Review: Anna and the French Kiss

[A P Bullard]

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Usborne Publishing
Genre: YA Romance
Pages: 273 (eBook)


Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Anna Oliphant is the daughter of a biology teacher and a famous author whose books are popular movies.

For her senior year of high school, her parents send her away to a boarding school in Paris, forcing her to leave her life in Atlanta far behind. She imagines it will be horrible, as she doesn’t know anything about French culture, and cannot imagine being without her best friend and her crush.

When she gets to the boarding school, she spends the night crying. Her next-door-neighbor, Meredith, hears her and comforts her. They form an instant friendship, and Anna is invited to sit with them in the restaurant-like cafeteria. She befriends the group, though some come around more slowly than others. The best part of all, though, is when she meets St. Clair.

A French-English American with perfect hair, St. Clair steals Anna’s heart from the moment she first sets eyes on him. Charming, polite, and funny, he shares her interests and they develop a friendship. She knows Meredith is jealous, but she spends time more and more time with him anyway. St.Clair also has a girlfriend, who Anna hates on principal.

Things change between Anna and St. Clair when they are left alone at the boarding school for the four days of Thanksgiving holiday. Their friendship grows, and they realize they want more than just friendship. However, there is the problem of the girlfriend and Meredith’s crush on St. Clair. Will Anna get the boy of her dreams?


Reactions:

It was incredibly hard to not sound a bit sarcastic when writing the summary.
To begin with, I absolutely could not stand Anna. At all. She is a prime example of the failure of the America educational system and has a serious case of the SpoiledRottens . She outright says that she only knows one French word, “oui”, and only recently found out that it was not spelled “w-e-e-.” Oh, come on! She cannot possibly be that daft. It’s one of those common foreign words that isn’t even considered all that foreign anymore. It’s used so often, like “si”, that everyone knows what it means! She even has a pillow with her family crest’s motto that has an embroidered French phrase. However, she didn’t even know it was French until St. Clair pointed it out. For seventeen years, she assumed it was Latin or some other language. Are you serious?

She is incredibly ignorant, and relies heavily on stereotypes. In fact, she does it to such a high degree that St. Clair calls her out on it. Heck, she even believes that the main thing Parisians do for fun is watch mimes! She also apparently has never had a Panini in Atlanta, which I find very hard to believe. She has the adorkable, clumsy-but-oh-so-cute trope down pat, and it’s just far too obnoxious.

She acts as though she is sent away to some horrible, horrible place in the middle of nowhere because her parents don’t love her. It couldn’t possibly be that she is sent to a prestigious boarding school in Paris, because her parents want her to have outstanding educational experiences that she could use to fluff up her college applications. Yeah, couldn’t possibly be that.

Moving on. . .
Not only does the main character of this book maintain this “I’m so much better! I’m a good person! I’m a victim!” attitude, but the main heartthrob perpetuates the idea that it’s okay to cheat in a relationship. I feel bad for Ellie. She’s written as a “holier than thou”, slutty-dressing jerk, which is supposed to make it okay for St. Clair to cheat on her. Oh, and then for them to rub it in Meredith’s face all the time, even though Anna allegedly did not want to make her jealous.

When she that her crush back home isn’t as interested as he originally seems, cries and cries as though it’s the end of the world. Even though she has been pining over St. Clair this whole time. Then, she ‘dates’ someone else in an attempt to get back at St. Clair for…what? Not breaking up with his girlfriend?


The Verdict:

Good: The writing is really good, and I loved the descriptions of Paris. The prose was beautiful, and the author writes cutesy scenes really well. I liked how she wrote the supporting characters, Rashmi and Josh.

Bad: Everything else. I was really disappointed by this book. I’ve heard a million great things about it, and now regret using part of my birthday gift card on it. The main characters annoyed me to no end, and it was just full of teenage angst. It could have been a fun read, if Anna wasn’t such an annoying toddler.

Rating: I give it 3 out of 5 stars. The story itself is good, and the writing was good. Anna and St. Clair just really ruined it for me. He was so charming, but the whole cheating thing was just bad. He didn’t feel guilty, and it just made the entire book seem like it supported the idea that cheating on one’s partner is okay, as long as said partner is a jerk.

[ellen may]

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 Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful. Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend. But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited french kiss?
This book was such a cute love story as well as a story about friendship and self-discovery. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and thought it was the epitome of a summer book. Being a little cheesy for my liking at times, as well as unrealistic it didn't quite live up to mu five star expectations. I did however, think the characters were brilliant and interesting and the writing was very good- it made me really want to visit Paris and I loved having the scene set in such an exciting way. It was just so cute and fun so I can't wait to read the next two companion novels.

[Jessica8587]

This was my first book by Stephanie Perkins and I loved it!! This book had been on my TBR for a while! First off I have to say I love love love this cover!!

Blurb:
Can Anna find love in the City of Light?

Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection. So she's not too pleased when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year. But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new friends, including the handsome Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he's taken--and Anna might be too. Will a year of romantic near misses end with the French kiss she's been waiting for?


I love how the book is written! Its it absolutely wonderful! The characters are amazing! Etienne = Swoon! Oh my gosh! Its such a sweet & romantic book! I hate when I love a book because it seems the ending comes way too soon! I wanted to see more of Anna & St. Clair!
I love how all the characters felt real.. they had flaws.. I love the fact that St. Clair is short! Although I usually like tall guys! You usually don't see that in books.. the lead guys are usually tall, fit and perfect.

I really like Anna! I love when she figured out she was falling for Etienne!

I really wanted to know more about Josh! I can't wait to read Isla and the happily ever after!

So many great parts in the book!! I loved it! One of my favorites of the year so far!

[TheMusicalMuse]

I've picked this book up several times, reading the dust jacket and skimming through the expository chapters, and it seems the original reviewer has reinforced my first impression: this book is incredibly pretentious. I can see the appeal for teenagers though, because it's a mixture of elements to which they can relate and elements they wish they could experience in their own lives. Examples of the former: aloof parents, teen angst, unrequited love, inappropriate relationships. Examples of the latter: rich and famous parents, international travel, a "perfect" foreign man who falls for a girl of no extraordinary character or talent. I get why I see this book in the hands of so many of junior high school students. I'm torn; I'm glad the writing is good (so many poorly written books available in YA literature!), but I'm not a fan of stories that approve of and encourage entitled behaviour.

[SassHamilton]

My reaction to Stephanie Perkins' books:

First book: "This is adorable. Characters are cute. Writing is good. A little predictable, but I can handle that."

Every book after: "Didn't I read this story already?"

I still love Stephanie's writing. It is well done, but sometimes she over describes her characters. (I don't want to keep being reminded how short St. Clair is.)

Not sure if it was, in fact, because I read it first; but I really enjoyed Lola and the Boy Next Door, over this story.

[lennon_fontaine14]

“School of America in Paris,” he explains. “SOAP.”

Nice. My father sent me here to be cleansed.

What I really felt while reading the first pages of Anna and the French Kiss- “I love you Stephanie Perkins raised to the nth power!”. The story was told in a very humorous, witty, and fantastic way!

Anna and the French Kiss is all about Anna Oliphant, a teenage girl being sent to Paris by his father, James Ashley, to finish her senior year there. Anna, unlike any other teenagers, was not really thrilled, let alone willing to go there because she was happy with what she have in Atlanta- her bestfriend, job, and ofcourse her crush that after a very long time noticed her. But, as she stays longer in Paris, wander around the City of Light and Love, she soon realizes that being sent here was not really bad at all. Especially when he met St. Clair. The oh-so-beautiful St. Clair.

But, meeting St. Clair and leaving her life at Atlanta, creates a lot of troublesome events that will make Anna’s one year stay in Paris worth memorable… or heartbreaking.

“I like you,” he says.

My body is rigid.

“And I don’t mean as a friend.”

I have to remind myself that I’m not Anna and that St. Clair is a fictional character. BUT, my heart always skips a beat everytime St. Clair is looking at Anna, smiling at Anna, talking to Anna, doing anything with Anna- yes, I’ve died and gone to my unfathomable reveries with Ètienne St. Clair.

“You’ll be reading the breakfast menu without me before you know it.”

Hmm, maybe I don’t want to learn French.

Believe me. There is no dull moment or even a sleepy feeling while you’re reading this. You gotta love Anna soo much! I wonder how I managed not to rip my face into two after all the wide smiles, giggles, cries and laughs that I’ve poured while reading this novel.

Anna and the French Kiss is the mix of everything that you’re looking for a contemporary novel- family, friendship, culture, coping up, and ofcourse, love. And mind you, I never even thought I’d be hooked to this book the moment I start reading the first few paragraphs. ‘Twas magic! Staying up late was really worth it.

A MUST-READ.
And it’ll be no doubt if one day, this book would be on your to-love-until-eternity list!

[Mimi Jazman]

The first time I decided to pick this book up is merely just because I need a break from all heavy readings I have been doing for my final weeks. Even after Seriously... I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres, I believe that I still need a real fluffy book. I need something so fun and easy to read.

First, I downloaded the audiobook version of this book. But to be honest, I hate it. I hate the way the narrator tells the story. It sounds so childish and horrible to my ears. I don't like it at all. The story is being told from a girl's point of view. I'm so sorry that I don't even know the narrator's name. But, I just want you to know that she tried so hard to imitate boys' voices and I don't like it that much. It sounds so fake and the voice doesn't help with your imagination. When the character is a guy, you want him to sound like one. Not just some girl-becomes-boy kind of voice. You want it to help with your imagination. This narrator doesn't do exactly that.

So, after 2 hours of listening to the audiobook, I decided to go with the ebook version. I downloaded the ebook version and finished it in just one and a half day, which is good considering how disappointed I was with the audiobook version. That can also mean that the book really has a good pace. It includes only the necessary stuffs. That's how Perkins makes it so easy to read.

Is it my favourite? Is it? Hm.. I think it is. I don't know if there's any book that I've read that I can relate as much as I can to this book. All the things inside the book, like how Anna moved to somewhere foreign to her, falling for her own best friend and fighting with her former best friend, are just so relatable to me. I can totally understand Anna and she feels so real. All her problems. All her paranoias are just so common to most of the girls in our age. That exactly the things that wreck us the most.

I love the ending. It is well-resolved. Ends perfectly in the room and yeah, can't ask for more, do I? Since the book uses Paris as the main background, it is mesmerizing the way Perkins actually describes it. All the places are well described, although it doesn't make me feel like I wanna go there, I still think of it as a good description with the right amount of details, of course. Maybe I'm not the artistic type. Yeah.. Maybe. However, since the book is all very 'realistic', I kinda missed all the good quotes in there. I can't find something that made me think twice. The whole idea of the story does make me think, but there is no specific quote to hang on to.

I can't believe that I'm suggesting such a 'cute' book to a lot of people out there. But, yes, I do, if only you guys need something very easy to read and you are very stressed with your life at the moment. I'm not much a fan of contemporaries. I'm more to fantasy. Contemporaries are okay, but I'm a little worried that it might not help with your understanding with how the real love life work. It's a very complicated thing. Most books and dramas (Korean and Malay dramas especially) really emphasize on girls being all weak and stupid yet so pretty then some rich, handsome guy gonna fall for them. To be honest, those are lies. Rich and handsome guys usually fall for some gorgeous and fashionable girls. I never like to see how girls fantasize on having a rich and handsome boyfriend when love is not only about #relationshipgoals . Love means so much more than just having pictures to be posted on Instagram.

But somehow, in my personal opinion, Anna and The French Kiss kinda reflect on the real life and how love life usually works out. I like the way she falls for her own best friend, St. Clair but still St. Clair can't just fall for her when he actually has a girl friend. Anna herself is not those glamorous girls that everyone will fall for. Anna just a girl that has been rejected by someone who kissed her, she is the girl that broke up with a guy that fall for some other girl and also, a kind of girl that fall for her own best friend. She's not the best in her class and spent some of her time in detention, which, if you ask me, sound so normal.

Although Anna has some 'typical' character in her, I believe, everyone needs some 'clicheness' in every book. I love that Anna do not read as much because recently, I have met so many characters that read. I have met so many people that love to read, I'm in a reading community myself, so, talking about books sometimes bored me. It's still my favourite topic to discuss yet, I will be so grateful if someone else has something else that they truly like and willingly tell me about it.

Exactly what Anna is.

Anna is a movie reviewer which requires her to go to a lot of cinemas so that she can always update her website with new reviews. Her journey as a movie reviewer inspires me so much to be like her! Her eagerness in reviewing movies made me realized that I should be like her as well. So eager to do something that I truly like. Furthermore, Stephanie also includes some kind of advice for young movie reviewers out there, which is good. It might inspire someone out there who decided to give this book a try.

Anna's transition from being the awkward girl to the Paris schooled girl is clearly stated in the book. Perkins really shows what moving to another country can do to you. Some people thought they will never change. They think it is easy to be who they are till the end. But, asking me, that's not the case. You always gonna change. That's what moving does to you. It changes you whether you like it or not.

St. Clair, however, a bit too dreamy for my taste. He has all the best qualities in him, which makes him a bit unrealistic to be compared to Anna. He seems like Niklaus Mikaelson from The Originals, all beautiful yet so broken.

But I have to say that Anna and St. Clair are those characters that will always be remembered. St, Clair is just too dreamy that I know it is easy to be reminded of him. Anna, on the other hand, is just so realistic, I know I will relate myself to her. And, since the title of the book has her name in it, surely she will be remembered.

The book doesn't make me think of it all the time. What it did is just it makes me think of myself too much. Since the whole story is very relatabe, I found myself to be easily influenced by its ideas, which is rarely happen to me. I didn't cry or gasp or laugh or anything while reading this book, but, I do feel a tug at my heart whenever something big happens. I can feel the pain the characters are going through and I really feel miserable for them. And the book does make me feel like I want to be on bed all day long.

That's how powerful it is. To me, this is not just some childish contemporary book. This book, despite of its genre, kinda affect me the way I didn't expect it to be. That's how it gains the high rating.

[VinuW]

I loved Lola and the Boy Next Door, and I have been wanting to read this for quite a while now.

[Abby Mastro]

Anna and the French Kiss is my current breakup book. It's the book you go to after a breakup or really any "unlucky in love" kind of moment. This book is uplifting and romantic but not overly fairytale like. It's a bit far fetched and the main character Anna lives what could be considered a charmed life but the emotional turmoil and everyday conflicts are still relatable to the reader. Overall it was a quality book and perfect for any teen looking to get out of their head and temporarily experience a happier reality.

[QyeenMontana]

I just started reading this but honestly it is so good, it has so much passion.

[Anastasia_19]

Anna + St. Clair! That was WOW! If you liked the book, you should definitely go for the rest of the series. That was awesome, and sad in the end. Sad because it was OVER!

[TheBookTramp_]

Warning: Some spoilers

Genre: Young Adult Romance
Pages: 372 (paperback)

If you're into cutesy contemporaries with a complicated love interest and a boarding school, this book is for you.

Anna is sent off to a boarding school in France by her mother and her well-known author father. After living in Atlanta for the past eighteen years, she wasn't expecting to be moved to a different country, let alone to Paris, France. When she arrives she feels alone, and embarrassed to be an American in a foreign place where Americans are looked down upon. After being befriended by one of the girls at SOAP, she discovers being in Paris isn't as bad as she originally thought.

As with all good things however, come the bad. She starts hanging out with a cool new group of people, who includes Etienne St. Clair. Now comes the complication, as she starts developing feelings for St. Clair. The problem: he's already in a relationship. Yes, it might be a toxic, abusive relationship, but he can't seem to let his girlfriend go. Fast forward nine months later, its been an emotional roll-a-coaster, yet Anna doesn't regret anything she did. Find out why in this romantic, yet thrilling Stephanie Perkins best international seller.

This book surprised me. Contemporaries aren't my favorite, but I've been in a reading slump for the past three months and I needed an easy read. The plot line was gripping, the full out detail was enthralling, and the drama was... well not my favorite. I know, I know, this is a contemporary after all. The overall book was fantastic. I liked the setting, the plot and the writing style. I liked most of the characters as well. I took five points off because, this book is almost entirely about the romance. The main character was pining after St. Clair, who yes, has some redeemable traits, but he couldn't make up his mind. I' ll be honest in saying that I like strong female leads. There's something so gripping and alluring about them. Anna was obsessed with Sr. Clair, and she couldn't have him, which of course, only made her want him more. That to me is a weakness, one I didn't particularly like. If I had to change one thing about this book, it would be the main characters response to St. Clair's behavior. But, I had to see it coming, because this is a romance and a contemporary, and the two together usually end on a positive note.

Overall not a bad book. I rate it 3.5 out of 4 stars.

[HerondaleWill]

I likes this book, I didn't love it. It was highly entertaining but I felt like some of the things that were "cute" were just stupid. This book makes cheating look ok which I don't think it is under any circumstance but besides that It was a good, with good characters like Etienne. Although comparing to Lola and the boy next door this book is a million times better. So if you are looking for a cutesy contemporary this book would be great.

[Barbie_sidhu]

The review is really nice. It was the title of the book that actually attracted me first. Its going to my TBR pile.

[Carolyn1854]

I did not like this book. I decided to read it because it is a really popular young adult book. It was good at some parts but, overall not much. I would rate it a 2 out of 4