BookPage Teen Top Pick, August 2014
If you’ve read Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door, you know that Stephanie Perkins is both a talented writer and a true romantic. You’ll also be pleased to discover that Perkins’ latest offers some brief (and satisfying) glimpses of the main characters from her earlier books. And if you haven’t? You’re still in for an unforgettably romantic journey in this love story that stands on its own.
Isla has had a crush on moody artist Josh since their freshman year at an exclusive Parisian boarding school. So when, in an unguarded moment the summer before senior year, she flirts with Josh, she’s mortified—and then shocked to find Josh flirting right back.
Josh is an aspiring graphic artist with a very particular vision for his future; Isla finds it hard to imagine any sort of future plans, especially one that doesn’t involve either Paris or New York. Isla is whip-smart, thoughtful and kind, the kind of girl who loves adventure (at least in the pages of a book) and who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. So why does she second-guess Josh’s feelings for her? And will her insecurities doom their own storybook romance?
It’s hard to imagine a more romantic tale than Isla and the Happily Ever After. With evocative settings like Paris, Manhattan and Barcelona, Perkins’ latest will leave readers swooning, sobbing—and rooting for Isla and Josh to write their own happy ending.
This article was originally published in the August 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
