Quick confession: I am an average 25 year old and my days are filled with work, spending time with family and my boyfriend, and well, books. I see friends now and then, but not as much as I used to when I was still studying. Which is pretty normal, I guess.
And so when I read young adult chick-lits like French Kiss, I get these teeny tiny flashbacks, remembering what happened when I was a teenager. While we read books because it mirrors our lives, we also read them because we kinda wonder what it’s like to live someone else’s life. Hell, we even wish it was our life. So, though I didn’t have a teenage life that was as wild as my favorite characters had, I felt like somehow I know how it feels because I lived through them. It’s sad, isn’t it?
Anyhoo… French Kiss is the first of the three books in the Diary of a Crush trilogy by Sarra Manning. I like the diary type format because it really helped me get to know the main character, Edie, and it kinda reminded me of Georgia Nicolson’s diary. And because the most special events happened on Paris, it also reminded me of Anna and the French Kiss, a recent favorite.
I’ve read several chick-lits written by British authors and with British characters in it and I have to say, I really appreciate the self-deprecating humor. These girls (Edie, Georgia, Poppy Wyatt and Emma Corrigan from Sophie Kinsella's books) are funny and witty and yes, clumsy, but the thing I like most about them is that they can laugh at themselves.
So yeah, I found French Kiss funny. It was also a light, short read so I wasn’t bored. I did have mixed emotions about it though. First off, it goes against my long-held belief that women are not to be toyed with and that we should be treated with respect. Clearly, with all the snogging (love that word, it’s so Brit!) and then snobbing that’s happening, Dylan was the one who’s winning and Edie was letting him. But I also know that teenage hormones are the worst so I can forgive Edie for that.
Also, the kissing, or snogging as the Brits would say, is overrated. This is still debatable but come on, you really think countless sessions of making out constitutes a relationship? For Edie to say that she loves Dylan, after all the unnecessary pain that he’s caused her, is just so stupid. All because she dies for the kisses. The kisses might be great and all that but are those enough to make you forget your self-worth?
Despite my feminist complaints, I liked French Kiss and stayed up ‘til 11pm (pretty late, by my standards) to finish it. I’m a sucker for happy endings and funny teenage women and cool swoon-worthy dudes who turn into idiots in front of the girl they like. I found all of that here. There’s still books 2 and 3 so I’ll be coming back with reviews soon. :)
If you’ve read this book, share your insights on the comment section. :)
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