Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Book: Anna and the French Kiss (Stephanie Perkins)
Series or Stand-Alone: Stand-Alone

Pages: 372
Genre: Young Adult

Purchase A Copy: Amazon | Book Depository

Preview: On GoogleBooks 
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2010

How I Got This Book: Library

Description (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. 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?

Anna and the French Kiss is nothing short of amazing. Honestly, I was a little afraid to read it because nearly  everyone has loved it. I am not usually one for the sugary sweet teen romance books and I was afraid that’s what Anna would be.

While there were definitely those cutesy moments, they were never unrealistic. A lot of teen rom-com books place so much stock in the “romance” portion of the book that the characters suffer. What I loved about this book is that the characters stood for themselves. Anna is incredibly well-rounded and extremely easy to relate to. I saw so much of myself in her character and I think a lot of girls will see themselves in her too. She is in a word – real. Anna is insecure and overwhelmed by the sprawling city of Paris. She doesn’t speak French, so she refuses to order anything complicated at meal time. She is intimidated by her classmates and she feels like she doesn’t belong. She also has so many quirky little traits that really bring her to life. She wants to be a film critic and has a huge passion for old movies. She is a little goofy and is an extremely caring person. which is what really gets her into trouble.

Almost immediately after Anna arrives in Paris she falls for one of her new friends, St. Clair. I mean, who wouldn’t? Perkins went all out with this heartthrob. Our heroine never stood a chance. He’s devastatingly handsome and excruciatingly charming. Oh and did I mention he has a British accent?  He’s also quirky and caring and extremely down-to-earth. I just have one question… where can I find one? 

Anyways, unfortunately for Anna, St. Clair is taken. Because she is a good Southern girl, Anna decides the best plan of action is to hide her feelings for him. As the book and their friendship progress , Anna does a lot of maturing. I love when we see characters grow up throughout the story and Anna really comes into her own. She isn’t perfect by any means – she makes plenty of mistakes along the way. But that’s what makes her so relatable, you cannot help but cheer her on as the story unfolds.

The plot line reminded me a lot of those old romantic comedies where the characters are always misunderstanding one another. I am assuming this was done on purpose, since Anna is obsessed with those old movies.  Much like the romantic comedies, it’s almost painful for the reader because it is obvious how perfect Anna and St. Clair are for one another.

Like I said before, there are a number of “cutesy” moments peppered throughout the novel. Please don’t be put off by this, because they are done so well. Perkins has such a talent for understated charm – all of the Anna/ St. Clair moments are almost downplayed. It’s not a book full of hot make out scenes  and tons of heat; it takes much more of a realistic approach. Because of this the reader is able to see how well the characters actually mesh together. Their relationship is an actual relationship – they have discussions, they tease one another and they take care of one another. 

Anna and the French Kiss was a remarkable debut. Perkins’ set the bar so high with this one – I can only hope that her next book is half as good. Anna's story is honest, heartwarming and endearing.  She is easy to relate to and St. Clair is the perfect match for her. if you haven’t read this book yet, you NEED to. No excuses , go find a copy right now.  I don’t care if you have to beg, borrow or steal it from someone (well, don’t steal) but you simply must read it!

 

 

 Favorite Quotes

 "I wish friends held hands more often, like the children I see on the streets sometimes. I'm not sure why we have to grow up and get embarrassed about it."(pg.310)

"I'm a little distracted by this English French American Boy Masterpiece."(pg. 173)

"Girl scouts didn't teach me what to do with emotionally unstable drunk boys."(pg. 140)

Review: The Locket by Stacey Jay

Book: The Locket by Stacey Jay
Series or Stand-Alone: Stand-Alone
Pages: 288
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: February 3rd, 2011
Description (From Goodreads): On her seventeenth birthday, Katie discovers a locket and decides to wear it for good luck. But when her boyfriend Isaac finds out she cheated on him with their mutual best friend Mitch, no less he dumps her, leaving her devastated. And then a miracle happens. The locket burns on Katie's chest and she feels herself going back two weeks in time, to the night she cheated with Mitch. At first, Kate is delighted to be a better girlfriend to Isaac this time around. But as other aspects of her life become inexplicably altered, she realizes that changing the past may have had a dangerous effect on her present. Can she make things right before the locket destroys everything and everyone she loves?

The Locket by Stacey Jay has a very interesting and unique premise. With the help of a magical locket, Katie travels back in time hoping to change her biggest mistake - the night she cheated on her boyfriend of three years, Isaac. Isaac is the only boyfriend Katie has ever had and she feels they are supposed to be together forever. They often talk about getting married - that is what they have always envisioned. All of this is put in jeopardy, when Katie - disappointed and hurt by Isaac blowing her off, kisses their mutual best friend, Mitch. So, when Katie is given the opportunity to go back and change history, she thinks it's her very own miracle.

However, she soon discovers that things in this new version of the world are slightly different. Some of her friends are slightly different, the local coffee shop's logo has changed and the boys and girls dressing room locations are changed in the theater. At first she tries to not let these things get to her, but as time goes on and she notices more and more changes, she begins to get scared.

The whole concept of things changing in her life was a little odd to me. I would understand if she was traveling to alternative version of her world, but she is just going back in time. Sure, future aspects of her life would change - based on the new decisions she makes - but I don't think that things from her past would change. I was hoping that this would be explained somewhere along the line, but it really isn't.

The other part of the story that I didn't particularly enjoy was how obsessive Katie was with Isaac. Yes, she loves him and she is upset about cheating on him, but I felt like she was a little over the top. It felt like every couple of pages she was talking about their "perfect future" together - which they have already picked out kids names. I don't mind mentioning this once or even a few times, but it got to the point where it was rather tedious and redundant.

However, besides her slightly unhealthy obsession with her future as Isaac's baby’s-mama, I adored Katie. You don't get to read about many southern girls (She lives in Tennessee) in Young Adult lit and I thought Katie was adorable. She is big on manners and politeness, and of course, she says "ya'll". She is a good friend and tries to be there for everyone and help solve everybody's problems.

Katie was also a very rounded character. She definitely had her fair share of flaws and weaknesses. She doesn't think too highly of herself - she often says that she is the "less interesting half" of the Isaac/Katie relationship. She can also be too nice - she is somewhat of a doormat and lets people walk all over her.

My other favorite character (besides Katie) was Mitch. Mitch grew up next door to Katie and they consider each other best friends. He is also good friends with Katie's boyfriend, Isaac - the three of them were inseparable from a young age. Mitch is totally my type. He is tall and lanky, sarcastic yet considerate and oh, yeah he is in a band. At the beginning of the book (before Katie has time traveled) Mitch and Katie haven't really spoken in a few weeks - not since the incident. When she goes back in time, they are friends again and end up spending a lot of time together.

As they spend more and more time together, Katie begins to feel something between them. At first she decides its simply aftershocks from kissing him (which now, never happened), but at time goes on, she finds it harder and harder to deny or mask her feelings. This comes as a shock to her, because she has always been Isaac's girlfriend, and has always loved him. Jay creates a wonderful dilemma for Katie; does she stay with Isaac - who she as always thought of as her first and only love - or does discover where a relationship with Mitch could go?

I thought the Locket was a fun read, with a great premise and message. Everyone makes mistakes - but what would happen if we could go back and change them? While the idea was topnotch and the characters were interesting, I was really bothered with how Katie's world kept changing. I wish that it was explained in the book, because it really did not make sense to me. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the book and would recommend it!

Review: Geek Magnet by Kieran Scott

Book: Geek Magnet (Kieran Scott)
Stand-Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Pages: 308
Genre: Young Adult 
Preview on Google Books
Description (From Goodreads):
Everyone loves KJ Miller, especially the geeks. She's pretty, smart, and super nice to everyone, which has made her the geek pied piper of Washington High. If only Cameron, the star of the basketball team, would follow her around and worship her the way her dorky entourage does.

As the stage manager of the spring musical, Grease, KJ has to deal with a few geeks, but she also gets to hang out with Tama, queen of the popular crowd and star of the play. Tama has the solution to all of KJ's problems: get cruel. After all, the nice girl never gets the guy. Can KJ actually pull off a transformation into a mean girl?

I had not heard a lot concerning this book, probably because it's a few years old, but I saw it on sale online, so I picked it up on a whim. The story sounded cute enough and I thought the cover was adorable so I purchased it. All things considered, I am glad I had a chance to read this book.

The story centers around KJ, a high school junior who was just given the job of stage manager for her school's musical production of Grease. I think a lot of people can relate to KJ, I certainly can. There are a lot of teen books out there about "mean girls" and 'frenemies" and whatnot; but KJ is entirely unique in this market - she is a nice girl. In fact, she is too nice. She cannot be mean to anyone and therefore attracts the unwanted attention of the school geeks. I love the idea of this, because this really happens. I was one of those girls in high school, not to the extent of KJ, but I could not make someone feel bad either.

Anyways, on with the story. The problem arises when Resident popular girl, who happens to be playing Sandy, takes KJ under her wing. Tama tries to set her up with KJ's longtime crush Cameron, but Tama declares that the geeks have to go. She tries to teach KJ how to repel the geeks and how to be mean. Now of course, drama ensues and KJ begins to question who she is becoming. People begin to get angry with the new KJ, but a select few stand by her side.

One of which is her new friend, Robbie. You see, the two of them developed a friendship because KJ agreed to help Robbie get Tama interested in him. However, their bond soon grows and KJ really begins to trust and rely on Robbie.

The geeks are also brilliantly and hilariously written. There are three main geeks that kind of stalk KJ throughout the book  - Andy, Glenn and Fred. Andy is incredibly smart and logical. Everything he does has some kind of scientific backing. He is also extremely into health foods. He is constantly trying to get KJ to eat weird foods. Then, there is Glenn. Glenn is my least favorite type of Geek. He is super touchy-feely. We all know people like that. He seems to have no idea about the concept of a personal bubble and is constantly saying inappropriate things to KJ. Finally, we have Fred. Fred is chubby next door neighbor. He is extremely sweet and would do anything for her. Unfortunately, he is exactly socially graced and he often embarrasses himself and those around him.

Honestly, the only problem I had with Geek Magnet, is that it was rather predictable. The plot was not surprising in the slightest, but it was still well written. The characters are charming enough that it is still an enjoyable read, even when you know what is coming. 

Geek Magnet was a quick and enjoyable read that is perfect for a lazy day. It is easy to get into, but isn't exactly hard to process. It isn't the best book I've ever read in this genre, but it was certainly entertaining.

Review: Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn

Book: Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn (Sarah Miller)
Series or Stand-Alone: Book #1, Midvale Academy
Preview on Google Books
Description: The narrator of Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn tells us the story of her beloved Gid, an adorably clueless boy who flukes his way into one of the f...more The narrator of Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn tells us the story of her beloved Gid, an adorably clueless boy who flukes his way into one of the fanciest New England prep schools. Gideons more than a little out of his league at Midvale, especially compared to Cullen and Nicholas, his charming but morally ambiguous roommates. They terrorize Gideon as they initiate him with a bet over Gids borderline virginity, and the feisty, sexy Molly McGarry. Gideon is torn - he wants to prove himself, but he also wants Pilar Benitez-Jones, the most beautiful girl hes ever seen. Hooking up with Molly might be possible, but winning Pilar would be legendary. On the other hand, Gideon actually likes Molly. Its all incredibly confusing and intoxicating. And one hysterically funny girl is savoring Gideons every thought. But who is she?

I read this book a few months ago after I read about it on amazon. I read the beginning of the book on google books and then ordered myself a copy offline, because most bookstores don't carry it in store. I concept of the book sounded unique and the format of the book was very entertaining. The story is laid out as a mystery, where the reader has to try and determine who the narrator is. For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. Some parts were a bit predictable - especially who the narrator turns out to be. I don't want to give anything away, but you see that coming a mile away. However, all in all the book was a fun and interesting read.

Review: This Lullaby

Book: This Lullaby (Sarah Dessen)
Series or Stand-Alone: Stand Alone
Genre: Young Adult
Preview on Amazon
Description: When it comes to relationships, Remy doesn't mess around. After all, she's learned all there is to know from her mother, who's currently working on husband number five. But there's something about Dexter that seems to defy all of Remy's rules. He certainly doesn't seem like Mr. Right. For some reason, however, Remy just can't seem to shake him. Could it be that Remy's starting to understand what those love songs are all about?

I first read this book when I was in 8th Grade. I remember passing it around to all of my friends because I enjoyed it so much. The protagonist, Remy Starr, is a cynical, narrow-minded high school senior who is completely over love. Enter, Dexter, a free spirit who completely shakes up everything Remy knows, or think she knows about life and love. This is defiantly my favorite Sarah Dessen book, and quite possibly my favorite straight teen romance. I have read, and reread this book many times. The characters are all very charming and carefully crafted (like Remy's family and her friends) and I love watching the story unfold. I think I enjoy this book so much because you really get to watch Remy change as the book progresses.