Review: Since you’ve been Gone, by Morgan Matson

One summer, Emily’s best friend, Sloane, just disappears without a trace, leaving nothing behind besides a bucket list of 13 items for Emily to complete. She vows to cross every single item off… even the more terrifying ones… hoping it’ll lead her back to Sloane.

I raced through this book in two days. It’s a very easy, lovely read, and you’re desperate to get to the end and find out what happens. It’s a book of self-discovery, Emily trying to find her own identity without just being ‘Sloane’s best friend.’ The occasional flashbacks gave further insight into the girls’ friendship, which I loved. It gave them a history and made it a lot more believable.

Emily surprisingly gets help completing the list from the class president, assumed stereotypical nerdy guy, named Frank. There’s a slow building romance between them, without the usual ‘hot guy who knows all the moves and says the right things’.  During their time together, you see the stereotypes fall apart, and he gets his own wonderful identity too. Their summer is filled with adventures, some of which were a little too ‘perfectly coincidental’ as they work through the list, but it all slots together nicely.

Sloane is the idolized, confident and daring best friend, and you can feel Emily’s pain when she just disappears. But without her leaving, and the list, she would never have grown into her own person. I almost wish I had more from Sloane’s point of view, it would be fascinating to read her history and thoughts on the situation. Every single character, friends, parents, little brothers, were wonderfully developed and each had their own personality and history, which just enhanced the brilliance of the story.

I have only two qualms with this book. Firstly, the chapters were titled with the bucket list item she completes in that section. Personally, I found it spoilt the anticipation, as you already knew what was going to happen before you’d even started. Also, I found the ending, although satisfying, was a little unbelievable. I won’t spoil it, but I just thought it tied up just too neatly for my liking.

All in all, I really enjoyed it, an easy summer read I’d definitely recommend.

Review: Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins

Well. If you're looking for a romance novel, this is the best one I've read. Anna's been sent to the School of America in Paris by her father, and she's not best pleased. A million miles away from her home,  leaving behind her boyfriend, best friend, and family. She's thrust into independent life, in a country she knows nothing about, and never mind the fact she can't speak a word of French.
Enter the handsome Etienne St. Clare. English accent. American school. French name. With perfect hair, teeth, and eyes, he's intelligent and a hopeless romantic. Everything you'd want a boy to be.
Except he has a girlfriend. So he's out of the question. Anna's fallen for him, but will St. Clare help her up, and find her feet in a foreign country?

This book has everything I love in it. Boarding school, romance, minimal drama but enough to keep it interesting, and relatable characters. I instantly connected with Anna. She's an introvert and is very happy in her own company, and reacts to situations exactly how I would. She's not your typical teen, and is rather naive. She's not desperate to go out drinking every night, preferring a night alone at the cinema.
"Some people are finicky about going to the theater alone, but I'm not. Because when the lights go down, the only relationship left is between the movie and me."
Annas flaws are similar to my flaws, and it's refreshing to read about a main character who isn't perfect. Perkins actually remembers what it's like to be a teenager, instead hearing what adults 'think' goes on in a teenagers brain.

A recurring theme in this book is 'Home". Anna says "Is it possible for home to be a person, not a place?" I definitely think the answer to that is yes. Home, to me, is where my parents, younger sister and cat are. Whether thats Paris, Berlin, or England, it doesn't matter. Because if youre comfortable with the people, the surroundings don't matter. (Obviously it does help slightly if you're in a romantic part of Paris with a totally beautiful boy and have the world at your fingertips!)

I found St Clare ever so slightly unbelievable, but perhaps only because I've never met such an amorous guy in real life. I'm still waiting for my own Etienne. Very easy to read, wonderful realistic characters, and much recommended. I am definitely buying Stephanie Perkins second book, 'Lola and the Boy Next Door'.