Review: Anna and the French Kiss

I always forget how much I love this book in between reads, you guys. Stephanie Perkins really has a way with words, and I'm counting down the days until Isla and the Happily Ever After.

(August 14th!!!!!)

Let's get right down to business, shall we?

Now that he's a famous Nicholas Sparks-esque romance novel writer, Anna Oliphant's father has decided that she needs to go to school in Paris for her senior year. It's probably not the worst thing to ever happen, but Anna thinks it would have been nice to have been given the choice to go, rather than being told. Especially since she's so close to having a relationship with her cute coworker Toph.

Anna manages to settle in nicely at SOAP, though, striking up an easy friendship with her next-door neighbor Meredith and her group of buddies: Rashmi, Josh, and St. Clair (more formally known as Etienne). St. Clair is the most intriguing of these new friends by far in Anna's opinion, and it doesn't hurt that he's gorgeous and funny.

What does hurt? He has a steady girlfriend, Ellie, who's in college.

*sad trombone noises*

Anna and St. Clair become best friends despite their growing chemistry, helping each other out in the best ways they know how. St. Clair shows Anna around Paris to make her feel more at home, and Anna supports St. Clair however she can after his mom is diagnosed with cancer. Their interactions are always tinged with romantic undertones, though, especially after Anna finds out Toph started dating her best friend from home behind her back and St. Clair's relationship with Ellie starts to crash and burn.

Things begin to look hopeless for Anna and St. Clair after an accidental kiss has a lot of unexpected consequences, but the City of Love has its ways of drawing people together.

First things first, I am so glad that this novel got recovered to the design above. I first read it with the original cover, and it just doesn't do the story justice.

Seriously. That's just not good. It looks like some subpar Judy Blume ripoff where the girl's going through puberty and wants to learn what ~kissing with tongue~ is like.

The new cover looks like it's intended for slightly older YA readers, and the design makes me feel like the story will be romantic, fun, and a little serious, which is all true. While Anna and the French Kiss isn't deep literary fiction by anyone's standards, it still has its moments of real thoughtfulness and tenderness, and the original cover doesn't make it look that way at all. Sure, the cover shouldn't be the be-all, end-all of someone's decision to read a story, but it will still have some influence.

Content-wise, the story lives up to its new cover. Anna definitely feels like a real person, and I rooted for her and St. Clair to get together from the moment they met. They have a good foundation, and the will-they-or-won't-they tension they develop soon turns into more of an "okay, when will they?" feeling. The gratification isn't instant, but it's completely satisfying, since both Anna and Etienne experience character growth along the way.

Overall, Anna and the French Kiss is funny, poignant, and romantic. It's a light read, sure, but not mindless or lifelessly formulaic. I'm in love with its story of love, and I've already begun fan-casting the movie version in my head. (SOMEONE OPTION THIS BOOK. HOLLYWOOD, I'M TALKING TO YOU.) Five stars and a wistful smile.

(Also, my movie cast: Anna - Katie Stevens, Etienne - Darren Criss, Meredith - Evanna Lynch, and Bridgette [Anna's friend from back home] - Becca Tobin. I'm still working on the rest.)