Review #38 - Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Just One Day is a novel by Gayle Forman about Allyson who's spent the summer before college on a European tour. On the last day of the tour she meets Willem and they go for one whirlwind day in Paris. The book is set into two parts: the day in Paris and the year after at college.

This is very much a romance YA novel with an air of un-tragic TFIOS and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. The romance is great though I didn't fall in love with Willem which is a shame because it's fantastic when you fall in love with a character. However it is top of it's game in the contemporary YA romance.

It is set in Paris (which is not my favourite European city by a long way), Amsterdam (yes yes yes), an American college and a tiny bit in Stratford and London. The European settings are gorgeous and very romanticised which I liked because it is first person. It is an insight into Allyson (rather than general oh Europe is amazing writing). I also always love books about uni.

My favourite part was the part at college because it made my little feminist heart warm and also the most character development occurred here and it was a really important moment in the plot. I feel like everyone overlooks this and focuses on the romance but I really loved the bits in college (especially the bits about Shakespeare).

I thought the characters were wonderful (apart from maybe Willem) and really colourful. I loved their relationships and the way they interacted. So much was very subtle and I really enjoyed that because I hate it when authors treat their readers like idiots. I really liked how Allyson was more preoccupied about finding herself in the novel that Willem which again, pleased by little feminist heart.

I would recommend this if:
You want a good YA romance
You loved the Fangirl setting
You want to visit Europe

I gave this five stars.

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Favourite quotes:
“I think you cry in movies that aren't even sad because you have a soft heart, though you don't let it show. I think you do things that scare you, and that makes you braver than those adrenaline junkies who bungee-jump off bridges.”
“No one is who they pretend to be.”

Review #16 - Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Lola and the Boy Next Door is the sequel to the super-mega-foxy-awesome-hot-bestseller sold in every Waterstones in the country, Anna and the French Kiss (which I reviewed in January). I adored Anna and the French Kiss and I really liked Lola and the Boy Next Door.

I won't lie, Lola and the Boy Next Door isn't quite as good as Anna and the French Kiss for a number of reasons (which I will go into extensively as per usual) but it is still very good. It has a new set of characters in it but it is linked to Anna and the French Kiss character wise so I would read Anna and the French Kiss first.

Lola and the Boy Next Door is about a girl, Lola, her boyfriend, and the boy who's moved back in next door who she has "a past" with. Lola is very exhibitionist, up to the point where I couldn't quite relate to her because I am an introvert (however I do own a bright yellow raincoat because Urban Outfitters). That was my real criticism of Lola, however is this just because I'm shy?

I didn't like the suburban setting as much as Paris. Paris was far more romantic but also I've been to Paris and never lived in suburbia so is this again just a personal thing? It just felt like a huge anticlimax after Paris with the rivers and Notre Dame.

I didn't like the hero (see no spoilers at all here) as much as I liked the hero from Anna and the French Kiss. I couldn't quite put my finger on why I didn't. He was just a little less charming and a little less charismatic. However it did make me feel in love and I loved that about both Anna and the French Kiss and this book.

I loved all the imagery to do with the moon. It was just so super gorgeous. I loved her talking to the moon.

The plot was fantastic and I cared so much about the characters. I struggle to empathise with characters out of YA. I cared what happened to Lola and I was involved at every point of the story. Stephanie Perkins narratives are just always so strong. You will get emotionally wrapped up and that is what makes these books so darn good (I am really into italics today).

So yes, you have to read this. Four stars.

Review #3 - Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

As a general rule, I don't like soppy teen romance. I don't like soppy romance. I don't like romance novels with their 2D characters and the predictability and the fact that when I finish the book I don't feel like I've achieved anything. Did I like Anna and the French Kiss?

No. I loved it.

Anna is an American girl sent to an American boarding school in Paris for senior year. Throw in her super hot best friend and adventures in Paris and you have Anna and the French Kiss.

I was gripped immediately but it took me until thanksgiving to warm to the characters as people. That is probably my only complaint with this book. Oh and I had a little bit of trouble with the "nasty" girl. (When girls are nasty they do not name call. They undermine your confidence in a toxic way and make you doubt yourself. Their greatest weapon is you.) However everything that I don't like about romance and this book's clichéd flaws actually warm me to the book.

The characters had faults. 3D female characters with both strength and love and that was amazing. I feel often as a feminist that I can't feel certain things because it's not supporting my views as a feminist but this book makes these gorgeous characters that bust these myths. Anna is wonderful and oh so relatable as a teenage girl. She is smart and has interests in films and Paris.

At first I was wary about the text and how it was written. I am not a fan of capital letters in novels. Capitals are strictly reserved for Sherlock Tumblr posts and Facebook chat. I'm not big on exclamation marks in text. Ever. Anna and the French Kiss pulls this off somehow because you are reading Anna's inner monolouge and she sounds like me and other girls I know and no other book quite captires being a teenage girl like this book.

I went to Paris when I was 14 and I was in love with the idea of Paris and the Eiffel Tower and little streets. Paris let me down a bit. It was dirty (oh so dirty) and the way the metro gates slam scared me. This book portrays Paris well and not just in that Devil Wears Prada way. Also I have an incredible passion for London. This book portrays this passion but for Paris. I loved the way it promoted enthusiasm. As a teenager it is regarded as "cool" to not get enthusiastic. This book was enthusiastic.

The best thing about this book is the aftermath. That warm glow inside of you. A glorious ecstatic feeling. You feel like you are in love and that is glorious.

I gave this five stars.

A must read.

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