Written by: Stephanie Perkins
Summary: Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.
Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoon-worthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.
Review
Stephanie Perkins is without a doubt the best contemporary author I have ever read. She has such talent and skill for writing believable, yet completely adorable, characters and narratives and this trio of books (Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door and Isla and the Happily Ever After) are my favourite contemporary reads. This book was such a brilliant and satisfying conclusion to the 'series' and I flew through this book.
Going into this book I knew I would love it, one because we are back at SOAP (School of America in Paris) and two because we have already met the main two characters, Isla and Josh in Anna and the French Kiss and I low-key loved them already. Being back in a location I grew so attached to in the first book really brought the series full circle and I felt a sense of comfort and security reading about a familiar setting.
This is my second favourite book in the series now, Lola and the Boy Next Door is my least favourite because I did not relate to Lola at all. Isla was so unbelievably relatable, her inability to believe that Josh could really love her was so human to me and Perkins wrote this flaw in such a realistic way. That is what I adore about Perkins' characters, all of them have flaws like real human beings! She always does a fantastic job of writing teenagers that feel like real people with real flaws and insecurities but also making them so likeable and amazing. I think Isla and Josh were so realistic in their actions during the book and I have to say I loved how bold Perkins was when it came to sexuality and sex drives in this book. Barely any young adult books include sex scenes or have teenagers with active, working sex drives which , I'm sorry but, is completely unrealistic if you have ever been/ met a teenager that is far from the truth. I loved how Josh and Isla's relationship wasn't a slow burn like the other two and how they openly shared past sexual experiences and weren't embarrassed about their sexuality.
The fact that their relationship felt much maturer than Anna and Etienne and Cricket and Lola's was nice to read about. I can't write this review without mentioning how much I loved the scenes in Barcelona! They were so romantic and sexy and it was just amazing, I was so happy for Isla and Josh. Because their relationship progressed faster than the others in the previous books we got to see an actual relationship as well as two people falling in love and with that we saw the breakdown of their relationship and the issues that faced them. The whole graphic novel thing that Josh had written really had me sitting on the fence, part of me thought it was really brave and sweet of him to bare his soul to Isla in such a vulnerable way but at the same time I could see Isla's perspective. Josh's graphic novel was graphic and regardless of the fact that he was no longer with Rashmi the extent he went to with the detail of his relationship with her was a little much. He knew fine well how explicit the novel was yet he chose to share it with Isla and put her in a really awkward situation.
This book was the first I have ever read that featured an autistic character and I thought Perkins represented autism and Kurt in a very realistic and respectful way. Not only was the diversity refreshing to see but it was a pleasant change to have a purely amicable relationship between a boy and a girl unlike so many other books out there. I really enjoyed Kurt's role in the book and it was lovely to see autism represented in literature.
I saved the best for last, the ending. This was hands down the best part of the book and I sobbed so badly (with joy) when everyone came to France to watch Calliope perform in the Olympics but mainly because Anna and Etienne got engaged!!!!! Oh my God I was so happy and couldn't stop crying happy tears when I read the proposal. Anna and Etienne are so close to my heart and they are one of my favourite fictional couples so have their engagement happen made my life. The ending was perfect and it was just so enjoyable and cathartic to have everyone come together for the end of this book.
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