Clémentine Beauvais

"Well yeah, there you go: fourteen.

At that age, you're still under construction (pg 16)."

[SN: I won this ARC through a Goodreads giveaway. c:]

STORY:
In Paris with You by Clémentine Beauvais (320 pages), is a highly romantic tale (on the hopeless romantic scale of 1 to 5; 5 being the highest; it's a 4.5)! Sometimes, things have a strong chick-flick feeling, but a touch of realism is added at the end. I enjoy having a fun lighthearted story to read. However, it's a bit unusual to read because everything is in verse and the omnipresent narrator is confusing haha.

I totally get all the imaginary scenarios fourteen-year-old Tatiana dreams up about Eugene. You know, it's like when you go to a store or Starbucks, I guess, and you think hmm... wouldn't it be funny if I fell in love with the barista, and he remembers how I hate coffee but always order tea. Coincidentally he goes to your college and in his 4th year of engineering, he remembers you and asks you on a date, and it's not coffee he promises, amused. Eventually, you two marry with lots of money, no cheating, and 2.5 kids ...

Yes, Tatiana, I get you! That's the same longwinded junk I used to daydream about when I was younger too.

Heads up. There is a suicide, a minor reference to Down Syndrome that's in bad taste, and the male lead could possibly be insufferable to you. Moving forward!

OVERALL:
Is it perfect? No, but no story is.

Does it make sense why Tatiana's still hung up over Eugene? Not entirely.

Is Eugene the best male lead? Nah, he's mad-arrogant and pretentious (yes, they're slightly different: see here), and everything that goes wrong in this story is exactly because of him. He's very sex-obsessed. (In his mind), he calls Tatiana a slut for assuming she's sleeping with a man that she already denied being with. God's gift to women, everyone. Yeah, he apologizes, but he's pressedt about imaginary scenarios where she's with other men. I understand jealousy is a natural reaction (imperfect characters are certainly fine with me), but Eugene's a got a lot of gall. I think he was more eager to have sex with Tatiana than to truly get to know her again. He's more genuine when he was younger.

Still, I give this 5/5. I enjoyed every page of it and will definitely reread it over and over. Also, I like the cover. There are countless passages or quotes to love, and I highlighted my favorite ones. It's quirky and cute.

A fun read for any young or new adult.… (mehr)

It’s that time of year again. Mireille Laplanche logs on to Facebook to find out the results of the annual Pig Pageant competition, awarded to the ugliest girls in the school (run by Malo, her childhood best friend turned nemesis). She can normally rely on getting first prize, but she’s surprised to see that, this year, she has ignominiously dropped to third place: a mere bronze! Who are these two girls who’ve beaten her? Mireille is fascinated. She sets out to meet her fellow Pigs, Astrid Blomvall (Year 11; gold) and Hakima Idriss (Year 8; silver), both of whom are distraught by the news and (in Mireille’s view) need to grow thicker skins. World-weary Mireille does her best to comfort them and, as she gets to know her new friends, she finds herself conceiving a plan. What if they could defang the Pig Pageant, and turn social media to their advantage instead? Funny, inspiring and heartfelt, this is a tale of the underdogs taking control of the narrative: a very modern story of determination, adventure, and sausages. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourself to meet your new heroines: the Piglettes...

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2021/04/24/piglettes-clementine-beauvais/… (mehr)