We love our vampire romances. And our dystopian thrillers. And our reincarnation romps. But sometimes a girl just needs a break from all the supernatural drama! Which is one reason (along with a sparkling recommendation from "The Mortal Instruments" author Cassandra Clare) that I picked up a copy of Stephanie Perkins' debut novel, "Anna and the French Kiss." And just like a banana-Nutella crepe, "Anna" is a warm and tasty treat with just the right amount of gooeyness tucked inside.
The titular Anna is a 17-year-old cinephile and soon-to-be senior who'd love nothing more than to be the female Roger Ebert. She fosters her film fascination by working shifts at the local multiplex—a task made even more enjoyable thanks to a flirtation with co-worker Toph (he's in a band!). But her budding workplace romance is put on hold when her author father (a total poor man's Nicholas Sparks) decides Anna needs some highfalutin edumacation at a Paris boarding school. Sad Anna packs her bags for France, leaving Toph and BFF Bridgette behind in Atlanta.
And though she's totally out of her element (the only French word she knows is oui!) she's quickly welcomed by a group of eclectic new friends. There's Meredith, her dorm neighbor and a sports all-star; Josh, the brooding artist/slacker; Rashmi, his smart, sullen girlfriend; and campus hottie St. Clair. Étienne St. Clair, actually—the kind of guy who tells you you're beautiful and buys you banana beads. And from the minute Anna and St. Clair run into each other (literally) it's chemistry city. But with Toph at home and St. Clair's girlfriend studying photography at nearby Parsons, a romance is totally off limits. Or is it?
Set against the backdrop of the most romantic city in the world (or so I'm told), "Anna and the French Kiss" deftly explores the simultaneously giddy/frustrating love-life limbo anyone who's ever had a crush (um, so all of us?) has tortuously experienced. With a second, companion novel, "Lola and the Boy Next Door," due September 2011, all I have to say is, Merci, Stephanie!
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