Isla and the Happily Ever After

August 4, 2014
Perkins (Anna and the French Kiss) completes her trilogy of interlinked romances with a strong finale that examines the emotional intensity of a relationship from its earliest stages. Isla, a senior at the School of America in Paris, has had a crush on fellow senior Josh since freshman year, but it is only now that he reciprocates her feelings; their relationship quickly gathers steam. Perkins takes full advantage of her romantic Parisian setting, though the intimacy she establishes between her characters through penetrating dialogue and insight into the agonies and ecstasies of first love would shine anywhere. When Josh gets expelled and the couple becomes estranged, Isla spirals into despair that Perkins explores with aching intensity. Isla's vulnerability, coupled with her burgeoning sense of identity and desire to maintain her individuality in life and in love, makes her an especially rich character. The supporting cast, including Isla's high-functioning autistic friend Kurt, her prickly younger sister, and Josh himself are equally well realized, and the author's fans will enjoy appearances from characters from past books, too. Ages 14âup. Agent: Kate Schafer Testerman, kt literary.

August 1, 2014
Engaging teen characters with page-turning love lives offer ample vicarious pleasures. Petite, red-haired Isla (that's "eye-la") has had a hopeless crush on introverted artist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. Their chance meeting before senior year catalyzes a wish-come-true relationship that threatens Isla's unusual friendship with best friend Kurt and makes her question her identity and future. Perkins' characters are quirky and three-dimensional, and their sometimes-startling actions make them seem even more real: Isla and Kurt routinely share a bed; Josh depicts losing his virginity in his graphic novel; Isla and Josh enjoy a steamy weekend trip to Barcelona. They're discovered, and Josh is expelled, but love persists despite distance and restricted phone privileges. In fact, their greatest threat comes from within-Perkins accurately depicts the kind of thinking that helps lovers invent their own problems: Isla's insecurities (why should Josh love her when she doesn't have a driving passion or vision of her future?) threaten the relationship ("I have to destroy what's left of my heart before he can do it for me"). The titular "happily-ever-after" is as predictable as it is sweet, featuring fan-pleasing cameos of characters from Perkins' two companion books. A satisfying dose of first love's physical and emotional thrall. (Fiction. 14 & up)

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Starred review from July 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-When Isla, loopy on medication after a dentist appointment, finds herself in the same Manhattan cafe as her crush object, Josh, she's able to do something she's never managed in the three years they've attended the same boarding school in Paris: talk to him. Lo and behold, it turns out that he likes her too, and once they're back in France, a relationship blossoms. Alas, the course of true love never did run smooth, and pressures both internal (Isla's self-doubt) and external (Josh's father's Senate reelection campaign) force them apart. Is their love strong enough to bring them back together? Fans will relish appearances by characters from Perkins's Anna and the French Kiss (2011) and Lola and the Boy Next Door (2013, both Dutton) in this sweet, charming series third that will make readers feel like they're in Paris too. Realistic characters, spot-on dialogue, and a truly delightful romance make for a novel that will delight the author's fans and win her legions of new ones.-Stephanie Klose, Library Journal

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2014
Grades 9-12 The thematic trilogy begun with Anna and the French Kiss (2010) and continued with Lola and the Boy Next Door (2011) comes to a crowd-pleasing end with the love story of blushing redhead Isla and budding comics artist Josh. Though Isla has crushed on Josh for three years, it takes a postdentist delirium for her to approach him in a Manhattan coffee shop. It works, thoughmonths later, back at their Paris boarding school, they reconnect, fall hard, and flirt for a good two-thirds of the book before the narrative hurdle arises: a split that puts a literal and figurative ocean between them. The general lack of conflict won't bother most readers; Perkins' chief concern is Isla's second-by-second internal monologue of self-encouragement and recrimination, with Josh's reaction to her every word and action feeling like the biggest moment ever. These choppy waters of neurosis will snag the soaring hearts of readers who have been there (and who hasn't?), and they'll ache upon Isla and Josh's rite-of-passage first doubts about their relationship. Fans of literary heart flutters will love it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2015
In this companion to Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door, set at the School of America in Paris, post-wisdom-teeth painkillers give Isla the courage to talk to Josh, and they fall in love in fast-and-furious fashion. Readers will sympathize with Isla through the delicious moments and heartbreaking insecurities of this tender new relationship.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)