Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

 
This book is probably one of my favorites of all time. I loved it so much that I can barely express it using words. It was that good! This book is about a girl named Anna who is shipped off to boarding school in Paris, where she meets St. Clair, an American with a French name and an English accent. Sadly, he has a girlfriend. As Anna struggles to adjust to her new life, she gains new friends and learns more about her old ones. Will she favor Paris more than Atlanta? Will she peruse her dream to be a film critic? Will she finally kiss St. Clair? Find out in this hilarious yet romantic first installment by Stephanie Perkins.  I was laughing and crying and squealing and feeling all the FEELS!
*****SPOILERS*****
  This book was recommended to me by the one and only, John Green, and my favorite book-tuber, polandbananasbooks. You can check out her channel here. I loved it so much! Definitely my favorite of the series (yes I read the entire series before writing the review I'M SORRY). I, like, aspire to be Stephanie Perkins. These are the kind of books I want to write in the future. Uplifting, moving, funny, and adorable. THIS BOOK IS RIDDLED WITH ADORABLE. 
  I found this book extremely relatable because I am very similar to Anna. We are practically the same person! We both share a slightly obsessive love for a form of literature, mine being books and hers film (yes, film is a type of literature, get off my back). We both have a blog. We both find ourselves loving Paris. We have similar senses of humor, in that we're both really sarcastic. We're both tall and like to dye our hair. We both will defend our friends until the end. THE SIMILARITIES ARE ENDLESS. Except for the fact that Anna is a neat freak. While I did find that hilarious and adorable, I am not that organized. 
  I know how frustrating it can be when you don't agree with a characters decisions. One of the things I loved about Anna was that I didn't feel this way about her.  She did make some bad choices but it was probably what I would've done in her situation, too. She has the exact same reaction that I would've had if someone had called one of my friends a "dyke". I, too, cannot stand that word. Again, extremely relatable. 
  Her relationship with St.  Clair was my favorite thing of the book. Not only are they perfect for each, I loved how they developed into best friends before they even started dating. I know how great it is to fall in  love with your best friend. My heart nearly broke towards the end when Anna was feuding with a lot of her friends and St. Clair says something about being her best mate. Anna was shocked because she couldn't believe he still considered her his best friend after all that had happened. It just proves how strong their bond is. I was crying and sobbing when Anna and St. Clair were talking it out in detention. "You tell me I'm beautiful, and that you like my hair and you like my smile. You rest your leg against mine in darkened theaters, and then you act as if nothing happened when the lights go up. You slept in my bed for three nights straight, and then you just...blew me off for the next month. What am I supposed to do with that St. Clair? You said on my birthday that you were afraid of being alone, but I've been here this whole time. This whole time." God, that just broke me. I'm crying writing this. 
  It frustrated me how long it took for St. Clair to break up with Ellie. Like, I understand why it took to so long for them to start dating, but HE KNEW HE WAS IN LOVE WITH HER. SO FREAKING BREAK UP WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND ALREADY. But St. Clair did the right thing in running after Meredith then going to Ellie's it just shows how good a person he is that he remembered how shitty Toph was to Anna and he didn't want to do that to Mer. He just needed to tell Anna this. My favorite line of the whole book was "You say that I'm afraid of being alone, and it's true. And I'm not proud of it. But you need to take a good look at yourself, Anna, because I am not the only one in this room who suffers from this problem." This gave me the chills. It's just more evidence how perfect they are for each other. 
  I loved the dynamic between their group of friends. I loved Meredith especially. She was just a really interesting person and I want to know more about her. Not a big fan of Rashmi, though. I admire the way she holds the group together....but I didn't feel her emotions. It's like she didn't have any and she was kind of hostile in the beginning. And Josh, well, Josh will be discussed in my post about Isla and the Happily Ever After. 
  All the characters were super hilarious and I love their relationship together. St. Clair is the charmer, who is outgoing and kind. Josh was quieter but had a loud sense of humor. Rashmi was the glue, holding the group together. And Meredith was so nice and thoughtful. I was dying laughing during the part with the Victor statue. "'Watch it. He has parts down there you don't have.' 'Ooo, parts. Intriguing. Tell me more.' 'Sorry. Privilege information. Only people  with parts can know about said parts.'" I was cracking up! 
  I love how cute Anna and St. Clair are together. I love how she's the only one who calls him Étienne. It's like Four and Tris! I love how they're each other's best friend. I love how they joke around with each other and can tell each other anything. I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH! 
  Now let's talk about the characters I hate: Dave and Amanda. Yes, I know you're supposed to hate them but that doesn't change my feelings of RAGE. Amanda was the typical bully so I expected trash to come out of her mouth. But Dave...I was not expecting that. He was nice at the beginning, at least to Anna. It was frustrating when they dated, but he seemed to treat her okay. I mean, he's no Étienne St. Clair, but he was decent. UNTIL HE TURNED ON HER BECAUSE SHE DUMPED HIM. JUST BECAUSE YOU BROKE UP, IT DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO CALL HER A SLUT. ST. CLAIR HAD EVERY RIGHT TO PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE. 
*****SPOILERS*****
  God, I could talk for hours about this book. I just loved it so much! Thank you for writing this, Stephanie Perkins. I couldn't have asked for more. I can't wait to read any other books you write. They've inspired me in so many ways. Comment your thoughts below, and if you haven't read this book, you should really pick it up. Best wishes, Libby. 

SPOILERY FAN ART



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