Books are the New Black!

Today is the first launch day of the new book review bloggers - The Bookanistas: Books are the New Black. We are a group of writers - in various stages of the publishing process – who have decided to band together and review the special books of our peers. We – as fellow writers – have decided to only post positive reviews, therefore, only reviewing the books we LOVE. No negative reviews here!

The Bookanistas give nothing but love!

Starting today, we will post reviews every Thursday that cover various topics– upcoming ARCs, books we love, special diamonds in the rough, classics, and even our new favorite covers. This fashionable badge represents our group (club/gang/posse/secret society/peeps).

Here is a list of the Bookanistas: Christine Fonseca, Jamie Harrington, Michelle Hodkin, Kirsten Hubbard, Shelli Johannes-Wells, Elana Johnson, Myra McEntire, Shannon Messenger, Carolina Valdez Miller, Bethany Wiggins and Suzette Saxton, Beth Revis, Lisa and Laura Roecker, Sarah Frances and Katie (Plot This), and Scott Tracey

The Bookanistas think books are the best accessory. If you would like one of us to review your book or ARC, feel free to contact one of us and we will add it to our list.

Today we are reviewing the following:

Elana Johnson - THE HEALING SPELL

Me - ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS

Lisa and Laura - STRANDED

Christine Fonesca - NIGHTSHADE CITY
Shannon Messenger - LINGER

Shelli Johannes-Wells - DARK GODDESS
Scott Tracey - OTHER
Kirsten Hubbard - THE DUFF
Beth Revis - PEGASUS
Carolina Valdez Miller - MATCHED

Jamie Harrington - ARCHVILLIAN

Bethany Wiggins and Suzette Saxton - NIGHTSHADE CITY

Okay. Let's get this party started! It is my great privilege to kick things off with a review of ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS, by Stephanie Perkins!

Now I don't know about you, but I sometimes come across a blog that I become addicted to. And, after a while, I decide that I can't wait to read this blogger's book. Stephanie Perkins was that writer for me. Her blog posts were always so creative and adorable that I just knew her book would be the same. So when my family was headed up to ALA, I begged them to get me a copy of her ARC, and I was not disappointed.

Here is the blurb from PM: ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins, in which American Anna Oliphant spends a year in a Parisian boarding school and falls for her multi-national classmate, plus a companion novel, LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR, to Julie Strauss-Gabel at Dutton Children’s Books, in a very nice deal at auction, for publication in Fall 2010, by Kate Schafer Testerman at kt literary (World English).

In short, it's about a girl. It's about a boy. It's about Parisian boarding school, almond-scented macarons, famous cemeteries, and cinemaphiles. It's about heartache. And it's about true love.

One of my favorite things about Stephanie's book was how real the romance felt - even awkward and frustrating at times. It's one of those books that after reading, I later found myself thinking about the characters, wondering what they were doing, and then having to remind myself they weren't real. Ha!

And more importantly, it's the first book I have ever given to my daughter to read - and I read a lot of books. But like I said, this one seemed to capture a real romance, and in my opinion didn't glamorize sex, drugs and rock and roll to an unrealistic or unhealthy degree. Just a great read.

BONUS** Check out this post we did a while ago about Stephanie's first trip to France to walk in her characters footsteps! Ah-mazing.