The YA chicklit, authored by Stephanie Perkins, is set in modern-day Atlanta where the protagonist Anna Oliphant lives. Her parents are separated and she lives with her mother and little brother, Seany. Her father is a wealthy novelist who has major motion pictures based upon his books. In order to prep his daughter up to become more of an international citizen, he forces her to pursue her senior year in France. After overcoming the initial melee of overwhelming emotions and unfamiliar cultural and linguistic barriers, our protagonist falls in love. Like every love story, this too has the cliches of villains, difficulties and fights. But in the end, Love does conquer all. At least in books.
What I like about this book was that the backdrop of France was used effectively and not just as a stupid prop to support characters. The storyline has twists and turns and progresses smoothly. It doesn't overdo the romance, even though it is supposed to be hugely mushy. What didn't work for me though were the sidekicks. The characters barring the lead ones aren't sketched out too well. Especially Meredith, Josh, Rashmi and Ellie. Considering the former four are the people she hangs out with, there could be a little more of history introduced through conversation is what I personally felt while reading the book. There isn't much to grumble about because this book is supposed to be feel-good. It achieves that on many levels and I'm sure the targeted audience and others, as well, will find it a light hearted read.
I'd recommend this to anyone who's a fan of this genre or has been too loaded with all the dystopian fantasies inundating the literary universe these days. My rating for this book would be a 4 on 5
-Divya
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