Anna and the French Kiss
48. Stephanie Perkins, Anna and the French Kiss
When Anna Oliphant learns that her parents are planning to send her to a Parisian boarding school for her senior year, she’s dismayed: she’ll have to leave her school, her friends, and her super-hot coworker at the local multiplex. However, when she arrives in Paris, she soon begins to adjust to her new surroundings with the help of some friendly students. Anna finds herself in a tight-knit circle of friends that includes Étienne St. Clair, a charming, confident, handsome guy - with a girlfriend. Nonetheless, she starts spending a lot of one-on-one time with him, until she’s not quite sure whether they are just friends or something more.
I know this may sound like a trite teen romance, but I actually loved it! Anna felt like a real person to me; she doesn’t have everything all figured out, but she’s doing the best she can to navigate a complicated situation. Her group of friends seems very realistic as well, and some of my favorite scenes were when the whole group hung out together. And Étienne - what a perfect romantic hero! I love that, in the midst of his many attractive qualities, he also has some flaws, like a debilitating fear of heights. If he were ten years older (and not fictional), I’d steal him for myself! :) While there is the usual expected teen drama in this book, it’s realistic teen drama, so I didn’t mind. Since there are so many awful teen romances being published these days, Anna and the French Kiss was a delightful surprise. Recommended!