Hardcover: 365 Pages
Publisher: Dutton, December 2, 2010
Parasols: 2
Anna is sent off to Paris to experience life outside of Atlanta. She knows not one soul in Paris and hates that she's been sent off away from her best friend and her brother. I did not like this book. I found it too cliched and plodding to be remotely interesting. Anna was underdeveloped and her relationship with Etienne St. John seemed forced. I particularly did not like the reason why she was sent off to Paris, it seemed ridiculous. Every scenario seemed contrived. Anna falling for Etienne. Her neighbor who had a crush on Etienne (can't remember her name. Etienne finding out that his mom has cancer and his father refusing to allow him to leave school to visit her.
Nothing seemed plausible. Now I'm willing to suspend belief for some things, but not for an 18 yo who is controlled by his father. At 18 you are an adult, particularly in Paris. I could tick off every thing I disliked about this book, but I'd be here all night. I know that many people have included this on their best of 2010 list.
Obviously, this book just didn't grab me as it did those readers. There have been other stories similar that have been done better.
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That surprises me. I respectfully disagree about Etienne though, because sure, a lot of 18 year olds in Paris have the freedom to drink and party, which he does. But I felt like he depended on his father financially, which I think is true for most people his age.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interesting review!
See Etienne could've been a stronger character had he disobeyed his father. I'm the mom of a teen (well she'll be 20 this year) and honestly, they have to make their own decisions regardless of financial obligations. I would've respected him more. And it would've made the story more exciting.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I can't agree with you on this one.
UGH, my daughter will be 21! :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteINteresting! THis book didn't make my best list either, but I didn'tdislike it that much ;)
ReplyDeleteI do think it was financial obligation (I mean, some gay people don't come out to their parents until they're financially secure so they don't have to worry about being cut off), but I also think when you've been controlled for that long, it's hard to see things in any other light. You think that any rebelling is futile, no matter how old you are. I'm sure there are adults out in the world whose minds are warped because of their controlling parents. It's a psychological issue, not a matter of courage.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you'd rather have him disobey his father, get cut off, and have to go to college and work to pay for it? What kind of ending is that? You have to be sneaky to get around controlling parents when they are your primary caretakers, which is what Etienne did. That was the best ending for him at this moment in time. It'll be different when he's on his own and financially secure.