ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS
BY STEPHANIE PERKINS
GENRE: YOUNG ADULT
SYNOPSIS:
Anna Oliphant is a senior in high school who is forced by her father to attend the fictional boarding school 'School of America in Paris' - nicknamed SOAP by students. She is heavily against having to leave Atlanta for
Paris, specifically due to leaving her best friend Bridgette, great
job, and Toph, whom she has a crush on. Anna wishes to become a film
critic, being a major movie fan. On her first night at SOAP, she meets
her next-room-over neighbor Meredith (Mer), who consoles her after
finding Anna crying in her room. After Anna leaves Meredith's room, she bumps into a beautiful boy who introduces himself as Étienne St. Clair, and has an English accent.
The next morning at breakfast, Mer invites Anna to sit with her and her
friends; Rashmi and boyfriend Josh, as well as Étienne from the night
before - he is known by everyone as St. Clair.
Anna
can neither read nor speak French, leading to St. Clair's assistance in
ordering breakfast. She notices St. Clair's popularity amongst the
students, mainly as a result of his natural charm. She meets Amanda, who
antagonizes her and has a one-sided crush on St. Clair. After
breakfast, they all receive their class schedules and begin classes. St.
Clair and Anna are appointed as lab partners for the remainder of the
year. Anna discovers she is the only senior in Beginning French, but
much to her pleasure, there is a junior named Dave, who develops a
liking to her. At lunch, Rashmi, Josh, Mer and St. Clair recall
embarrassing stories about each other making out, including the Henri incident and English tongue. This
causes Anna to feel separate from the group - this increases after she
learns that St. Clair has a girlfriend named Ellie, who graduated from
SOAP last year and is now at Parson's Photography.
Later
that night, Anna meets Amanda outside the bathroom waiting in line for
the loo, Amanda makes fun of Anna's hair saying she looks like a skunk.
On Saturday Anna bravely orders food from the chef only to find out he
can speak near perfect English. She then learns that it was St Clair's
birthday yesterday but that he doesn't want to make a big deal out of
it. Saturday night St Clair decides to take her out to see the city,
whilst out she realizes there are cinemas everywhere, St Clair can't
drive and that he is afraid of heights.
Over
the next few weeks Anna and St Clair become best friends, he doodles on
her homework, sits next to her at every meal, teases her about her
sneakers, asks about her favorite films, and conjugates her French
homework. But Anna knows she wants more... and St. Clair doesn't seem to
be denying that there is something growing between them, something more
than friendship.
REVIEW:
What
I like about Stephanie Perkins is that her books are fluffy, and
they're okay with that: there's no heavy message attached to this as the
author attempts to shove an after-school special down our throats. I
didn't like that when I was a teenager, and I don't like it now.
Sometimes I feel like that's my real problem with contemporary novels -
that they want desperately to be didactic in the way that dystopia or
high fantasy is but their settings are too literal to pull it off
properly. But Stephanie Perkins is cool, subtle; she holds back,
relaxes, and lets the story speak for itself. She trusts her readers. I
like that.
Anna and the French Kiss was
a strange read for me in that I'm not a contemporary fan and nor am I
overly enamoured of romance, mostly because I find 85% of it to be
terribly unconvincing. I'm not an overly romantic person at heart thus
your story of this average straight couple who meet in the rain and face
menial trials because ~one of them doesn't believein love~ won't tickle my fancy. I expect a little more.
I
expect what Stephanie Perkins gave us: a beautiful setting, atypical
characters, smooth writing and a satisfying final payoff. We see Etienne
and Anna get together because that's what we've been waiting for, and
Perkins made us wait for it. She knew we'd love this couple, because she
knew the story she was telling had enough meat to make us care.
Anna
is a rich kid, but she wasn't always; she's rash and sometimes selfish,
but she's a girl in love for the first time. Oftentimes I worry that
adult readers who are harshly judging female leads forget that these
female leads are teenagers, and when we were teenagers, we all felt like
a zit or a laughing-peeing incident was the end of the world. It
wasn't, but being a teenager is hard; being in that transitional
phase puts enormous pressure on us as human beings. Perkins captures
this well. I remember being thrilled when I was sixteen and realizing
that yes, writing was something people did, and something I could do -
it wasn't that I'd had success, but simply having something be certain
in the waffling, uncomfortable abyss of adolescence. It was relief to me
to find that I could braid my hair and wear makeup and have it look
good, after struggling so hard with uncertain feelings about whether my
friends really liked me or how good my grades were, whether people
noticed the holes in my clothes that I couldn't afford to replace, how I
fit in my broken family, how I'd ever have enough money to strike out
on my own, what my face looked like, what my puberty-ravaged body looked
like, my sexuality, my plans for the future, where I wanted to be and
what I wanted to do. Perkins grabs hold of teenage waffling and pulls
the covers off it, and she makes it romantic, yet finite. Things
sometimes suck, she says, but they do get better.
I've
seen a few heads shaking at the cheating aspect of this book, and I'd
like to share with you a very unpopular opinion: cheating happens for a
reason. Sometimes the reason is that the fuckwad you're dating is too
cowardly to admit that they're not ready for commitment. Sometimes it's
because the existing couple is incompatible, thus one or both of them
looks elsewhere. Sometimes it's because you have to break a few eggs to
make an omelette. Cheating isn't okay; it's not justifiable. But
cheating, like Cheez-whiz and Nickleback, has its unsavoury reasoning.
This
book, like a good series opener should, saw me clamouring to get my
hands on its sequels. And I did get my hands on them; I've read them
both. This is the essence of Perkins' readable, deft writing: it's
moreish and addictive, easy but not simplistic. There's skill there, and
it encompasses a wide audience, from teens to nostalgic adults. I, an
adult*, wasn't ashamed to be seen reading this book on the terrace.
(That might, though, be in part due to the beautiful and subtle covers
of the UK paperbacks. That is how you create a book cover, art teams!
Subtly!)
What
else can I say? Stephanie Perkins rocks, and so does her writing, and
her colourful cast of characters. Five stars well deserved.
RATING:
💗💗💗💗💗
LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR
BY STEPHANIE PERKINS
GENRE: YOUNG ADULT
SYNOPSIS:
Lola
Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous,
sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty
perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the
Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When
Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister's shadow and
back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings
for the boy next door.
REVIEW:
Here's the thing. I think Stephanie Perkins is in my head. Or at least my daydreams. How else could she consistently write characters that seem to be tailor-made to hit my flutter buttons? Etienne for my anglophilia, Max for my tattooed, Buddy Holly glasses wearing rocker boy, and Cricket. Cricket for everything I've ever wanted in a real boy.
Because that's the beauty of Lola and the Boy Next Door. It's real. As much as I loved Anna and the French Kiss (and I looooooooooooooooooooove Anna), Lolawas better on nearly every level because it felt real. Anna was by no means a fairy tale without the struggle of realism, but there were some elements that took it to daydream level. Paris. Beautiful, charming British boy. The big, dramatic (incredibly swoontastic) ending.
Lola is different. They aren't in Paris, and Cricket isn't a dashing, gorgeous Brit. He's just a normal boy. A normal, awkward, amazingly sweet boy who I can't even find words to describe. (Except for, you know, those...)
I won't say anything about the story itself, except Stephanie Perkins manages to surprise me with the depth she gives her characters and their circumstances. Lola made me ache; I went through each moment of impulse, confusion, and agonizing indecision with her. I laughed with her, I certainly cried with her more than I expected to, and I swooned so hard that by the last section I was literally reading standing up because I was FEELING TOO MANY FEELINGS to sit. Lola and the Boy Next Door is everything first love should be--painful, awkward, desperate, tender and so, so sweet.
And as I read Perkins' acknowledgements at the end, I found myself tearing up again at her note to her husband. I realized why she is able to write such amazingly real and heartfelt love stories. It's because she's lived it.
Stephanie Perkins has not disappointed me yet! Lola and The Boy Next door is about 17 year old Lola (or Dolores, if she's in trouble). She has an older boyfriend, strict parents and a great best friend. Her boyfriend Max is 22, in a band and totally cool. Her dads are strict, but caring and other than their strict dating rules, Lola doesn't mind. Lindsay is her best friend and can sense when something is up or guess how Lola is feeling almost immediately. Lola thinks she's happy with her life until her neighbours move back in. Her neighbours left 2 years prior and they did not leave on good terms. Their return brings anxiety, curiosity, trouble and lot's of confusing feelings for Lola. I consider this book a contemporary but also a romance since the main plot line is about Lola's relationships.
The writing in this book makes for a quirky, fun-loving read. It shouldn't take you long to read and you'll get right into the story. I love Stephanie Perkins writing style and can't wait to read even more of her books!
RATING:
💗💗💗💗💗
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ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER
BY STEPHANIE PERKINS
GENRE :YOUNG ADULT
SYNOPSIS:
Isla
Martin attends the School of America in Paris with Josh, a talented
artist and Isla's long-time crush. After getting her wisdom teeth
removed, Isla runs into Josh in a cafe, and has the courage to talk to
him because she is a bit loopy from the medicine she is taking.
Once
they get back to school, Isla has trouble talking to Josh, but he
knocks on her door and asks her out to the local comic book shop. Once
Josh realizes that Isla's best friend Kurt really is just her friend,
Josh and Isla start dating. They share several sweet moments, like their
first kiss on an escalator (even though it ends in a bloody nose for
Isla), Josh painting the "treehouse," and both recounting favorite
childhood memories.
Isla
and Josh decide to spend the weekend in Spain, breaking the school's
rules about traveling. When Isla's sister Hattie starts asking about
Isla, the school realizes that something is amiss, and confront Kurt
about Isla's whereabouts. This results in Josh's expulsion from school.
His parents are furious and confiscate his phone.
While
Isla and Josh are separated by an ocean, Josh's dad is running for
senator. Isla watches the news around the election, which includes a
clip of Josh saying he doesn't have a girlfriend (which he later claims
he did to protect Isla from nosy people in the political world). When
Isla is back in the US for a holiday, she receives a package with a copy
of Josh's autobiographical graphic novel. Isla is upset at the presence
of Rashmi in the novel, especially since there are nude drawings of
her. While being driven home from a posh political party, Isla picks a
fight with Josh, and breaks up with him, fearing that it is only a
matter of time before he would have broken up with her.
However,
Isla is still very much in love with Josh. She buys him a signed copy
of a graphic novel, which Isla's sister Hattie sends to Josh. Josh
visits France during the Olympics and meets up with Isla. After they
watch St. Clair propose to Anna (who gleefully accepts, of course), Josh
walks Isla to her dorm and hands her his revised graphic novel, telling
her to read it right away and call him after she is done. His novel
ends with Josh declaring his love for Isla and waiting outside for her
to call. When she peeks out of the window, Josh is actually there. She
runs outside and tells him that she loves him.
REVIEW:
Stephanie
Perkins knows the deepest corners of my heart; the spaces where the
darkest secrets and most tragic insecurities lie. In Anna, Lola,
Isla--in them she painstakingly reveals, piece-by-piece, the fears I
hesitate to lay before even those most beloved to me. But, in doing so,
she reminds me that I am not alone in my swirling thoughts. To sit down
and curl up with a Stephanie Perkins romance is to lose yourself in the
flesh-and-blood ideal that you are human; you belong on this Earth. You,
with your quirks and flaws and ugly parts, are not an anomaly.
I experience such a personal, visceral reaction to the tales Stephanie Perkins weaves. In Isla I
could not help but become lost in the lines of Josh's artwork, the
strokes of his dreamlike love, or the coils of tension which dictate
their tragic love story. Perkins does little to re-build Paris, for
location is of next to no importance to either Isla or Josh. Where Anna
comes to realize that her home is St. Clair, Isla and Josh measure their
romance in distance. Josh returned three hours ago from D.C. Josh's
flight left two hours before Isla arrived. Josh is seated across the
table from Isla but it feels as if he is across the Atlantic. It's
curious, to me, that I re-call my favorite scenes from Anna based
on their setting. That heart-warming reconciliation atop Notre Dame.
When Etienne buys Anna a collection of love poetry from Shakespeare
& Co. Or that moment when St. Clair rests his foot against Anna's in
the movie theater as they watch a screening of "It Happened One Night."
With Isla it
feels as if every moment of the novel melts fluidly together. Isla.
Josh. Isla and Josh. Their limbs intertwined, their hearts beating as
one, their silent spaces.
In comparison to Anna and Lola,
both which read--from the surface--to be "just another" contemporary
romance with a blossoming love story, indomitable hurdle, and
all-too-happy reconciliation, Isla is
intense, explosive, and--dare I say it?--sensual. It feels distinctly
foreign from any brand of American romance, merely because it is such a
tangle of limbs, mess of hearts, and all-round love affair. What Isla
and Josh share is far more than a simple love affair but the pacing, the
sensation, the hit-you-in-the-feels emotions...surely nothing but the
movies can feel this way? But Stephanie Perkins not only forces you to
believe it on paper, she makes you believe it in life too. I want a
romance like Isla and Josh; passionate, understanding, and messy. Forget
Anna and St. Clair, Lola and Cricket, because Isla and Josh are the
love story I never even knew I craved.
For readers, Isla will
most likely surprise, not because of its protagonist, but rather
because Josh comes alive in a manner we never knew possible until this
tale. We imagine we know him through Anna's lens but, in truth, it's
such a tiny facet of the person he truly is. What I love most about
Josh, beyond his encompassing, incredible artistic talent, is the fact
that he is far removed from the ideal boyfriend. Not only is he on the
verge of being expelled from high school but he treats those threats
with disdain, ignoring high school for he believes he has found his true
calling. On paper, I wouldn't want to know Josh, let alone date him,
but through Isla's eyes we grow to see him as more than the qualities
which define him.
Yet,
for me, Isla remains the soul of this novel. Whether it be her
insecurities, her strengths, her weaknesses, her mistakes; I understood
her. I felt connected with Anna, likely because of her initial
out-of-body experience in arriving to Paris and, later, because it's
simply impossible not to root for her. With Isla, though, I felt a
kindred spirit. I'm not petite or pale or ginger. I don't share Isla's
physical appearance and, even mentally, I am not nearly as introverted
or painfully frightened as she is. But I used to be. And, even now, I
sympathized with Isla's struggle to break out of her bubble. Even now, I
feel scared about my unknown future and the adventures college may
bring--but like Isla, I'm more excited than scared. I lose myself in a
book. I use studying as a coping method to forget about the difficulties
in my life. I typically have nothing but time on my hands to devote to
school work that when I do decide to pursue an endeavor solely for
myself or take time to meet a friend it shows in a slight drop in my GPA
and the unfairness of life hits me all over again. So many lines in
this novel felt as if they were straight out of my head that I could
scarcely believe it. Isla, in many ways, chronicles my own journey of growth, albeit in a far more romantic way (isn't that always the case, though?).
Moreover, Isla is the romance novel I've been clamoring for; the one which explores the hurdles in making a relationship work. With Isla not
only must Isla come to terms with the tight friend circle Josh shares
outside of the school they both attend but Josh, too, must learn how to
ingratiate himself into Isla's already-established lifestyle and
friendships. It's a dance, in so many ways, finding that perfect space
where real life, friendship, and romance can all exist as one and, as
Perkins writes it, it isn't easy. Not in the least.
I could go on about Isla for
ages and, likely, still be unable to reveal anything concrete about the
story without spoiling the tale for you. It's passion. It's
adolescence. It's growth.
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