Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Imagine Nicholas Sparks has a daughter and decides to send her off to a French boarding school to expand her horizons. Tough gig, right? Anna thinks so. She would much rather spend her senior year in Atlanta with her best friend the hot coworker she just kissed.  Slowly Anna adjusts to a new life and friends in Paris including Etienne, the really cute, funny and completely attached guy she finds herself spending more and more time with.

I admit it, I didn’t want to read this book. The reviews were always so peppy and excited and when our teen librarian gushed on about it I grew even more worried. I don’t do sappy.  (sorry Sarah)  What I found when I read the book was that while the starting premise was somewhat outrageous (don’t we all want to spend a year in Paris), it didn’t rule the plot.  The story was full of Parisian culture, the power of friendship and characters that felt like you’ve known them for years. The building of the story and the relationships was authentic and much less angsty than I’m used to in a young adult novel.  The allure of being on the cusp of adulthood with the freedom of a foreign city without parents will be intoxicating for many readers.  2010, 372 pages.