Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss is one of the most beautifully written YA stories that I have ever read. Every now and then I come across a book that isn’t paranormal but is just so phenomenal that I have to mention it on here. Here’s amazon’s synopsis:

Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Etienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Etienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss? Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in a debut guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt.

The story of Anna and Etienne is so natural. They develop an amazing friendship and begin to see what they can be together despite all the obstacles in their way. As in typical teen life there are many obstacles and as a reader you aren’t sure which way it will go for the two of them. I love the way it is complicated for them in a slightly typical teenage way. There are no major crazy obstacles just typical teenage baggage.

Anna is a brilliant female lead. She is funny, smart, strong but still vulnerable. She cries but it makes her more human and relatable. She makes embarrassing mistakes that endear her to the reader. She is unsure of herself because she hasn't yet found herself. She has problems but never comes off as whiny. Her character made me love this book. The supporting characters are also incredible but Anna will keep you reading this book.

Etienne is a great male lead. The whole story you are waiting for the two of them to figure out what is between them. He is foreign has an accent and treats Anna like you would expect a sophisticated international too. He defends her honor all the while maintaing a teasing relationship with her. He has great hair and a grin that makes the girls swoon. He is respectful of Anna and allows her to be her own woman. This endears him to me as the guy that every woman is searching for. I mean a foreign accent and great hair! :) Stephanie does a great job of making you feel the ache they both feel without making the book seem like it is full of angst.

I really could go on about this book for pages. I absolutely loved it. If you like the happier Sarah Dessen work then this is a book for you. If you typically read the paranormal stuff, take a break and check this book out. I give it a 6/5.