Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I know that you agree with me that most often, we judge the book by its cover. Literally. A book that tells a story. Well I just did recently. And I also believed the reviews that it is one good book so I spent my weekend finishing Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. The setting is in Paris and that’s a pretty girl sitting on a bench smiling silly to a faceless boy. Yeah, the reviews and the cover got me. 

It’s synopsis reads:

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 Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne 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.

I do not know if it’s because I have been into more serious books previously (or that I am too old for this type of story) that I find this read boring. The plot is very common: I-like-you-but-we-are-friends-and-you-are-already-taken type of story. However, one commendable thing about this book is how vividly Stephanie Perkins created and built up the different personalities in her book. She did a good job of describing the places in Paris that she highlighted in her story. Like what reviewer said, France came alive under Stephanie’s fingertips. I have not done it before, rating books that is. But this book, I give 3 out of 5.

For now, I will be sticking with my friend’s book suggestions. That is, until I find another nice book cover with lots of positive reviews. Hahaha!