review: Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Published: Dutton (December 2, 2010)
Pages: 372 pages
Source: I bought this book


Summary (From Goodreads)

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: 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: I loved this book SO HARD. And what's not to love? Paris, cute boys and several mentions of crepes. J'adore les crêpes. Let's break down the awesomeness of this book.

1. Anna. The protagonist of AATFK is funny, witty and overall charming. You can't help but love Anna. You feel her emotions--from her nervousness in living in a new city, alone, to her conflicting emotions about St. Clair. She's very genuine and I think that anyone who has fallen in love can relate to Anna.

2. St. Clair. I'm going to go all fangirl on St. Clair--OMG. It's as if Perkins tapped into my fantasy high school boyfriend and wrote a story about him. He's cute and has an awesome accent and is English AND Parisian AND American. I admire authors who make a character so likable, even when his faults are evident. There were times when I want to beat his head up against the wall, but I was rooting for him the whole time. 

3. Paris. This is actually the first YA book I've read set in Paris and I really hope to see more like it. You get a taste of the City of Lights, but not all the gushing. I'm not sure how Perkins did that--I would do nothing but gush.  
4. Crepes and Nutella. That is all.


I want to say more but nothing is really coming to mind. It's a great book, one that I've seen on list after list of Best Books 2010. I've yet to see a bad review for this novel, and I know that I'm eagerly waiting for Lola and the Boy Next Door by Perkins which is due out in September of 2011.