Thursday, December 9, 2010

Anna and the French Kiss::A Book Review


I had the pleasure of reading Stephanie Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss. It was fantastic! I'm a very you-gotta-have-some-kind-of-magic-or-sci-fi-junk-in-a-story-to-make-it-good type of reader, and this book didn't have any of that. But I had a hard time putting it down! That should be enough of a recommendation for you to go read it--trust me.

"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. Claire: 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."

What I liked about this book: The voice! Stephanie Perkins really knows how to do funny. She keeps the story alive with her humor.

What made it stand out: The hot, sexy, British-French-American Etienne St. Claire. He's not tall. He doesn't have perfect teeth. He's full of flaws. Yet all of those things make him even more desirable. Seriously!

The Characters: I already mentioned Etienne. Anna's quite awesome herself. She has a space between her two front teeth (So do I)! And she's hilarious.

Another thing: Reading this book made me hungry. For French food (banana and Nutella filled crepe, anyone? I love Nutella). And French culture. And French architecture. I want to go to France because of a book. Lame reason? Read it and you'll get me.

So, go check it out. Here's the Amazon link.

And for more Bookanista reviews, check out:

Carolina Valdez Miller praises ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS
Christine Fonseca and Elana Johnson recommend THE WRITERS GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY
Shannon Messenger raves about DESIRES OF THE DEAD and gives away the ARC
Megan Miranda gushes about REVOLUTION
Lisa and Laura Roecker present a special Guestanista review of PERSONAL DEMONS


11 comments:

Renae said...

I have got to get this book! Thanks for the great review!

Matthew MacNish said...

When Shannon reviewed this one the other day I asked her "are there any sword fights?"

I was kidding of course, but I was also trying to illustrate the same point you're making here - that usually this kind of story is not for me. But you've done an excellent job of explaining what makes this book stand out Bethany, and I totally agree that if the writing is good enough I can read any book and enjoy it, no matter what the plot is about. I just wouldn't normally reach for this one on my own.

Thanks for filling us in!

Susanne Winnacker said...

I love Paris, but I love crepe even more! :D

Angela said...

I am so on the verge of running to Barnes and Noble, buying this book, and hiding it in my purse so my husband won't see.

Shari said...

I love humor! This book sounds really fun. I'm going to have to read it now. What can I cut out of the grocery budget so I can buy it? Hmmm. . .

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Hehe. I totally wanted to go to France after reading it. It was tugging at me. But I didn't just want to go back as a tourist. I want to go back as a student, and of course, be seventeen again with an American French British boyfriend. Captured everything I ever wanted when I was a teen.

Great review, Bethany!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

This one is already on my wish list! :-)

Anonymous said...

I've heard good things about this book. I'll have to read it!

Bethany Wiggins said...

LOL, Matthew. Thanks for the comments guys!

Jessica said...

Ooh la la! I really want to read this now. :)

Megan Miranda said...

Okay, between your review and Carolina's, I'm convinced! Thanks!!