I struggled with this book, in part, for the very thing that initially drew me to reading it. Whole sections were in French and I felt that without a grasp on the French language I was missing complete and important portions of the storyline. Then, I also struggled with the adult manner that this book was written, the main character was a young, tween girl but the way she is presented (while still being dramatic) was much more mature than could be believed.

I appreciated the idea of this story a little more than the execution but that shouldn't stop other readers from enjoying this book. I would suggest, though, a bit more understanding of French than I have now. .

In JP Wright's novel, French for Girls, Violet Tickham finds a bunch of old letters held together with a ribbon, and the memories come rushing back to her: of when she was twelve. When she had a pen pal. When she first fell in love. We are transported back to those days through Violet's eyes to when she was excited and nervous to meet her French pen pal, Albert.

Albert writes to her in English, and she writes to him in French so that they can each practice their new language skills. They bond instantly over the usual adolescent stuff like annoying little sisters and overbearing mothers. Albert's class comes to England first, and the two of them slowly fall for each other amidst the well-described English countryside.

Their letters they exchange after that first meeting are more heartfelt. They each want reassurances from the other: Violet wants Albert to assure her that she didn't imagine their connection and that when she gets to France, everything will be just as it was in between them in England.. Albert wants assurance that no matter what happens, Violet will still feel the same way about their relationship.

It was a bit difficult for me to get into this book at first, probably because it begins with letters that are half in French. But once we got into the story, things were fairly straightforward. Violet seemed like a typical, dramatic tween and readers will definitely be reminded of how they were at age twelve and thirteen. Everything rings true, even from readers who didn't grow up in England.

The writing style, however, seemed a bit too mature for the subject matter, though. I do understand that we are reliving this through an older Violet's eyes, but there were several allusions I got that non-English majors probably wouldn't, and who knows how many actually went over my head. It also makes the style seem old-fashioned, so much so that at one point, I was a little jolted when Kitty, Violet's sister, made a joke about androids. I had to then remind myself that even if the writing made it feel like more like a Jane Austen novel, this was supposed to be a modern-day story.

All in all, this was a pretty good story, and it held my interest after the first exchange of letters (the second exchange was much better. I was more invested in the characters, so I was more invested in figuring out the French). The end, though...it kind of felt like I'd been pushed off a cliff. It was that abrupt. And there was no mention of what came next, or whatever came of any of it, and I guess nothing else did. There just didn't seem to be any payoff at the end. I will say it was a clever way to shove a reader off a cliff, if that's what you indeed want to do as an author, but after all of the investment I put into the story, I was frustrated because I just wanted something more in the end.

This book is a gem! I don't even really like this genre but I loved this book! Great story, humorous at times. Love the characters.

Every now and then I come across a book that feels personal, almost like an insight to my thoughts and feelings. This book did just that.

The story revolves around twelve year old Violet and her French exchange pen pal Albert. As Albert’s visit gets nearer, Violet thinks that she loves him and when they meet she decides that he’s her soulmate. During his visit there are calamities, a school disco and a language barrier which in parts are very funny and I found myself laughing out loud periodically throughout the book.

Overall, this is a story about first love in all of it’s juvenile form with heartbreak, delirious happiness and hormone fuelled thoughts. It transported me back to the lazy, carefree days of my youth and I loved it for that alone.

Many thanks to Netgalley and BookGoSocial for allowing me the privilege of reading this wonderful book.

So despite the warning that the book contains actual French language, as I was encouraged by the author to persevere (you probably know more French than you think) I did so. I did finish the book but did find the use of a second language difficult and worried I was missing a key part of the story. I wouldn't read a book structured like this again.

This book confused me somewhat as I think it was supposed to be written from the viewpoint of a young girl, yet the way it was written and the language used was far too adult to be believable. It was an interesting and imaginative story idea.

I think the French parts may be offputting to some people without translation, even if they did take French at school.

French for Girls by JP Wright. BooksGoSocial, 2018. Tabitha Tickham Series. https://www.tabithatickham.com/

Most really good coming of age books I’ve read have been about boys, so French for Girls was a delightful surprise, a work of unexpected depth that in terms of quality reminded me of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Anne of Green Gables. It differs in that it focuses on a shorter window of time and on one relationship.

The story begins when an older Violet comes across a bundle of letters and reminisces about her twelve-year-old self and her pen pal at the time. Violet, having been moved up a year at school was perhaps a bit out of sync with her older classmates. She develops a relationship with her French pen pal Albert. Violet writes Albert in French and Albert writes Violet in English.

Their teachers are sisters. Two class exchange trips are arranged: first Albert visits Violet and then Violet visits Albert. Her relationship with Albert becomes the most important thing to Violet, dimming the effect of even her parents’ separation.

Violet’s very detailed recall of things that happened when she was waiting for Albert and when she was with Albert includes the food they ate, their mothers’ questions, their shared distain for their younger sisters and their sisters’ antics and how she felt. Though all of this is interesting, some of it seems to move as slowly as no doubt the time did when Violet was experiencing it.

There was for me a sudden twist to the story that I did not see coming. This lifted it from good to great. I realize that this is one of a series of books about Violet’s sister Kitty (Tabitha Tickham), but I am keen to know more about Albert.

I enjoyed reading French for Girls and I recommend it.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of French for Girls free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Note: I've submitted my review to Amazon.ca twice, not sure why it's not showing up. Will check and add later.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I love all things French so the premise of this book appealed to me. My favorite part of the book were the letters in French. There were parts of the book that were a bit tedious for me and I was anxious for the book to keep moving along. An unexpected ending for love-struck Violet.