In My Mailbox- Week of Dec. 13 + Retrospective

Um, so I don't have anything to show you for In My Mailbox this week. I got nothing! Which is probably best, since I have more than enough to read.

Here's my retrospective:

Monday- I interviewed Melissa Jensen, author of Falling in Love with English Boys.

Tuesday- I read an excerpt from Anna and the French Kiss.

Wednesday- I reviewed Falling in Love with English Boys by Melissa Jensen, which will be out in stores Dec. 23.

Thursday- I interviewed Stephanie Perkins, author of Anna and the French Kiss.

Friday- I read an excerpt from Falling in Love with English Boys.

Saturday- I reviewed Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, which is out in stores now.

Fresh New Voice of YA- Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
"Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Etienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Etienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss? Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in a debut guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt."- summary from Amazon

I absolutely cannot say enough good things about this book. When I finished it, I actually turned my computer back on to tweet about how much I loved the ending. That's how much I loved this book.

Anyway, I was really excited for this book because I love romantic comedies and the cover was really cute, but this book is not fluffy or anything. What I love about it is that I feel like it breathes new life into this genre- the story is compelling, deals with some real issues, the characters are well written and have flaws and everything is just realistic. It's just an amazing book; Perkins has a fantastic debut on her hands.

The romance is handled so well and is in a similar vein to Sarah Dessen. St. Clair is completely swoon-worthy, though he's not perfect. Neither is Anna, and that makes it a great story to read. Plus, St. Clair has a girlfriend so there's that added on. What I liked with this is that St. Clair and Anna started out as friends and are friends for a lot of the book. It's not a simple, clear cut romance, which can be usually seen in other YA titles; there are obstacles, arguments, and the whole "can we be more than friends?" thing.

The relationships between all the characters in this book are so well-defined and the interactions all make sense and are natural. I love Anna and her friends at SOAP. They're so funny, loyal, and are so realistic.

I also want to point out how much I wanted to punch St. Clair's dad, but that's probably not news to anyone who's read the book because that's my usual solution for a character that angers me. I'm like "Why don't you all just go take a plane and take him out?! Strength in numbers!" Sometimes I do think violence is the answer, but Perkins finds a less-violent way to deal with it. Good for her.

Overall, this is definitely a good book for the winter time (or, really, any time) because you can make some hot cocoa and curl up with this great book. You won't want to put it down. Perkins has gained a fan for life.

FTC: Received ARC at ALA (and it's now signed!). Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Fresh New Voice of YA- Falling in Love with English Boys Excerpt Vlog

Fragment Friday is a weekly meme hosted here on this blog where you read an excerpt from either your current read or one of your favorite books and post it on your blog to share with others! It's a fun way to learn about new books or to hear a sample from a book you're dying to read.

NOTE: This is the last Fragment Friday of 2010 and it'll be remade into a monthly meme rather than weekly. More details to come in 2011- see you then!

Today, I'm reading from Falling in Love with English Boys by Melissa Jensen, which will be out in stores Dec. 23!



Put your link down in the Mr. Linky below!

Fresh New Voice of YA- Interview with Stephanie Perkins

1) How did you get the idea for Anna and the French Kiss? What book(s) are you working on now?

The idea came to me in a dream — a beautiful boy with a French name and an English accent sitting on the steps of the Panthéon in Paris — and it was impossible to resist. Or, more accurately, the boy was impossible to resist!

I'm currently working on two companion novels, which means they have ties to Anna, but they are NOT direct sequels. Each book could be read as a stand-alone. The first is Lola and the Boy Next Door, and it will be released in the fall of 2011. The second is Isla and the Happily Ever After, and it will be released in the fall of 2012.


2) Tell us all about The Call/The Email when you sold your book. What were you doing when it happened? Did you celebrate in any way?

You know, it was actually a slow process. Two editors were interested, and they bid back and forth for a while, and then my agent and I picked. It was thrilling, of course, but most of the details are lost since it took place over an extended period of time. I think I was in Arizona visiting my parents during the beginning, and then it concluded a week or so later when I was at home. Something like that. My husband and I DID celebrate big, though, at our favorite restaurant — Bouchon in Asheville. French comfort food!


3) What is your favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor (or flavors, if you prefer)?

Pear! Second place is a tie between sizzling cinnamon and lemon lime.


4) According to your bio, you've lived in some wonderful places over the years, including having been raised in Arizona and now living in North Carolina. What's been your favorite place? What did you like about it? Or if it's too difficult to pinpoint one, tell us a bit about each.

My favorite place is my current hometown Asheville, which is artsy and organic and gay-friendly. It reminds me of my second favorite place I've lived, San Francisco. It's like an affordable, miniature, in-the-mountains version!


5) What book(s) are you reading now, or are about to start?

Here's the current pile on my nightstand: A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz, The Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo by J.H. Patterson, Germinal by Émile Zola, The Game of Sunken Places by M.T. Anderson, The New Kings of Nonfiction edited by Ira Glass, My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me edited by Kate Bernheimer, A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson, The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, and Locke and Key by Joe Hill.

Fresh New Voice of YA- Falling in Love with English Boys by Melissa Jensen

Falling in Love with English Boys by Melissa Jensen
"Sixteen-year-old Catherine Vernon has been stranded in London for the summer- no friends, no ex-boyfriend Adam the Scum (good riddance!), and absolutely nothing to do but blog about her misery to her friends back home. Desperate for something-anything- to do in London while her (s)mother's off researching boring historical things, Cat starts reading the 1815 diary of Katherine Percival her mom gives her and finds the similarities between their lives to be oddly close. But where Katherine has the whirls of the society, the parties and the gossip over who is engaged to who, Cat's only got some really excellent English chocolate. Then she meets William Percival- the uber-hot descendant of Katherine- and things start looking up . . ."- summary from Amazon

This was a surprise book. I didn't know about it until it came in a package with other books I'd requested (it was about 50/50), but it sounded like a really cute read. After reading it though, I don't think "cute" is the right word for it. It's definitely a good book, but it feels so much more than just a cute romance.

I really liked the dual narrative, going back and forth between the two. I was a bit hesitant regarding the historical section because I'm not big on historical stuff. Or, well, I'm very particular, I guess. But as I got more into the story, I wanted more of it just as much as I wanted more about Cat's life.

I also really like the setting of London and, in both narratives, it becomes its own character. I am a bit biased though since I love London so much already so it's nice to see a book set there in contemporary times. However, a problem that arises with the narratives (Cat in her blog, Katherine in her diary) is that it's hard to really flesh out the secondary characters. Jensen does her best but I felt that the only people I really knew were Cat and Katherine. But they're compelling voices, so I didn't notice it until really reflecting on the book afterward.

I had two other minor problems. Since Cat is on a blog, she frequently includes pictures of her travels and saying "(See pix.)" and it just bothered me whenever she did it because pictures aren't included and I wanted to see them! The other thing is a problem that may be fixed in the final version but Cat frequently mentions wanting to meet the single Prince William, however recently he became engaged, so it seems a bit odd to see her hoping that she'll meet him and become his girlfriend.

Overall though, the book has way more positives than negatives and it is a fun story. I definitely recommend it and it's a paperback original! It'll be in stores Dec. 23.

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.