The story of Bonjour Girl was quite enjoyable. I liked the idea of a young girl hiding in plain sight in one of the busiest cities in the world which is exactly what Clementine is doing at the famous fashion institute that she is attending. Along the way she meets people who can both help and hurt her and she gets lessons in life as well as in lapels (I probably shouldn’t try to pun about fashion).

If I am honest, I found the writing style of Bonjour Girl a little stilted. I felt that Clementine harped on far too much about how hard done to she was; all the things that had happened and how she was the innocent victim in it all. Furthermore, some of her actions seemed far too saccharine at times which made her a little less believable as a character.

Bonjour Girl is a cute story but it didn’t blow me away.

Bonjour Girl by Isabelle Lafleche is available now.

For more information regarding Isabelle Lafleche (@isalafleche) please visit www.isabellelfleche.net.

For more information regarding Dundurn (@dundurnpress) please visit www.dundurn.com.

First of all, massive thank you for netgalley and author for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review

Second I like the concept of the story. The heroine reminded me of Marinette Dupain-Cheng(?) because they have the same background. Although they share different traits.

Thirdly, I like that this story raises bullying as an important issue to talk about.

Although there were some parts that left me kind of bored but it was still an enjoyable read

Just yikes.

If you're not a pre-teen, or at the very least under 18, I don't think this book is for you. The main character comes across as very juvenile and immature in both her thinking and speaking. She's supposed to be a sophomore in college but it seems like she's 15 or 16. The college setting, especially on the first day in Clementine's first class, was so unrealistic. Like, really? People just don't act like that. It was totally ridiculous. And let's not gloss over the fact that Clementine is FROM Paris but speaks like a pre-teen American. What is that.

I DNF'd at page 30. The glaringly front-and-center "social justice" aspect of the book was way too over-the-top. And when Clementine declared Jake her "soul twin" moments after meeting him I was just done.

I hate to give this book a one star, because I really wanted to love it. The blurb sounded adorable and right up my alley, but this wasn't really a book/story. It's more of like a "day in the life" journaling situation, and I really hate those a lot.

One of my major issues with this book was the formatting. It is so terrible that it is distracting and was constantly pulling me out of the story (like the title of the book of the author's name would be in the middle of a paragraph). Not only that, but the bully tweets, presumably one of the most important parts of the story, WERE NOT THERE. They start out but don't finish, so as a reader I'm left wondering what exactly was said to Clementine that was so, so terrible.

There's not much showing or emotion in this book--just a whole lot of telling. I understand that the main character is obsessed with fashion (the point of the entire book), but it is a lot of this person wears this, this and this and this person wears this, this and this ON EVERY PAGE. The entire book feels like a recap of a non-stop fashion show. Which is boring.

The relationship/romance in this story just happens. Cute guy, making out the next night, they're together. That's the relationship. There's no obstacles, no build-up, no wondering and waiting and hoping. They're just together and stay together for the rest of the book with no issues or worries at all. I was bugged by what appears to be a dramatic age difference as well (though Clementine is French, so that may not have been an issue. And speaking of her being French, how is she so fluent in English? And why doesn't anyone mention her accent?)

I was so bored that about halfway through I just started skimming it. There's no plot to this story, just a bunch of meaningless events that our so-put-upon heroine has to struggle through.

I'd recommend skipping this one.

A sweet story that warmed my heart, combining fashion and youthful passion at its core.
Lovable characters and lively surroundings abound in this youthful romp.

I really wanted to like this book because the idea sounds really fun and as a Project Runway fan the main character studying at Parson's sounded interesting. Sadly I gave up at around 30% because I just didn't enjoy it, even though I went in with expectations of just something fun and light.

The characters acted really childish for their age and also felt very fake and I had a hard time liking even Clementine (it didn't help that she acted very American for a French girl). Jake going from best friend to really hateful in 0.2 seconds when hearing about Clementine's scholarship was what finally made me quit trying to force myself keep reading.

From the description, this book is totally up my alley. Unfortunately, it just fell flat. From the very beginning, I absolutely hated the writing style. There were so many comparisons that were just cringeworthy and seemed immature. Majority of the characters were stereotypical, even though they had the ability to be very unique and stand out. Even Clementine, our main character, left me uninterested. She's supposed to be an exchange student from Paris, but she talks and acts like an American.

And somehow, everything just magically falls into place for Clementine. From her blog, to her scholarship, her friendships and relationships... EVERYTHING! Her and Jonathan have the most insta-lovey story I've probably ever read. Everything falls so perfectly into place that even Anna Wintour reads Clementine's blog at one point. It all seems to magical and unrealistic, even for a fiction book.

The premise of a half asian Parisian MC Parson's student was intriguing but the book as a whole was a drag to get through.

I was not a fan of this book. I loved the concept--a 19 year old testing herself by conquering the hard knock city of NYC, and one of the premiere fashion schools in the world--but the story was never fully actualized for me. I found Clementine, the main character to be ineffectual and somewhat vapid, She allows a series of tweets by a fellow classmate upset her entire experience at her new school. Honestly, it felt silly, and something that could have been easily ignored, as I don't think one student from Parsons could really cause enough damage on Twitter to upend someone's burgeoning career.

Second, the timeline of events was terrible. Within one day, one CLASS, students already hated Clem enough to start trashing her reputation? She had a friend that felt like a brother within a day? Within just a week, she has a new bestie, has fallen out with said bestie, a new boyfriend, and enemies. This just isn't realistic in my view. Had the story been properly timed, I think it could have been more believable.

I also felt like the entire book was an ad for pop culture. Any fashion or pop culture reference the author could think of was thrown in haphazardly, until the references lost all meaning. Had the novel itself had more substance, perhaps this wouldn't have bothered me so much.

It was very, very hard for me to finish this book. Honestly, by the end, I really didn't care if Clem bested her enemy. I checked out, and only skimmed the rest.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. This book was not perfect. I wanted to read it because it was multi-cultured but the French and Chinese main character came off more American. There is a bit of insta-love. The cyber-bullying was the only big flaw in her world. Clem has a few flaws herself. I did find that she has her ups and her downs. Not one if the greatest books nor one of the worst. The characters need a bit more development and working out.

Fun read for your upcoming holiday if you are a fashion loving reader.

I enjoyed Isabelle Lafleches reading style for this type of book. I was able to fly through it. This also is one of the only books where I felt like the pop culture and business references made sense and the author knew what she was writing about. Too often in these chicklit/romance/career books, the career part feels like it is written by a child imagining to be an adult. Not this time. I thoroughly enjoyed the references, the mentioning of the color of nail polish, drooling over boots etc.

I was not in the mood for this perfect romance with this way too perfect guy, the relationship drama that really was no drama and the bullying storyline felt a bit forced and made up. It felt like I was in a bad Disney movie, it was just too over the top and unrealistic.

Overall, it was a cute summer read. If you need something between heavier topics or more complex worlds, this could be a solid go-to.

Thank you to netgallex for providing me with the book in exchange for an honest review.

Clementine a.k.a Clem is the new student at Parsons in New York and she's all about Fashion. Well, here's what I thought as I read the book: it's got a great premise, and a promising storyline of friendship, bullying and perseverance. I liked how the author tried to incorporate a variety of characters while somehow still sticking to the cliché that the world of fashion can be so mean.
I got this off NetGalley and if you're looking for a short story about a teen girl who simply wanted to find her purpose, be good to people and enjoy it while doing so, then this is a quick and interesting read.

1.5 stars

This review is based on an ARC of Bonjour Girl which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (Dundurn).

This book... Bonjour Girl was such a pain to get through. Between rolling my eyes, trying not to punch myself in the face at the sheer idiocy of it all, and skimming the last 60%, I managed to finish this trainwreck in a single day, just so that I wouldn't have to prolong my torture. The best way to break this book down is through pros and cons, so here goes:

PROS
--The cover is beautiful. Props to the marketing team, because if I were to buy a book based on its cover, this would be it.

--The topic of diversity in the fashion industry, and a character in a wheelchair. Though Bonjour Girl seriously lacked any real diversity, it made some good points about the need for it. A for effort? No, but +half a star!

CONS
(Get ready, there are a lot.)
--Insta-friendship/Insta-love is key to this plot. And it's obnoxious. On her first date/second meeting with the love interest, Clem was head-over-heels for him but Oh, I'm so insecure after my last boyfriend, whatever shall I do? Well, Clem, you'll forget him after you glance up at lover-boy's hair, that's what you'll do. Then, as for the insta-friendship, Clem puts her education and the entire reason she moved to the states at jeopardy by trying to return a scholarship because her friend was jealous. Said friend claims to be broke and so busy working two jobs he hasn't even gotten laid in a year!!! Wowie. Maybe if he didn't spend all of his money on food and Burberry scarves he wouldn't need a scholarship. Hmm...

--The Scholarship. Everything to do with the scholarship was just stupid and unrealistic. There is such a big deal over Clem getting a scholarship that she "doesn't deserve" even though she qualified and was granted it by the school. And really, what grown-ass adults are going to bully each other over scholarship money? Get real.

--The "bullying" is bullshit. Some obviously jealous classmate Tweets at you with a snarky comment, IT IS THE END OF THE WORLD MY LIFE IS OVER SEND ME BACK TO FRANCE I'M BEING VERBALLY ABUSED EVERYONE WILL SEE THIS AND AGREE AND HATE ME AND SHUN ME WAH. Yeah... Okay...

--This book relies a lot on the immaturity of grown women. I see why this is marketed as YA and not NA; these supposedly mature women act like fifteen-year-olds who haven't learned how the world works yet.

--The main plot: "I'm being bullied, whatever shall I do? Block her? Pshaw, no, I shall sneak into the dean's office at this prestigious school, look in her files, and get dirt on her to ruin her future entirely, merely because she is pathetic and jealous and said some minorly snarky things to me over Twitter that literally nobody else cares about!" SO DUMB.

--There is no punishment whatsoever for Clem's actions! In fact, she gets an offer from the dean to attend a sister school in China! She gets rewarded for her seriously punishable actions! Argh!

--Lack of character development. Clementine claims to be so self-conscious and anxious after some unrealistic debacle with her mom and ex, but nothing changes. Sure at the end, she goes "I'm different now, I don't care what people think!" but she said that five times throughout the book and then changed her mind minutes later. Who's to say she won't do the same thing again? And again, and again?

--The topics flip-flop around too much. I couldn't keep track of what scandal we were dealing with at any given time. We'd be in the midst of one conversation for one issue, and then in comes X character and we're off dealing with some other issue. It was just hard to focus on any given chapter.

--The chapters break at weird times. There would be like, three short chapters all in the same scene, and then one with five different scenes. I just didn't get it.

--Reading Bonjour Girl was like reading a particularly bad fanfiction. I was waiting for Zayn to come around the corner and ask her to dinner or invite her back to his NYC pad or something. The only salvation here is that she didn't mention lover-boy's dreamy chocolate orbs.

--Ooh, so quirky! I shit you not, I counted the adjective quirky five, maybe even six times. UGH. NO.

--Tell, Don't Show. Er... wait, what? There are so many--way, way too many--instances of telling instead of showing. So Wheelchair Girl is hilarious. I don't know, is she? I never heard a joke pass her lips. Lover-boy is romantic. Well, he buys you food and makes out with you. Is that romance though?

--Diversity? More like stereotyping a gay man for your GBF and throwing in a token disabled girl. Where is this diversity this book claims? Sure, Clem is half Chinese, but this is only mentioned once in her character description and never brought up again. We only hear over and over how French she is, nothing about the other half of her ethnicity.

Basically, Bonjour Girl was not worth my time and I regret reading it. In fact, I believe I lost some brain cells. Darn.

I was unable to finish this book. First, it was riddled with formatting issues, which made it hard to follow at times. I was willing to overlook that since I know it is an ARC and still in editing.

However, I decided fairly quickly that the content of the story was not worth the difficulty I was having reading it.

The characters were not likable, nor were they realistic. The story itself didn't compel me to keep reading.

This book just didn't work for me. I didn't care for the main character at all. I also was not a fan of the writing style and I ended up quitting the novel before I finished it. I'm sorry that I couldn't get into it.

Sadly, I didn't like this book. When I started it, I was feeling like I was reading a bad fanfiction. How many times I rolled my eyes because of something improbable or boring.
I still give it two stars when I could give it one star, because the writing tend to become better as I turned the pages... or was it because I got use to it?
The main character doesn't sound realistic and I couldn't feel a connection with her. Mainly because she had everything for her. Famous family, perfect boyfriend, she doesn't have to work because of daddy but still get a scholarship, that's the kind of things that make that book sound like a bad fanfiction.
Anyway, I couldn't wait to finish this book, because I didn't like it at all.

Clementine, the Chinese-French main character, is studying fashion journalism at Parsons’ School of Fashion in New York with the hope of turning her blog idea Bonjour Girl into a reality. Originally from France, Clementine finds it hard to adapt to the American way of learning, she is subject to snarky classmates and unwarranted bullying. With the help of her grandmother’s copy of How to Be a French Lady and privilege she manages to rise above and succeed.

One of Clementine’s classmates, Stella, tries to discredit her blog by tweeting that no one should read it. Honestly speaking if someone sent a tweet saying don’t read @sakhilewhispers’ blog I’d get upset and block them. What I would not do is seek legal advice. This seems a little bit over the top. Just a little. On her first day of classes, Clementine meets Jonathan whom she falls in insta-love with. Their relationship feels rushed and fake.

Writing
My first impressions of the first few pages were a little stilted but I quickly got used to Clementine’s voice. Her tone had a childlike ignorance to it. The aesthetical descriptions of the settings had me feeling like I was looking directly at a Pinterest board. The descriptions of the décor, the lovely descriptions of the clothes really showed the creative in the main character.

Plot
The expectation was for the book to delve into Clementine’s blogging life. Unfortunately this was not the case, we don’t see much of this in the book and what we do see of it is quite unrealistic. I enjoyed the discourse about fashion diversity and consciousness. (((blog
Characters
Clementine’s circle consists of her aunt Maddie, who she lives with in her New York loft (who also teaches at Parsons); Jake, a friend she meets at school; Stella, the nemesis and Jonathan; the insta-love interest. The side characters felt underdeveloped. Their personalities seemed a mixture of conflicting characteristics thrown together.

Final thoughts
Bonjour Girl was slow paced and pretty much nothing happens in the first half. This book was a light, fluffy read with minimal focus on fashion consciousness and diversity.

I’ll start with the story. What I really liked was that it featured diversity in fashion. Clementine’s blog features ill people and those who help them. For example Jake, who makes fashion for disabled people. There are fashion bloggers mentioned, who for example sit in a wheelchair or have illnesses that make their hair fall out. The story features people from all over the world as well. That’s probably what I liked most about the whole book.
What I also liked was that it dealt with bullying and how bullies can be found everywhere. It also shows the effects of it, on the person bullied but also the people around that person. What I did not like was the reaction to it: Revenge. Except for Clementine everyone seemed to think revenge would be the best option, when they did not even talk about it? Can people please start talking more?
The story itself was okay. It seemed a bit rushed at some parts, most of the chapters were only 2-3 pages long before a whole other situation (or day) started. And I would have loved to get more details, especially about the supporting characters. The only person the reader really gets to know is Clementine.
She is not always likeable, but she is full of determination with her heart at the right spot. She knows exactly what she wants, but she also cares for those important to her and tries to protect them from getting hurt.
The other characters are… well. Jake is the stereotypical gay designer. Loud and fun and ‚darlings‘ and ‚honeys‘ everywhere. Jonathan is just plain boring (sorry, he has not much character at all?), Stella (the bully) is the stereotypical bad girl who talks behind your back, Ellie is only there when the story needs her and suddenly she’s friends with Clementine. The only character that had potential was Maddie, who seemed to be genuinely interesting.
What I also liked, though, was the details on fashion. That’s a book about fashion, so that was to be expected, but the author really focused on writing unique styles for the characters, in what they wear as well as in what they design and like. I loved the descriptions of the different clothes a lot. So there’s that.

It took me really long to read this book because I didn’t like any of the characters much. But the book was okay.

2.5 stars.
I think that Bonjour Girl had a lot of potential. The plot was endearing and I was excited to read it. Its about a girl named Clementine from Paris who transfers to NYC to go to design school. Sounds like it would be a fun light read. The problem with this book is Clementine is really unlikeable. She doesn't have her own voice and literally changes her opinion every time some gets upset with her. It's really hard for me to get into a story when I can't connect with the main characters. I really liked Jake but he wasn't enough to save the story. Also I'm so over the girl-on-girl hate, we really need to move pass this as a storyline. It just feels overdone and contrite.

1/5 stars

One rainy day, I thought that if I picked up what seemed to be a cute contemporary, then everything would get better. Long story shortened: It did not.

Bonjour Girl sounds like a typical happy contemporary. It has the typical story of a girl going to a foreign city, in this case, New York City, and meets a guy who makes her insides feel like melted cheese.* Of course, there is a lot more as Clementine, the main character, is a fashion-blogger, all around clothing-hunter, and from French/Chinese descent. She is staying in New York to begin her education at Parsons School of Design. All she knows that she wants to join the world of fashion with her blog, Bonjour Girl. Never does she know that she will get a new best friend to accompany in her journey through creativity and a new love interest who look like he just stepped off the runway. This story sounds like an easy and relaxing read. Unfortunately, my reading experience was anything but relaxing.

*Not kidding. This is actually how the main character describes her new-found love for a character.

1. The Characters Are Empty-headed Robots on A Mission to Do Nothing
First, even after looking at the known runway for the plot, I was still going to give this book a good read through. It sounded exciting to read about another blogger's adventures in a new and exciting city. Unfortunately, this could not happen due to the characters. Clementine, along with some of the other characters, are so childish. The characters in this book are near their early twenties; however, almost everyone acted as if they were in Kindergarten. Seriously, the one bully in this book throws band-aids at Clementine. Also, Jake, Clementine's greatest best friend in all the universe, is problematic as well. He is gay but that is not a problem. It is commonly stereotyped that most men in the fashion industry are gay and very flamboyant. Jake fills this stereotype so well that it scares me that the author would promote a person of diversity like this. One line he says that caused me to drop my phone is:

"ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER slay."

I'm sorry, but what?! I couldn't take it any more. Reading the too animated commentary constantly coming from Jake caused me to take a step back. I couldn't keep reading, so I guess this is a reason for why I quit so soon.

2. The Dialogue and Writing Is Terrible
One way that I saw Clementine and the other characters in the same light was through the writing. Lafleche could've made this so much of a better book if she didn't contradict what her characters were saying with their "beliefs."

"In addition to wearing all black, some of my classmates look like they have a major attitude."

First, you should be able to wear whatever you want to wear no matter what. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't wear all black or the such. Like the worlds of fashion and beauty today, this book judged everyone each character did even though Clementine kept saying that she is open to all. Yeah, right?! Then, she continues with:

"I try not to judge her based on her looks (after all, I'm here to advocate for diversity)..."

EXCUSE ME!! What were you saying then just a few pages ago?!

Plus, if she knew how to describe the emotions of love, which I do not know how to do without saying it to a piece of cake, it might have worked out a lot better.

"As soon as his hand touches mine, I can almost feel the electricity running all the way down to my toes. Thank god I'm sitting down, otherwise I'd probably keel over."

Is this line supposed to make me keel over and die? Seriously, practice your writing skills and then write a published book. Use what you learn from writing this book to further your writing in the future.

By the time I was 18% in, I saw that the writing was way too childish for what the setting was and how old the characters were.

3. The Romance Is Unbelievable
Plus, the romance is unbearable. It is so insta-lovey, and I cannot stand it. Immediately, once Jonathan (I think that's his name), the love interest, came into the picture, lots of comments were being made about how attractive he was and nothing else. Nothing about how nice he could be or anything about his personality. Only on how handsome he is. There needs to be at least a little depth to something in this book.

In conclusion, I wish I never requested nor read this book. I am glad that I did not waste my entire day. Although I may not have enjoyed most of this book, I did enjoy reading about fashion and learning what Clementine has a passion for, which I wish Sandhya Menon used in When Dimple Meet Rishi but with coding and computer science. In the end, this piece of information does nothing to erase the one star that may cloud my judgement. This book is just not for me, nor do I advise you to read it due to its problematic elements.

Posted on: www.newbookcatsreads.blogspot.com

2.5 Stars

You know how people say ‘wooooow that’s a look’?
This book was ‘woooooow this was a journey’.
This book gave me turbulence it was so up and down for me. I’d have heart eyes one second and then the next it would be those squinty deadpan ones.
SOOOOOOOO because I’m weird I present you with a PRO and CON list!

Pro

It was like Carrie Diaries meets Anna and the French Kiss.

Con

In saying that, it was super juvenile one moment (and the main character is 19, so not the best look) and then suddenly it was like the protagonist just aged 30 years. Clementine was super naïve all the time, and greeted the world with starry eyes. And then other times she’d say things that just didn’t suit her age - words of wisdom, vocabulary, etc.


Pro

A cute cast of characters, perfect for a Hallmark TV movie (I would watch that) They had spunk, and the ideas that all the characters had for the fashion industry were actually really interesting.

Con

Everything is always tied up in a neat little bow for Clementine and works out exactly right. How is that possible? (Pls let me know cuz would love to know the secret ^^)


Pro

The front cover is so adorable it makes me swoon

Con

Why does nearly every chapter end with one of those annoying foreshadowing questions that are so juvenile I want to cry? It was consistent. Things like (these aren’t what are in the book word for word, but it’ll give you the gist) ‘things were working out perfectly for Clem, too bad that would change soon’ . Major cringe factor.


All in all I did enjoy this book was a quick cutesy read, but I think it should really be targeted at the lower half of the YA audience as I think they would get the most enjoyment out of it.