Shiirleyy's Bookshelf has migrated to Dear Shirley ! I will continue to post book reviews but there will also be a lot of personal and travel-related posts :)

Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss

2 Aug 2011

                                                       

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton
Release Date: December 2nd, 2010
Source: Borrowed
Goodreads Synopsis:
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 Thoughts:


So, I’ve been visiting my school library every day for the past week, just so I could get my hands on Anna and the French Kiss. I FINALLY managed to find it and almost squealed inside the library, but hey, I found it!

Did it meet my expectations?
No.  It surpassed my expectations.  i.e. I LOVED it!

I should mention that I usually don’t quite like books with unoriginal storylines where all that happens is:
1.       Girl changes school & doesn’t like it.
2.       Girl meets hottest guy in school
3.       Girl & guy fall in love
4.       Happily ever after, after a whole load of teen drama, bitch fights misunderstandings…etc

Anna and the French Kiss is no different. Anna is sent off to study in Paris for her senior year and initially, she hates it there. She wants nothing more than to return home to Atlanta and be with her best friend, almost-boyfriend and mum & brother. But then, she makes some amazing new friends, and meets the most gorgeous guy in school – St. Claire. Now, here’s the drama. St. Claire and Anna have this obvious attraction, and no girl can even take their eyes off him. BUT he’s in a very serious relationship with his girlfriend, who’s in college. Meanwhile, Anna’s other friend also likes him, and Anna herself is attracted to him but she also has someone waiting for her back home. So, what will happen?

There’s nothing original about the storyline but I loved how the story was told! The novel was light and funny; I was grinning from ear to ear throughout the entire book, so for two whole days, I had a huge smile pasted on my face. The Anna & St. Claire scenes were so cute and sweet, I was constantly going “Awwwwww <3”! At times, I was literally jumping in delight after reading a particularly sweet scene. I also really liked the characters, as they were believable and easy to relate to. (Probably because I’m a teenager myself). Overall, Anna and the French Kiss was a quick and fun read and I would definitely recommend it to everyone! Now, I’ll just have to await the release of the two companion novels -Lola and the Boy Next Door and  Happily Ever After!

Rating: 5 stars! 

Favourite Quotes:
"I wish friends held hands more often, like the children I see on the streets sometimes. I'm not sure why we have to grow up and get embarrassed about it." 

"So what do I wish for? Something I'm not sure I want? Someone I'm not sure I need? Or someone I know I can't have?" 

"French name, English accent, American school. Anna confused."                                                                                               
"For the two of us, home isn't a place. It is a person. And we are finally home." 
"Soap?"
"School of America in Paris" he explains. "SOAP". 
Nice. My father sent me here to be cleansed." 


4 comments:

  1. I didn't think the stor sounded that great, but I've heard so many people react to it like you that I am so excited to get my hands on it! Great rev ew!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It actually sounds really cliched (actually it is) but it's the way the story's told that really captured my attention! Give it a try :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for following me :) I'm following you too now!! I love meeting other Aussie book blogger!!
    Ahh, Halo drove me up the wall, I was disgusted by it! But, I have to agree with you with Anna, ohhhh how I loved it! I read this after I finished the disasters that were Halo/Hades so it was so nice to go from horrible to lovelovelove<3

    ReplyDelete
  4. No probs & thank youu :)
    Yes,yes this book was amazing right? Must've been great reading this after Halo & then being able to forget how terrible Halo/Hades was! I also read your review of Hades - I don't think I even want to go anywhere near it, let alone read it!

    ReplyDelete

Hey there,
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog :) Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section; I appreciate all comments left here!
If you have a blog, I'll be sure to visit it and comment back(I love finding new blogs so feel free to leave a link!)
Thank you & have a nice day