make it ok but it does explain a few things. I have about zero tolerance for meanness but it does help to read about it because we've all been there.This really as s a gorgeous little book and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I'm about to pick up the next two books in the set and I have high hopes for the rest of the story.
    • 4/5
      Darn it, Stephanie Perkins keeping me up until 2 am just so I could finish this book. I loved this story set in the dreamy city of Paris. Anna's parents send her to an American boarding school in Paris against her wishes. She thinks life is over for her since its her senior year. Little does she know how Paris will quickly become a city she loves. Friendships are made and the hope of love is in the air, obviously as it is the city of love.
    • 5/5
      One of the best ones in this genre. Really good.
    • 4/5
      When I was 13, this would have been my favorite book in the world. Drama--love--drama--friends--drama--motherf'ing PARIS. I am too old at this point not to see some flaws, but I am not so old that I cannot access that adolescent girl who would have read this a hundred times. I read this for the Read Harder Challenge, and getting a chance to read things like this, things I would never otherwise read, is why I love this challenge. So this middle aged woman, with all respect for the target audience says 4 stars (and knows that when I was 13 I would have given this all the stars. Every damn one.)
    • 5/5
      For some reason I felt like I wouldn't like this book which is why it took me so long to finally read it. I was totally wrong. Such a fun romantic story! Poor Anna gets sent off to boarding school in France for her senior year of high school. She totally hates the idea of leaving her family, school and friends in the US but quickly meets a group of friends in France who make her feel at home. I love all the characters, they all compliment each other very well and add to the story in unique ways. They do make some silly mistakes but nothing out of the ordinary for their age. I'll definitely be checking out the other books in this series!
    • 5/5
      TOTALLY lives up to the hype.

      I knew this book was good when I was so engrossed that I almost missed my train stop last night.

      It started off a little bit slowly--but that's just because I am impatient with descriptions and things. A personal thing of mine, nothing wrong the author did. In fact, when I go to reread it, I know I'll be glad to read the descriptions of Paris. The beauty of this book is that it can be read quickly, then reread for savoring purposes.

      Lots of funny things, complicated and complex relationships. Nothing was easy or simple. I liked that. I did feel like Amanda the Villain was a bit cliched, but the author acknowledged it and kind of made fun of that. I can respect an author who pokes fun at herself and her works.

      I loved that the St. Clair/Etienne wasn't this one dimensional perfect boy. He had a temper. He was also super kind. He made dumb decisions. But he was loveable just the same. He was REAL and 3-dimensional without being a total jerk. Plus, he was British. Yum!

      Anna is the kind of girl I'd love to hang out with. She just seems super cool. And definitely not a Mary Sue.

      I was satisfied with the book. Contemporary, thick, and complex. :) I look forward to reading more from this author.

    • 5/5
      Yay! I finally got over the book slump!! I'm usually a fantasy reader and not very much into contemporaries but this book was exactly what I needed to start reading again. it was an easy read and I couldn't stop reading until I finished it at 2 AM. I have three exams waiting for me and I'm expected to study more than 10 hours a day (do every high school seniors around the world go through this or is it just the Japanese education system?) Well done, me. Anyways, enjoyed this book a lot and I'm looking forward to reading the next book (though not soon because I really really need to study)
    • 4/5
      Much like the teen years in general, Anna and the French Kiss is a roller-coaster of emotion and drama! There were times I loved the main characters, times I hated them, times I thought they were insane...in summary, I feel that Stephanie Perkins has a real talent for creating wonderfully entertaining and flawed characters who grow and change.

      I love that Perkins made Anna's character a film buff, and recommend readers some great movies. The international setting was a great escape. Although admittedly, it took me a while to process that anyone would NOT want to go to France.

      Looking forward to finishing the other books in the series and what Perkins has in store for the future.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book!
    • 5/5
      Absolutely lovely.
    • 5/5
      <3

      Seriously, if you haven't read this, you need to.

      Well? What are you waiting for?
    • 3/5
      Cute, girly, funny romance.
    • 5/5
      its sooooooooo cute omgggggggg (to be honest i liked anna and etienne more in lola and the boy next-door, but whatever)
    • 3/5
      This was a very cute, fun read. I didn't think this would be my type of book, but I read a blog entry by Stephanie Perkins that made me want to pick this up. It turns out that, no, this actually ISN'T my type of book - but I found it completely engrossing anyway.The story is predictable, but it's the well-written characters that make it worth it. (However, a quibble: Just because you give a character a passion or a flaw doesn't actually make them fleshed out. Though this mostly happened with secondary characters anyway.)Overall, I really enjoyed Anna's voice, which is what kept me going. I think this is a very adorable and satisfying story for anyone that likes contemporary teen romance.
    • 5/5
      Anna's father, a famous although embarrassingly sappy writer, decides that she needs to get some culture. Instead of taking her on a trip or something small, he enrolls her at a Paris boarding school. Anna is not excited to spend her senior year making new friends, trying to fit in to a new culture, and learning a whole new language when she should have been hanging out with her best friends, getting closer to a new guy, and just enjoying her senior year in Atlanta. Lucky for Anna, upon arriving in Paris, she is approached by some really nice people who turn out to be great friends. One in particular is not only a great friend, but an attractive one as well. Etienne St. Clair is perfect except for one thing, he has a girlfriend and anyway, Anna has a boyfriend, well, sort of.This book was FABULOUS! Seriously, best book I've read for awhile. I instantly loved the characters, the setting, and I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. Stephanie Perkins has written the sweetest, most believable love story I think I've ever read. I know lots of other people have already said this, but the relationships in this story were wonderful. No one fell in love at first sight, or harped on how attractive someone was without ever noticing their personality. I especially liked that St. Clair is described as being 3 inches shorter than Anna. As a tall girl, I appreciate relationships between tall ladies and less tall fellas (although, yes, my husband is taller than me, but not by much). The setting for this novel was perfect. It made me feel like I really was in Paris. I have been to Paris before and it was really cool to read about so many places I've been, as well as places that made me think, "Oh no, how did I miss that?!" I suppose I don't have to tell you much about how fun it is to read a love story set in Paris, but really really, it was fab.I won't say much more, because I know pretty much every book blog out there has been singing the praises of this one. All I have left to say is, read this with a cup of hot chocolate (or chocolate chaud) and you'll be the happiest little bookworm around. AND, for those of you who've already read it, were you as in love with the little old Frenchman from the movie theater as I was?
    • 4/5
      This book was wonderful for what it is and marketed as: an angsty teen romance. If you are looking for something else, then you will disappointed.I found this to be a refreshing romance novel that was funny in parts and even though I am 28 and happily married, I could empathize with the confusion and trials of a budding teen romance. Also, the relationship is healthier than in most teen romance novels. Sure, I got tired of Etienne's capricious behavior. However, it is not his story we hear. We hear Anna's relation of the events, as it is in her point of view.My heart crushes for Etienne, and his struggle to leave a safe relationship for a stronger love. He is not a jerk, but rather a flawed and insecure character that is afraid to take risk. I liked Perkins's portrayal of her hero as not stereotypically male, but a romantically flawed individual that is not so different from Anna.Anna and Etienne both ignore the positive portions of their relationship and only look at the negative to reinforce their own fear of leaping into a new and potentially hurtful relationship.
    • 5/5
      What a refreshing story. I loved this book and Anna and Etienne. I love how Anna thinks she is just friends with Etienne and how they both miss the cues the other is giving. It’s nice to read a story about how two people can become friends and then fall in love with each other and it’s the most normal thing in the world. Anna and Etienne both have problems with relationships and together they help each other discover things about themselves that they didn’t realize they could do.Stephanie has written a wonderfully sweet love story that you want to know what will happen to the lovers down the road. If you want a story that reminds you what love can do and how it can transform someone, then you’ll enjoy this book.
    • 5/5
      I'm not going to lie, I was resistant to this. When it first came out and bloggers the world over lost their sh*t over Anna, I just figured it was another in a line of contemporary books that I would not read or care to. It looked and sounded so girly and cutesy and fluttery and things that I try to deny I am or ever was... But the hype just built and built and everyone kept saying how funny it was, and I thought, "Well okay, I can do funny. And I have been saying I am going to try more contemporary and more *gulp* romance." So I added it to the to-read list and didn't really think much more about it. It was always a "some day" read.And then Liz and Allison cornered me on Twitter and insisted that I read it as soon as humanly possible. And since I was in the planning stages of the whole Beach Reads thing, I said okay. Maybe. We'll see.... And then it showed up in my mailbox. Okaymaybewe'llsee is not good enough for Liz, it seems.And thank god for that.For real, you guys. I don't even know if I can explain why I love this book so much. I mean, it's not like anything earth-shattering ever happens. It's just a slice-of-life kind of story, and one that I would expect to be a little disconnected from (you have to be pretty fancy-pants rich to go to a French boarding school, afterall. I don't much care for reading about fancy-pantses trying to make out). Thank god it's not some Richie Rich boarding school story. Though Paris is a bit of a character in its own right and plays a role in Anna's awakening, the boarding school is almost incidental. This is much more a story of friends and family and how, sometimes your family is what you make it (and friends are the family you choose, and any other cliche you'd like to insert here).It just felt real. The characters are funny and flawed and they interact with each other in such an authentic way. There are times when an author is trying to write a funny teen book and everyone becomes very quippy and witty and over the top. They're caricatures, and it makes them hard to connect to. The characters in Anna aren't like this. They are funny, but in the way that your friends are funny. It's situational and comfortable, and it feels really true. They all have their issues and they grow and change, and sometimes that means they grow apart, and it's all very believable. It's not just The Anna &amp; Etienne Show. All of the core characters felt like real people and - more importantly - real teens on the cusp of adulthood.But of course I can't talk about this book without talking about the romance. I judge a good romance on whether it gives me butterflies. This passed the butterfly test easily. And it's not because it's so swooning and lusty and hawt. Like the characterization, the romance felt really real. It is flawed, and there are times you think it's never going to come together, and times you think maybe it shouldn't come together, and all the while you're breathless with anticipation. It's not the melodramatic, substance-less fare that is typical to YA romance. There is a basis to it, Anna and Etienne do and will work at it, but most importantly of all, it's backed by friendship. It's a companionable romance story, which I trust so much more than a lust-at-first-sight, death do us part, manic "romance". There's a really solid, strong friendship being built throughout the story, and that, I think, creates longing and satisfaction in the reader just as much as any hoped-for french kiss.And of course, Paris makes everything romantic.So if you're dragging your feet, doubting whether to read this and keeping it on the back burner for "some day", or are embarrassed to read something with this title/cover combo, do yourself a favor and bump it up on your list. Remove the dust jacket if need be, find yourself a quiet, comfortable place to hide your flutters, and commence equal parts laughing and swooning.