An Opinion On: Anna, Lola and Isla

Hello Everyone!

I recently finished the incredibly popular trilogy by Stephanie Perkins. I had heard so many good things about it, I am a huge romantic, so a trilogy about teen love stories set in different cities definitely appealed to me!

Summary: In the first book “Anna and the French Kiss” Anna Oliphant is less than thrilled about her parents decision to send her to boarding school in Paris, especially in her senior year. Much to Anna’s relief she quickly becomes friends with a group of fellow seniors (and one junior). Almost immediately after meeting the gorgeous British boy Etienne St. Clair, sparks begin to fly. There is only only problem, his sophisticated college girlfriend. The second book, focuses on Lola Nolan a quirky high school junior in San Francisco. Lola already has her future planned out. She is going to marry her twenty-two year rock band boyfriend and they are going travel around the country, he will perform and she will design costumes. Her life is thrown off balance when her first love and first heartbreak, Cricket Bell, moves in next door. The last book is about Isla Martin and Josh Wasserstien. Ilsa has had a crush on Josh all through high school. When they finally get to be together in senior year, problems keep arising. From trouble with school authority to parents overseas

 

it seems that they are constantly being pulled apart, despite their love for each other.

“There’s something about blue eyes.

The kind of blue that startles you every time they’re lifted in your direction. The kind of blue that makes you ache for them to look at you again. Not the blue green or blue gray, the blue that’s just blue.

Cricket has those eyes.”
― Stephanie Perkins, Lola and the Boy Next Door

What I  liked: This series was the definition of fun. It was cute, flirty and easy, they were perfect to read over the summer, I read them while I was by the pool or on the beach.I enjoyed Anna a lot, I wasn’t sure of her relationship with St. Clair at first but as they developed, I loved them! Lola and the Boy Next Door was definitely my favorite in the trilogy. Not only was Cricket Bell a total sweetheart but I thought Lola had great character development. I liked how Isla brought the whole series full circle, and wrapped up everyone’s stories. Overall, I definitely enjoyed the series, I thought they illustrated falling in love and I loved how seriously each of the couples took their relationships. I loved how they were realistic teenagers, she really captured crushes, friendship drama and stresses about the future. And, as promised by all fans of the book, I did fall in love with Etienne St. Clair *swoon*.

“For the two of us, home isn’t a place. It is a person. And we are finally home.”
― Stephanie Perkins, Anna and the French Kiss

What I didn’t like: I’m going to be terribly honest right now, while I fell in love with Etienne, Cricket and Josh, all the main girls (mostly Isla)  annoyed me a bit. I felt like they all had a tendency to be really immature and selfish, and it got on my nerves. Thankfully, they grew as the book moved on, so by the end of the stories they had matured a lot as characters. The other thing that bugged me was Isla and Josh’s relationship, I felt like it was fueled by lust for the first half of the book and all they did was talk about how they wanted to make out with each other. It wasn’t a huge deal,  I just wished for a little more substance in their relationship.

“Phones are distracting. The internet is distracting.The way he looked at you? He wasn’t distracted. He was consumed.”
― Stephanie Perkins, Isla and the Happily Ever After

Overall, this was a good series. It was full of cute moments and teenage drama, making them fun, fast and entertaining reads. I’m definitely glad I read them this summer!

You probably will like this book if:

• You like romance/love stories
• You want a light and cute read
• You like teenage drama

You probably won’t like this book if:

• You want a really serious and mature book
• You don’t want to read about teen attitude of any kind

 

Have you read this series? Which was your favorite?