Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss

written by Stephanie Perkins

I picked this book up after many mentions by John Green in his popular vlogbrothers videos. I figured, hey, a new YA novel, highly recommended by an awesome author? Sure, I'll give it a try. The writing in this novel is spectacular, I'll give it that. As John Green said, it is like his and Maureen Johnson's writing had a baby, and that baby was this book. However, when it comes to the story itself, I wasn't thrilled. Don't get me wrong, it was a cute story, but good? Meh. Anna and the French Kiss falls back on typical YA tropes, and maybe I just read too much YA lit, but really? A French boarding school with a hot guy who just happens to have a British accent? It's starting to sound plot-wise like the very Nicholas Sparks (I'm assuming it was Nicholas Sparks, although I could be wrong) novels Anna makes fun of. I felt like too much of the focus was on the love trianglequadranglepolygonthing, rather than the story potential. I would have loved to get to know Meredith, Rashmi, and Josh more, rather than having them serve as a flat, background cast of characters. The issues the characters had with their relationships with their parents would have been another fascinating thing to examine more closely, particularly St. Clair's relationship with his father (who, while mentioned, doesn't come into focus until the last few chapters of the story, at which point, everything seems rushed). It was nice to read a fluffy YA novel reminiscent of Meg Cabot, with added maturity in both character and writing. I'm still really saddened to see such good writing potential not used to its fullest though. I'm excited to see Stephanie Perkins' writing develop, and I will definitely be picking up Lola and the Boy Next Door upon its release!

Rating: 3.5/5

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson
written by John Green and David Levithan



I don't know if I can properly express my love for this book. I'm a proud nerdfighter, so I've been looking forward to the day when John Green's new book would be coming out ever since I first heard about its existence. Upon reading it, I was kind of shocked. Sure, John Green's Will Grayson was a really great character...but David Levithan's will grayson, David Levithan, whose only other work I've read was a short story in Geektastic, made me want to jump into the book and give him a massive shower of hugs. And while John Green is responsible for the creation of Tiny Cooper, it's David Levithan's Tiny that really goes places. So anyways, one of the best things about these two authors is their authenticity. It's like they've grown up without having lost their teenage selves, and are fully able to capture those teenage emotions and write them into an emotionally moving story.
Give me another moment to fangirl over will grayson. I know many people have expressed an intense dislike of David's will's inability to use the shift key. But here's the thing: when depression strikes, it honestly feels like your universal shift key is missing, like nothing you can say deserves capitalization, or in a weird way, recognition and ownership. Your proper nouns are not important enough to be capitalized. So I found myself really relating to that lack of capitalization. Simply speaking, David Levithan broke my heart with will grayson, especially after bringing Tiny Cooper into will's story.
John's contribution to the story was okay, but I felt like it was the same John Green formula we've all seen already. Typical teenage guy, with his larger-than-life sidekick that takes him on a wild journey through the big wide wonderful world. The Love Interest, Jane, bored the heck out of me, and overall, though the writing was predictably spectacular, I was just disinterested in Will Grayson and his story.
I did not want this book to end. I felt like it incorporated every possible teenage high school problem that teens, real teens, have at some point had to deal with. I don't think it's possible to finish this book without wanting your own personal Tiny Cooper.
Anyone else desperately wishing for a soundtrack to this, with big, cheesy, over-the-top musical numbers? Youtube musical theater nerdfighters, get on that!

Rating: 5/5

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