"Anna and the French Kiss"

Paris, love and a teen-romance-waiting-to-happen can sound just a bit cliche to many. However, as I was perusing the shelves at Barnes & Noble one day during the start of this summer, I stumbled across an intriguing cover illustration. A young woman (possibly in her late teens) sitting on a bench staring intently at the boy sitting next to her, with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Readers only see the gentleman's arm, whose fingertips are inches away from the main character's own. So, one can only imagine what this mystery guy looks like, and based on the girl's smile, he may not look too bad at all. 

"Anna and the French Kiss," which was published in 2010, introduces a high school senior named Anna Oliphant who was shipped to a Boarding School in Paris, France. She is less than enthusiastic and would rather spend her senior year in Atlanta, enjoying the familiar. When she meets the "beautiful" Etienne St. Clair, she feels less alone in the huge city bustling with life. St. Clair's character and description is one that should be appreciated. Author Stephanie Perkins steers away from the chiseled "Prince Charming" that we have all grown far too familiar with and introduces a handsome guy with an English accent, yet an imperfect and flawed young man--both internally and physically. Although St. Clair has a serious girlfriend, he and Anna embark on a journey together to learn more about Paris and each other. 

Perkins dives deep into Anna's character and emotions, and leaves no detail out. Many reviews I have read, mention lack of character development on Anna's part, but I believe it was complete in its own way. Anna aspires to be a successful female movie critic and her knowledge of films are impressive. She is somewhat naive and the things she gets herself into while in Paris exemplifies her sheltered life back home. An over-developed character can cause a reader to know TOO much. It is the art of writing a novel to withhold certain information that would otherwise limit the reader's imagination and bubbling questions that causes him/her to turn the page.

I would recommend this book to the Sarah Dessen fans out there and those who embrace the soft sigh a cute romance novel usually brings. It provides teen romance without being too cliche, a main character who is different from all the rest and a plot that you feel is predictable in the beginning, yet is not entirely so once you are indulged. "Anna and the French Kiss" is the start of many novels for Stephanie Perkins. Her next novel entitled, "Lola and the Boy Next Door" is a companion novel to "Anna and the French Kiss" and will be available on September 29, 2011. Next, is the final addition to Anna and Lola titled, "Isla and the Happily Ever After" available in the Fall of 2012.