We have a special guest-star for today's Reading Rain-bow! Recently, the WhimFic contributors were all discussing a possible post on our favorite book of the past year. After much hyperventilating (JUST ONE?!?), we all decided that was way too much pressure to put on ourselves. But, Sophie did actually try to pick, and her choice of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is one that I fully endorse! So, without further ado, I'll step aside and allow our guest-star tell you why she loves this book!
There were so many wonderful books in 2010 and it's almost impossible to choose just one. I mean my natural tendencies are to mention Cassandra Clare's CLOCKWORK ANGEL, Rachel Hawkins' HEX HALL and Julie Kagawa's THE IRON DAUGHTER. All three of those books pushed all of my buttons (in a good way) and not just the HotBoywithSword one (Archer touches a sword in HH, work with me, people). They were well told tales with extremely believable and likeable characters. Those three books deserve wild props, but if I had to choose just one, I'd choose the recently released ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins.Here's why:
- The Can't Get It Out of My Mind Factor: It's a book that once you finish you cannot stop talking about. Remember that feeling with other books? Yeah, it's just like those.
- The characters: Oh, for the love of well crafted characters. I wanted to hang out with them ALL. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've met them before.
- The situation: I love a fish-out-of-water story and I loved the believable way Anna was transferred to a French boarding school for her senior year in high school. How tough would that be if you didn't know the language and had no desire to go there? On top of which, everyone there seems to have formed a tightly knit group of friends. You know the kind that have known each other for years and probably don't want to make room for an outsider. The thing is -- they do. And in there lies the beauty of the story. They accept Anna and together they solidify bonds that Anna's family broke.
- The romance: The romantic arc in ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS will leave you sighing, sometimes with frustration, sometimes with laughter and sometimes with that OMGOMGOMG feeling. I'll let you guys interpret that however you'd like. I don't want to spoil it for you; I promise.
So if you need a quick, believable and extremely well written read during these hectic holiday times, pick up ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS. Now. Don't wait. You will not be sorry.
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I can't help myself. I must add to Sophie's rec. I adored this book! It's not something I might normally pick up, but I trust my book-pusher (Sophie, of course) so I jumped right in, and I loved it. It's funny with a side of angst, and nothing felt fabricated. I even loved that the Hot Boy was not completely perfect (he's short), but he was definitely still hot enough. (Yes, I even read the acknowledgments :) Okay, that's all. Go! Read!
ReplyDeleteStacie and Leigh - Thank you so much for the indulgence!!! And Stacie, that was one of my fave parts...the Hot Boy wasn't perfect. But...eeeek!...no spoilers and I have so much to add!!!!
ReplyDeleteNow added to my TBR shelf :) Thanks for the rec!
ReplyDeleteI LOVED this book. Thank you so much for making Stacie read it, Sophie, who in turn made ME read it. ;) I don't normally gravitate toward Romance unless it has a hook - historic setting, fantasy trappings, etc. So I MAY have passed this one up. And I'm SO GLAD I didn't. I loved the humor and the tension and the believable way in which all the characters acted. Seriously, people. GET THIS BOOK.
ReplyDeleteLike Leigh, I don't normally lean toward the romance genre, but with all three of you rec'ing it, I don't think I have a choice but to add it to my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteHello! I just thought you might be interested in a book giveaway I'm hosting. Check it out at amandarosetew.blogspot.com!
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