Anna & the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Published: December 2, 2010 by Dutton
Received: gifted by Melanie from Reclusive Bibliophile

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. 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.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited? {taken from goodreads.com}

I received this book from my good friend Melanie at Reclusive Bibliophile back in early December.  After witnessing so many people gushing about it, I decided to hold off & read it when the hype died down a little bit.  Anna and the French Kiss sat on my bookshelf for months.  This poor lonely book kept getting passed over for something else.  In an attempt to cut down my TBR pile, I decided to finally pick it up.  And let me just say.. I am so, so glad I did!  Yes, all those comments you've read about how amazing this book is - are true!!!  There's a reason (many reasons) why Stephanie Perkins' debut novel has gotten so much attention among the YA realm.  Let me just tell you a few...

If you're a fan of quirky, humorous, yet realistic YA fiction then Anna and the French Kiss is the perfect book for you.  The story follows an American teenage girl who is sent to boarding school in Paris, France by her pompous father & hands-off mother.  The reality of leaving behind her best friend Bridgette, her little brother Sean, & the potential of a new boyfriend Toph devastates Anna.  How could her parents do this to her??  Immediately Anna feels helpless & alone in one of the largest & supposedly most romantic cities in the world.  She does not speak the language, eat the food, or dare to venture out past her school's grounds.  Just as she's settled herself in to become the hermit that she's trying to be, Anna meets Etienne St. Claire.  Oh Etienne (or is it St. Claire??)... *swoon*  He is half British, half American, half Parisian - a mut if you will!  But a beautiful mut, with beautiful hair.  Immediately Anna is drawn to him.  She becomes friends with his friends, a close-knit group who have grown to know one another at this American boarding school in Paris.

Slowly Anna emerges from her shell & attempts to experience Paris.  With the help of Etienne & her other new friends, Anna begins to come around & appreciate Paris & all it has to offer.  Anna's personality is what stole the show for me.  I loved how honest she was, mainly in her thoughts to herself.  Her lust for Etienne made me laugh so much!  From the inappropriate thoughts about the way he bit his pinky nail, to the smell of his freshly shampooed hair.  I was right there, inside her mind, experiencing it all just as she was.

The build up between Anna & Etienne was unreal!  Yes, it was obvious where this story was taking us; however, I loved loved LOVED the path it took us on to get there.  The relationship between the two of them started out as friends, which any good stable relationship should begin as.  They took the time to really get to know each other.  Then the heat began to rise slowly between the two.  I could literally feel the tension when Etienne's arm would graze Anna's arm.  The jolt of electricity that shot right through her body, simply because his knee touched hers.  The stolen glances & irresistible grins.  It was the small moments which escalated to much bigger, more grand moments in their relationship.

Stephanie Perkins' writing style is fresh & upbeat.  After reading this book I will definitely pick up another book of hers in the future.  And good news!  A companion novel for Anna and the French Kiss will be published September 2011 titled Lola and the Boy Next Door.  Along with the rest of the YA book blogging community, I am very eager to get my hands on that book!  The wait in reading Anna and the French Kiss was so worth it!  If you were reluctant, like I was, I suggest you stop holding off & pick up this book NOW.  If you're a fan of Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling series, then you may come to like this story & Stephanie's writing as well.  How's that for persuasion??

Now I must go find me a British/American/Parisian man with beautiful hair!