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Review

4.5 lovestruck stars

I absolutely fell in love with this book when I read it years ago, and I’ve just finished a reread and am beyond happy that I loved it just as much the second time around. It’s sweet and romantic, and totally relatable, and is one of those books that makes you happy sigh.

It’s the story of 17 year old Anna who is sent to Paris for her senior year of high school. She is not happy about being moved away from her home town of Atlanta, her best friend and a potential boyfriend, but her father is adamant she go. She knows nothing about Paris, or even how to speak French, but she is quickly adopted into a quirky group of friends all boarding with her at the School of America in Paris, and her year away is about to change everything for her.

There are the usual teen dramas of high school, mean girls, family drama and messy relationships, with the added complication of a girl living in a city far away from home facing all of the associated language and cultural barriers that come with that. It’s a coming of age story which is beautifully written, and it’s written in a way that makes you feel like you’re experiencing it all alongside Anna.

“I’m a little distracted by this English French American boy Masterpiece”

Two words for you – Étienne St. Clair (or is that three words? … whatever). The English-accented French/American in France soon becomes Anna’s closest friend. Smart, funny, gorgeous and popular, he shows Anna the sights, makes her laugh, and helps her to get acclimatised to her new home. Their connection is forged quickly and deeply, and she soon finds herself falling for him, but St. Clair already has a girlfriend so Anna resigns herself to just being friends and adoring him quietly, until it seems that her feelings may be returned.

“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?”

This is SUCH a gorgeous love story! It’s slow developing and natural as Anna and St. Clair shift from friends into slow ‘like’ and something even more significant, but it’s beautifully done. It’s young and innocent, and totally life changing for them both. Angsty – yes, and it does take a frustratingly long time for everything to be sorted between them, but the journey is wonderful and the resolution is even better, and they’re only 17/18 so you can’t expect them to have it all figured out at such a young age. The way it all unfolds is realistic and emotional and ties really well into everything else that is going on, and it all works to build the anticipation for a kindle-hug-worthy happy ending.

“Is it possible for home to be a person and not a place?”

And then there is the way that we get to experience the wonder of Paris right alongside Anna. Stephanie Perkins has taken us on a journey to one my favourite cities in the world, and she does a wonderful job getting us into the heart of it and making you feel like you’re there and taking it all in. The charm of it all adds to the story to make it something really special.

This is such a cute, sweet, feel-good book. It does pack an emotional punch, but it mainly just made me smile. The characters are likeable yet realistic, Anna’s narration is fantastic, the banter is smart and funny, and I was drawn into the story from start to finish.

Absolutely gorgeous – 4.5 stars

The Anna and the French Kiss series