A Sweet Young Adult Romance Perfect For Summer Reading: Anna and the French Kiss

Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"The whole school is as intimidating as it is impressive. It should be reserved for students with personal bodyguards and Shetland ponies, not someone who buys the majority of her wardrobe at Target."

Sent to a boarding school in Paris by her father, Anna is not happy about spending her senior year away from her home in Atlanta and her best friend. Adjusting to life in Paris isn't easy, especially since she doesn't speak French. Over the course of her senior year, though, Anna learns a lot more than just a new language...she learns about friendship, growing up, and most of all, love.

I really loved the character of Anna in this book because she is so easy to relate to and so funny. Perkins does an amazing job at incorporating elements girls and women can relate to. I liked the realistic feel of the novel which came from the well-developed characters. I also really liked the character of St. Clair, who is Anna's love interest in the book. He was fun and romantic, but still had enough flaws to make him feel real.

The setting was a perfect backdrop for this novel and helped create conflict. I liked how Perkins seamlessly created the story around the backdrop but didn't let it take over the entire novel. I felt like the characters carried enough of the story on their own to make it a perfect balance.

The only thing I would have changed is to have more tension as Anna deals with the major problem in the novel. I thought the problems she faces are well-planned, but they were solved fairly quickly. I would have liked to have seen more struggle in Anna so she could have shown more change and growth. I wish the conflict hadn't been resolved so neatly.

Overall, this is a sweet, light-hearted read perfect for the summer months. It will make you want to travel to Paris and redo your senior year. Most of all, it reminds you that life and love are sometimes foreign entities to us...but eventually, we figure out how to translate them both.

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