Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
In the winter of 2009, I packed two large suitcases and jumped on a plane to Oslo, Norway. I had decided to study abroad for the spring semester and had chosen Norway almost at random. I knew nothing of the culture, the people, and was completely alone. I remember arriving at my hostel, because I had arrived the weekend before orientation, feeling lonely and lost, wondering if I'd made a huge mistake. Those initial feelings of helplessness and sadness were short lived. I didn't know it yet, but I would have an amazing 6 months. I would make lifelong friends, taste new foods, go skiing, sleep in between railroad cars and airports, get tear-gassed, travel around Europe with nothing but a large backpack and a sense of adventure and most importantly, learn to be independent. I went from being lonely that first night to embracing being on my own. Therefore, when I read Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, I knew that I would see similarities in our experiences living abroad in a foreign city (well, minus the love story for me).
Anna is sent by her father to spend her senior year of high school in Paris. She is upset because she doesn't want to leave her family, her best friend, and her crush Toph, who she kissed on her last day in Atlanta before leaving for Paris. Anna soon makes a group of friends and meets the charming Étienne St. Clair. She is attracted to him, but because he has a girlfriend, she knows that he's off-limits. When St. Clair finds out that Annahasn't left her room during her first week, he drags her out of her dorm. They end up going to the Cathedral of Notre Dame, to the star on the ground which is Point Zero, the marker from which distances are measured. The two become best friends, watching movies and exploring Paris together.
When Anna and St. Clair both travel back to the states for winter vacation, Anna finds out that Toph has moved on. She ends up confiding in St. Clair, emailing and talking to him every day. Once she sees St. Clair again in Paris, Anna knows that she's in love with him. She doesn't know what to do with her feelings because he still has a girlfriend.
St. Clair is one of the most charming, funny, and amazing boyfriend characters I've read in a long time. However, I do get frustrated alongside Anna because of his actions, like saying she is beautiful in one moment but then leaving her to see his girlfriend. Even though St. Clair is a good guy, it is hard for him to make difficult changes so he sends mixed signals to Anna. Despite this, he's such a romantic and honest character that I'm turning each page with excitement waiting for them to finally kiss.
The thing that infuriated me most about the book was how completely oblivious Anna is to St. Clair's flirting, but mostly I was angry because I know that if I were her age, I would have reacted exactly the same way. For example, St. Clair buys her a book of Pablo Neruda's poetry. Pablo Neruda writes some pretty sexy poetry. Put that to music and you've got a good baby-making jam right there. But when I was 18, I had no idea who he was so I wouldn't think twice if a guy gave me his poetry. Instances like that annoyed me, but only because I know that I would react exactly the same way Anna did.
By the end of the book, Anna no longer resents her father for sending her to Paris. She's made new friends and has met the love of her life. She's learned about herself, about how she reacts in difficult situations and how to resolve them, instead of pushing them aside. Living abroad does that to you. Once you are forced out of your comfort zone, it's up to you to make yourself happy. Anna spends a majority of the book questioning her feelings and her actions, but by the end, she knows exactly what she wants.
I definitely recommend everyone to read this book. It's such a good story and it left me happy at the end. If you haven't read my review yet of Lola and the Boy Next Door, I'm happy to say that you can see more of St. Clair and Anna in that book too! It's nice knowing what happens to your favorite characters and seeing their story continue.
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