I really, really wanted to finish up my 52 book reviews before Thanksgiving this year, so that I wouldn’t have my writing hanging over my head while trying to plan meals and presents and wrapping and cards. So I decided to pick a few easy-ish books for my last few entries this year. Hopefully, they’ll all turn out to be as fun as this one.
Anna is a high school senior from Atlanta who suddenly finds herself at an American boarding school in Paris to finish her last year. Her dad is a best-selling author (I’m thinking he’s a Nicholas Sparks type), divorced from her mom, who decides to use his new-found wealth to better his daughter. Anna isn’t too excited about this development. She doesn’t want to leave her little brother or her best friend, and she really, really doesn’t want to leave the cute guy that she works with at the movie theater.
Oh, and she doesn’t speak french.
But she’s forced into it by her parents and finds herself alone, half-way across the world. Everyone else at the school has known each other for years — she’s the sole new student in the very small senior class. But luckily, she’s quickly taken under the wing of Meredith, her dorm neighbor. Mer introduces her to the rest of her gang: Rashmi, Josh, and St. Clair.
And even though Anna is interested in the cute boy at home, and St. Clair has a long-time girlfriend in Paris, sparks fly. The two become best friends. And Anna spends much of the book trying to figure out exactly how they feel about each other. Anna is especially mindful of the fact that Meredith has been in love with St. Clair forever. And friends wouldn’t ruin a friendship over a guy, right?
Well.
I think pretty much anybody who has ever read a book in their lives would be able to tell you how this book ends up. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t enjoyable. Yes, the plot was completely, 100% predictable. But I really enjoyed reading about Paris, and the descriptions of the shops and food and sites. I also enjoyed reading about all of the classic films that Anna (future film critic extraordinaire!) blogged about. There are two more books by Perkins that are loosely related to this one, and I’ll definitely be looking for them at the library. This was a fun, quick little read.
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
My favourite of the trilogy is Lola and the Boy Next Door, but the third one, Isla and the Happily Ever After (which is also about Josh, St. Clair’s best friend) is also very sweet. They’re wonderful comfort reads.