I loved the author, Stephanie Perkins, so I was not at all surprised that I loved this book. Many scenes made me want to roll my eyes, yell at the main characters, and comfort the main characters. A write who evokes a response in the reader must be terrific at her art :)
The main character, Anna, is upset at being forced to go to a boarding school in Paris. Understandable, who would want to uproot his/her life and take off? Along the way, she meets Etienne, who quickly becomes her friend and sometimes tour guide. As the novel progresses, she quickly wants Etienne to become more than friends-even though he has a girlfriend, one he doesn't seem to care about much when around Anna. Anna takes the reader through her sometimes painful boarding school classes, the great culture of Paris, the movie theater to view foreign films and really take in the culture, and back home where she experiences quite a few disappointments.
I liked this novel; Anna was a fun, spunky character who was caring to Etienne when he found out that his mother could be dying from cancer. Etienne frustrated me when he seemed to lead Anna on, never really telling her he did or didn't like her (except in one, drunken chapter). The ending was a good one with no cliff-hangers, I was really happy that the author believes in a happy ending every once in a while too. I would recommend this novel to young adults/teens who enjoy a book about friendship and romance.
Anna and the French Kiss
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24 reviews
Overall rating
4.8
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4.6(24)
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4.9(22)
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4.8(23)
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Review From Blkosiner's Book Blog
Overall rating
4.3
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I know that nearly everyone has read and reviewed this book for me, but I am just getting off of the sweeping tour of Paris, and the anticipation rush from Anna and St Clair (I'll call him that not because I didn't feel effection for him, but because I'm not the fondest of E name.)
I've seen so many positive reviews, I tried to wipe my slate clean before reading so that I could just enjoy (or not) the story before me. And enjoy it I did. It was a fast, fun, and romantic story that surprised me with the emotional depth at times. There aren't just cute and fun issues here, there are some hard ones--sickness, barriers to friendship, and just raw emotions from events playing out.
I do sympathize with St Clair's reasonings behind Ellie, but I still have to say that it still didn't sit right with me. Sure, she's not there and his feelings for Anna are strong, but why drag it on? It would've been hard as a girl seeing it from Ellie's eyes, but I think that would've been the right thing to do.... I guess I just had to mention that because that's the one thing in the book that still nags at me.
That is not to say that I thought negatively of the book, I loved it. Anna grows and learns so much, and she has a great (and wonderfully written) group of friends, and the tension between her and St Clair kept me on the edge of my seat.
I've seen so many positive reviews, I tried to wipe my slate clean before reading so that I could just enjoy (or not) the story before me. And enjoy it I did. It was a fast, fun, and romantic story that surprised me with the emotional depth at times. There aren't just cute and fun issues here, there are some hard ones--sickness, barriers to friendship, and just raw emotions from events playing out.
I do sympathize with St Clair's reasonings behind Ellie, but I still have to say that it still didn't sit right with me. Sure, she's not there and his feelings for Anna are strong, but why drag it on? It would've been hard as a girl seeing it from Ellie's eyes, but I think that would've been the right thing to do.... I guess I just had to mention that because that's the one thing in the book that still nags at me.
That is not to say that I thought negatively of the book, I loved it. Anna grows and learns so much, and she has a great (and wonderfully written) group of friends, and the tension between her and St Clair kept me on the edge of my seat.
The Perfect Book
Overall rating
5.0
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Read this! What are you waiting for? Trust me. Read.
Good Points
I put off reading this book for a long time because everyone raved about it, and I didn't want to be disappointed. Now, I wish I'd read it earlier. This book was like Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way. The Paris setting is so vivid, I felt like I lived there. Anna is a flawed and fabulous character, and I yearned for her to find her happy ending. And kudos to Ms. Perkins for telling a story through Anna's point of view and still giving Etienne such a compelling voice. This was wholly satisfying in every way and goes down in history as having one of the BEST kissing scenes ever. Ever.
Excellent book!
Overall rating
5.0
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Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. Stephanie Perkins has written some well-rounded and believable characters. In addition, her ability to bring Paris to life made the story all the more believable. A great book and a great love story that shows that not all relationships have an easy start!
EH
Emily Heinlen
Top 100 Reviewer
Fun Romantic Read
Overall rating
4.0
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a review by Courtney
This is a hard book review to write because there were some things I just loved about this story and other things that drove me crazy!! To sum up what goes on in this story; Anna is forced to spend her senior year at a school in Paris for Americans. She is not thrilled to leave behind her best friend or her possible boyfriend. She soon begins to love Paris though when she meets a couple of new friends and a hunky English American St.Clair. Unfortunately he has a girlfriend though so she only idolizes him from a far!
What I liked about Anna and the French Kiss; I liked the characters and the plot a lot!! Anna was a lovable character and so were all her friend she made in Paris. They reminded me of the group of friends I always hung out with in high school and we did everything together! Very genuine and believable.
The plot was pretty unique and I although I could guess the ending pretty much from the beginning I never knew what was going to happen next. It had a very satisfying ending which is always a make-or-break for me and this ending sold the book!
What I didn't like about it; I did not like the annoying romantic tension. Usually that doesn't bother me but in this book it did. I was getting a bit frustrated with the way things were progressing SO SLOWLY!!
CONTENT ALERT: This is more of a PG-13 book for me!! There was no sex scenes but sometimes the language was pure filthy, for example there was a few cuss words and the word slut was used repeatedly! It didn't really bother me a whole lot but I definitely wouldn't want my young teenager reading it.
I will be looking to see what else Stephanie Perkins wrote because even though I was annoyed at times, this really was one of a few contemporary books I actually enjoyed!
This is a hard book review to write because there were some things I just loved about this story and other things that drove me crazy!! To sum up what goes on in this story; Anna is forced to spend her senior year at a school in Paris for Americans. She is not thrilled to leave behind her best friend or her possible boyfriend. She soon begins to love Paris though when she meets a couple of new friends and a hunky English American St.Clair. Unfortunately he has a girlfriend though so she only idolizes him from a far!
What I liked about Anna and the French Kiss; I liked the characters and the plot a lot!! Anna was a lovable character and so were all her friend she made in Paris. They reminded me of the group of friends I always hung out with in high school and we did everything together! Very genuine and believable.
The plot was pretty unique and I although I could guess the ending pretty much from the beginning I never knew what was going to happen next. It had a very satisfying ending which is always a make-or-break for me and this ending sold the book!
What I didn't like about it; I did not like the annoying romantic tension. Usually that doesn't bother me but in this book it did. I was getting a bit frustrated with the way things were progressing SO SLOWLY!!
CONTENT ALERT: This is more of a PG-13 book for me!! There was no sex scenes but sometimes the language was pure filthy, for example there was a few cuss words and the word slut was used repeatedly! It didn't really bother me a whole lot but I definitely wouldn't want my young teenager reading it.
I will be looking to see what else Stephanie Perkins wrote because even though I was annoyed at times, this really was one of a few contemporary books I actually enjoyed!
AR
a reader
#1 Reviewer
A Chance For Love In Paris
Overall rating
5.0
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Reader reviewed by Krystal Larson
G
Guest
#1 Reviewer
Anna is an amazing character
Overall rating
4.0
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Reader reviewed by Kayla
Wow. This was a roller coaster ride of a read (try saying that 10x fast).
There are times when I'll become so invested in a character that I will experience her emotions right along with her, and with nearly the same intensity. This is what happened with me and Anna. A big reason for this may be that we were so alike. If I were in her situation (attending a boarding school for the first time in a country where I didn't know the language), I would be thinking and acting exactly like she did. And I have the same insecure thoughts when I'm trying to make new friends-I guess we all do. There were times I actually cried while reading because I felt so frustrated and upset over Anna's escalating problems near the end of the book. Needless to say, the happy ending left me breathless and ecstatic. Anna and St. Clair's relationship developed so naturally. I love how true to life the whole story was and how real all of the characters seemed. This was an incredible book.
Side Note: A small problem I had with the book was that Anna's father was described a lot like Nicholas Sparks (a Southern author who writes love stories with depressing endings and has a very large and loyal following, as well as a good number of movie deals). This wouldn't have been so bad except that Anna's father was written up to be a real jerk. He was even greatly criticized and called insensitive (by Anna) for making a profit by "exploiting" those situations, which she was especially upset about after learning that a friend of hers had a mother that was suffering from cancer. It kind of felt like a slap at Sparks, though I'm sure this was unintentional on the author's part. I don't mean to judge. I just thought I'd mention it.
Wow. This was a roller coaster ride of a read (try saying that 10x fast).
There are times when I'll become so invested in a character that I will experience her emotions right along with her, and with nearly the same intensity. This is what happened with me and Anna. A big reason for this may be that we were so alike. If I were in her situation (attending a boarding school for the first time in a country where I didn't know the language), I would be thinking and acting exactly like she did. And I have the same insecure thoughts when I'm trying to make new friends-I guess we all do. There were times I actually cried while reading because I felt so frustrated and upset over Anna's escalating problems near the end of the book. Needless to say, the happy ending left me breathless and ecstatic. Anna and St. Clair's relationship developed so naturally. I love how true to life the whole story was and how real all of the characters seemed. This was an incredible book.
Side Note: A small problem I had with the book was that Anna's father was described a lot like Nicholas Sparks (a Southern author who writes love stories with depressing endings and has a very large and loyal following, as well as a good number of movie deals). This wouldn't have been so bad except that Anna's father was written up to be a real jerk. He was even greatly criticized and called insensitive (by Anna) for making a profit by "exploiting" those situations, which she was especially upset about after learning that a friend of hers had a mother that was suffering from cancer. It kind of felt like a slap at Sparks, though I'm sure this was unintentional on the author's part. I don't mean to judge. I just thought I'd mention it.
G
Guest
#1 Reviewer
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