July 28, 2011

REVIEW! Anna and the French Kiss.





ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins
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?

My rating: 5 stars.

MY THOUGHTS:

Anna and the French Kiss? It's just going to be another cliche, right? WRONG! Despite the cutesy title and summary, Anna and the French Kiss has depth. Lots of depth - specifically the relationship/friendship kind. It's a whirlwind of wonderful.

The story's progression immediately caught me by surprise; it doesn't transpire in a short amount of time. Instead, it paces itself over roughly a year of time. Sounds crazy slow, but it isn't. It actually works like a big puzzle in which you can't wait to find the next piece to plug into place. It's this pacing that gives the plot sustenance. Without it, and in a much shorter timespan, the plot would come off cliche.

But the characters are supporting that long timeframe. Without them, the story would drag. The relations between Anna and her friends just work, to put it simply; their actions aren't forced or unflattering or awkward - although they are a tad predictable. They merely mesh together, and they're all imperfect. In fact, they seem real. What they say to one another is not unlike what you'd hear you or your friends saying (except maybe minus the French and British slang).

So essentially Anna and the French Kiss provides both good story and believability. And a charming love interest: Etienne St. Clair. (Warning: You won't be able to keep yourself from swooning just from seeing his name. He's that special.) What's best about him is that he's so unlike other male characters. He's not simply the Knight in Shining Armor or the Bad Boy or anything inbetween. He's a collaboration - really well-rounded.

My advice? Don't knock it for the romance-y premise. At all. Go read it!

14 comments:

  1. Lovely review! I want to read this soon ^_^

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  2. I think I must be the last person on earth that hasn't read this yet. I think I was initially put off by the cover and title so it's nice to know it has more depth than those would suggest. It seems like everyone loves and swoons over Etienne!

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  3. Yaaaaay! So glad you liked it :). And no girl is able to resist the charm of St. Clair, he's just too awesome :P. How excited are you for Lola now? I can't wait to read it!

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  4. So glad you enjoyed reading Anna! It's such a great book. :) Thanks for sharing!

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  5. Yaaaay, we're so glad you liked it! Every time we read a good review of Anna, it brings us back to when we read it, and how much we loved these characters. :)

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  6. A "whirlwind of wonderful" is a great way to describe it! And oh, Etienne. *sighs*

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  7. So glad you liked it! I't one of my favorites! *sigh* I could think about St. Claire all day. :)

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  8. I'm still in love with this book. I can never get over it! <3 Squee!

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  9. I am seriously in love with St. Claire. Seriously. And his return appearance in Lola and the Boy Next Door is just as great. Except then in Lola there are more amazing boys. (I <3 Cricket!)

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  10. I've picked this up every time I've gone to Borders recently and just have never bought it. I'll just have to order it because I really feel like I'm missing out.

    And I adore the name Etienne! Oh, just thinking about this book makes me miss France!

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  11. I absolutely ADORED this book. Etienne is now and forever my book boyfriend...i WILL fight Anna for him...

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  12. Another Anna convert! We always welcome more. I agree that the characters are so real. In my review I said something to the effect of liking that their flaws felt like real people's flaws and not just something the author came up with to make it a "three-dimensional character."

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  13. Before reading this book, I was super skeptical about Etienne... Most books I read write now have some paranormal/fantasy element, so I was hesitant to read a normal teen romance. HOWEVER, just as you said above, I couldn't help falling for Etienne, and I really liked Anna as well. Excellent book!

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  14. Lovely review - I cannot wait to read this one! :D

    Ahhh I really need to just BUY it lol!

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