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21/11/2013

Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins

I hate these types of books, with such a passion, but I'd heard so much about this book I thought I'd give it a go, how bad could it be right? And boy, I am so glad I did.

Anna gets sent to Paris to the School of America in Paris, by her father, much to her dismay. She makes friends, she learns a new language, she explores a different culture, and she meets Mr. Perfect but not available Etienne St. Clair.

The first thing I realised that I loved about this book, was that it was mostly set in Paris. Paris, the city of love. Now, usually you'd think 'oh typical' but it really wasn't. How many YA books have you read that are set in Paris? I've never been to Paris, but from what I've heard, Stephanie Perkins described it superbly. I loved the village feel, and their school... wow. It's more like a University than a school!

This book brought out so many emotions in me, I was so happy that she made friends pretty quickly, I loved the banter she had with St. Clair and her day-to-day life just seemed fun! Something I could only dream of.

The middle to end of the book was my favourite part. I loved the arguments, the drama, the heartache, the pain. Honestly, the situation reminded me of my experiences with an ex boyfriend, except I was Ellie and his new girlfriend is Anna (kinda sucks I know!). It's practically the same situation, so if you've read this book you'll be able to feel my pain.

The writing-style was perfect for this type of book, there was always something going on, it was super fast-paced and I never got bored of reading it!

I have one big criticism, that gets me all the time when there are British characters in the middle of an American based story. When American authors attempt British lingo, 99% of the time it completely fails. Half of the things St Clair said just made me cringe. No teenager in modern Britain says things like 'bugger off' or 'that was pants'... pants... really? Not British. I feel like there always has to be some sort of distinguishing factor between American characters and British characters, but most of the time we both speak the same way with the same words, especially in writing. I felt like the British lingo was really outdated, I mean, maybe in the 70s kids would have said 'bugger' off, but definitely not in this day and age, and for that reason I've had to knock off a star because it gets on my nerves.

1 comment:

  1. Hi, I saw your message on goodreads and followed it to here, hope that's okay?

    Re: the British/American thing ... It must be a regional thing, because I do hear people talking like that. My guess is, Stephanie Perkins has an English friend critiquing her work. And I think there are major differences between the English we use and the English Americans use. Small words or phrases are different, and it's highlighted so well when books like this come about.

    Not to shamelessly promote or anything, but I've been writing a trans-Atlantic series, the third draft of the first book is up on my blog, and my beta readers often pick up on the things that don't translate. It's a lot to read, but if that sort of thing interests you it's always there. It should link through on my name, since I'm logged in and posting :) I haven't replied to the goodreads post btw, seemed silly when I followed your link!

    zee xxx

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