Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Series: None but there are companion novels
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Released: December 2, 2010
Website: http://www.stephanieperkins.com/
Book Summary: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 Etienne St. Clair: 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.
I so enjoyed reading this one....or I guess I should say listening to this one since I listened to the audiobook. Usually I get a lot done while I'm listening to an audios... laundry, dishes, errands, etc. But that did not happen with this book. I kept finding myself sitting down, getting nothing accomplished, with a silly grin on my face, totally lost in the story.
Full of laughs, romance, and drama this book was a fun read. Anna and the French Kiss was one of those books that I didn't want to put down. I could have done without the F word but otherwise found this to be a fantastic book.
Rating: 5 Stars - I loved it.
Content: Some language including a half dozen uses of the F word. References to sex, some crude comments, teen drinking but nothing is overly graphic or described in detail.
Source: Download from Overdrive
Also by Stephanie Perkins:
Title: Where She WentAuthor: Gayle FormanSeries: If I Stay #2Publisher: Dutton JuvenileReleased: April 5, 2011Website: http://www.gayleforman.com/
Book Summary:It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.
Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other.
Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.
If I Stay felt like a stand alone book when I read it. It didn't need a sequel, so I was surprised when there was one. Where She Went takes place three years after If I Stay ended. It's similar to If I Stay in the way it is told, we learn what has happened to Adam and Mia through flashbacks of the last three year. However this one is told from Adam's perspective and a lot has changed for Adam in the past three years.
Despite the fact that there was a lot of language and some other content in this book I wish wasn't there, Where She Went was a book I couldn't put down. I was engrossed in the story from the first page to the last. Beautifully written and heartbreaking, I could feel both Adam's & Mia's pain as the last three years of their lives unfolded in this story. So well done! I loved this story.
Rating: 5 Stars - I loved it.
Content: Lots of it, explicit langauge - (I quit tallying F words but at least a dozen of them), sex talk and implied sex. Adam is living the life of a popular rock star and has everything that comes with that lifestyle.
Source: Dowloaded from Overdrive
Title: Lola and the Boy Next DoorAuthor: Stephanie PerkinsSeries: None but read Anna and the French Kiss firstPublisher: Dutton JuvenileReleased: September 29, 2011Website: http://www.stephanieperkins.com/
Book Summary:Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded 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.
First off I should have read Anna and the French Kiss before reading this one. Lola and the Boy Next Door is not a sequel but a "companion" novel. It takes place after Anna and the French Kiss. Anna and St. Clair play a minor role in this story but obviously I now know how their story ended without having read their book. Having enjoyed Lola I'll be going back and reading Anna and the French Kiss ASAP.
Lola and the Boy Next Door was one of those feel good, make you smile, read in a day kind of books. I loved the quirky characters in this story. Cricket was by far my favorite, he is just so sweet. I'm a succor for the boy next door turns into much more than a friend story line.
I'm not a fan of sex in young adult books. However if it is going to be there I wish it were always written the way it was in this book. It was done without the blow by blow details. Statements such as I lost my virginity on my seventeenth birthday work for me. I know it happened but I don't have to skip paragraphs or pages as every step is detailed. Of course there is still the issue that Lola was just 16/17 and her boyfriend was 22. I wasn't a fan of Max and appreciated Lola's parent's concerns and attempts to monitor and limit Lola's interactions with him. I don't usually enjoy reading about gay characters but I loved Lola's parents.
Rating: 4 Stars - Great Book
Content: Some language including a couple F words, there is sex but it's never graphic or described in any details, just things like - on my birthday I lost my virginity or I put my shirt back on, a few crude comments and some innuendo, Lola's parents are 2 gay men.
Source: Download from Overdrive
You've just finished this too? Glad you like it! :)
audio book? i didnt even knw it existed :)haha! might have to buy myself a copy! i loved this book and im glad to see you did as well...
Diana @ The Lovely Getaway
I just got a different book by this author, but this one sounds good too. Thanks for sharing your review!
Ooh. I'd love to listen to the audio book xD I LOVED Anna and the French Kiss! One of my favourites. So glad you enjoyed it!
I love Perkins writing. I always find myself grinning while reading her books.