Review: "Anna & The French Kiss"

Anna & The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
5 out of 5 stars (formally 4)

This is the last book (non-series) that I'm going to review from 2011. I read it at the end of November (on the Overdrive app on my phone) and I just fell in love with it. Seriously, I haven't felt this way about a new book in a long, long, long time. I mean, there are definitely books that I have liked a lot and really enjoyed and that I would call a favorite. But nothing has grabbed me or enchanted me the way this one did. Well, then why didn't I rate it 5 stars, you ask? Honestly, I don't know lol...maybe I didn't want to seem too needy. :) That's it, I'm changing it to 5 stars!

I'm kind of mad I read this on the app now though, because I want to go buy it and reread it over and over and hug it and squeeze it til it's eyes pop out. O.O But that's okay, I will get it eventually and I got her newest book, Lola & The Boy Next Door, last weekend. I started it last night and I was hooked by page 28. Like, I stopped to tweet that I was in love with this book already lol. I'm so excited to find a new author!! I hope she continues writing for a long time.

"Is it possible for home to be a person and not a place?"


Okay, I'll stop gushing and tell you about the dang book now. :) Anna is all set for her senior year in Atlanta, GA until her dad drops a bomb and ships her off to a boarding school in Paris. And not Paris, Tx lol...we're talking croissants, menus and movies all in French, the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, French bookstores (omg I so wish!!), berets (okay not really). Anna is a bit peeved to say the least, but she quickly finds a new group of friends including a swoon-worthy young English American French (yep all 3) boy named Etienne St. Clair. He's got floppy hair, speaks French with a British accent, and shows Anna how to live and survive in Paris. There's just one catch: he already has a girlfriend. *le sigh*

You would think this is going to be a typical YA, romancey, pink book but it's not somehow. I mean yes, there's the teen angst and drama along with some hand-holding and longing looks. But Anna is also a smart, sarcastic girl who loves movies and plans to become a director or producer or something. And yet, she doesn't know France is like the movie capital of the world? That was the only thing I found hard to believe. St. Clair (as he likes to be called) is a witty, short guy afraid of heights and with some family problems.

I've probably made this book sound totally cheesy now and you're sitting there thinking, "geez Jenn, why would I try that when you've hyped it up so much? It's probably going to totally suck." And maybe it will for you. But what if it doesn't suck and it's totally awesome and you fall in love with it and Perkins just as much as I did? :)

And my (2nd) favorite quote from the book...I so wish this was true. I try to hold my sister's hand (at home) sometimes but she won't let me.

“I wish friends held hands more often, like the children I see on the streets sometimes. I'm not sure why we have to grow up and get embarrassed about it.”

Review: "Percy Jackson & The Olympians" Series Books 1-5

Percy Jackson & The Olympians Series by Rick Riordan
3.4 out of 5 stars averaged

I read all 5 of these on the OverDrive app on my iPhone. I love that app, especially when I finally run out of books in my to-read pile and don't have any money for new ones lol (probably around August this year)...you can check out books from your library and read them on your phone. My library has quite a good selection, so I was pretty happy with it. Okay, I'm done advertising. :) (Oh and I was not paid or given this app for free or anything!)

I wasn't sure if I would even finish this whole series, especially after the second book. I'm really glad I did though and I might even go buy them eventually so I can have them. The first book, The Lightning Thief, starts out with a pretty good premise. Percy Jackson is a 6th grader with dyslexia and ADHD about to get kicked out of another school for mysterious fights and trouble that no one can explain. Until he is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finds out he is really a demigod: half-human, half-immortal.

That's when things start to get really crazy. His dad is Poseidon, Greek God of the sea. There's a prophecy about Percy that may result in the end of the world. And he has to go on a quest with a satyr (half goat boy) and a daughter of Athena (Goddess of wisdom) to the Underworld to help prevent a war between the Gods. And that's just book 1.

I know a lot of people have compared this series to Harry Potter and while I agree that it "feels" the same in some cases, it is definitely a different story. This would be a great series for younger kids and especially ones who love adventure. I think it would be a great way to get them interested in Greek mythology for sure. Although, I think a companion guide to Greek mythology would have been useful...I had a hard time keeping them all straight and I (used to) know a lot about the Gods and Goddesses.

Consider yourself spoiled for anything past this point if you haven't read these books and still want to! :)

The second book, The Sea of Monsters, just wasn't as great to me and almost turned me off the rest of the series. It didn't seem to have as much story and adventure like the first one. I did love Tyson though, Percy's cyclops half-brother.

The Titan's Curse starts to get a little better and there are some more new characters, including Nico (son of Hades) and Rachel Elizabeth Dare (a human who can see through the "Mist" and later has a much bigger part).

One of the things I really liked about this series is that it, like Harry Potter, grew with its readers. I can see an 8-9 year old kid (especially a boy) reading the first book with his parents and then progressing with each as he gets older. Riordan did a good job of keeping it age appropriate and the humor and relationships grow with the series.

The Battle of the Labyrinth starts off with some vampire cheerleaders, so you know it's going to be good. :) The quest this time takes them into Daedalus' Labyrinth where they run into lots of crazy/fun characters, including the Sphinx, God of the wild Pan and a giant Hellhound named Mrs. O'Leary. There is plenty of action in this one and one of my favorites, which leads us to the last one...

The Last Olympian takes place in New York City and brings the prophecy told way back in book 1 to its end, but maybe not in a way you expect. I really love the cover of this one (that's one problem with reading eBooks, you don't get to enjoy the covers). Mount Olympus is at the top of the Empire State Building and Kronos (the bad guy throughout the series) is advancing to take it over. He's also set up a little side project for the Gods in the name of Typhon, a scary dude rumbling across the United States (causing earthquakes, tornadoes and all kinds of destruction). With Mount Olympus unguarded, it's up to the Camp Half-Blood kids to take over and protect it. Lots and lots of action plus a little romance even in the last book.

And in the end, you get a setup for Riordan's next Camp Half-Blood series, Heroes of Olympus. I'm actually pretty excited to continue reading these! :)