The French Impressionist follows the story of Rosemary – a teen who flees her overprotective mother for a summer in France, pretending to learn how to paint and intending to stay forever. Her realistic reactions to the world around her balance out any inconsistencies about thinking, “Could a teenager really get away with this?”

With enough mystery to keep adults entertained, readers will not be able to put this down. Rosemary suffers from a speech issue but this enhanced the story instead of making it feel like a morality tale focused on accepting people with disabilities. The well-crafted story line was excellent. Rosemary can come and live with me anytime. One of the best YA books of the year.

This book surprised me in a lot of ways. I found it a little hard to get into at first due to the secret the narrator insisted on keeping but when I passed that starting point I really fell in. It was really interesting to read about a protagonist with a speech impediment and though I didn't always understand and support the main characters decisions and actions it was easy to find an element of her to relate to. Tension was built well in the necessary scenes and I enjoyed the involvement of the side characters to the overall plot. Lastly, the resolution of the novel, though slightly forced (the mothers progression seemed sudden), was definitely feel good and left me satisfied for the most part.

This book had a lot going on all at once. The poor main character had to deal with so much all at once. I found it difficult to connect with the storyline because there was too much happening. The plot seems too far fetched for me. I liked the book, I just didn't love it.

I thought this book sounded pretty interesting when reading the blurb. The main character, Rosemary, is 15 and in France under false pretenses. She’s told her family that she’s in Arizona at an art camp, her best friend that she’s in Paris, when in reality she’s in Nice. It takes awhile to get to what has driven her to lie to her family and flea halfway around the world. It was a letdown, I had built it up to be more exciting than what it really was.

Rosemary doesn’t speak much because she has a communication disorder that makes it hard for her to get words out correctly. She makes a big deal about how communication is virtually impossible but uses her phone to type out what she wants to say so that’s not really true. Also, one pet peeve of mine is if someone has an issue that makes speech out of the question, why not learn sign language? If you want to be able to communicate with others, it seems like you’d try everything possible to make that happen.

While in Nice learning how to paint, she stumbles into an empty apartment through secret door in her room. This leads her to being involved in a mystery about the former tenant that I didn’t find that interesting. Throw in a teenage boy that doesn’t understand her speech difficulties and has an elementary grade attitude (be mean to show you like someone) and that about wraps it up.

I thought the story was well paced and was an interesting idea. I did feel bad for Rosemary with what she was going through at home but I felt like her plan was a little farfetched. All in all, it was just another okay read.

A fun and fascinating story that had me laughing and smiling all the way through.

An enjoyable read. I thought the author did a good job of portraying the troubles and emotions of a teenage girl who feels trapped by her own inability to articulate what she wants. The other characters were well developed and added to the complexity of the story.
Would recommend, especially to some of my students.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I was immediately drawn to the cover. Then add the description of this book about a young teen girl, Rosemary, who is 15 years old and struggles with a communication disorder, as well as overprotective mother and I couldn't wait to read.

While I did enjoy this YA novel, it seemed to drag a bit at times and found myself therefore not reading as quickly as I may other books in this genre. - originally found on my Goodreads account

Still, the story itself was charming and heartwarming. So therefore, I would still recommend to all looking for a fun YA read.

Review will be posted on Dec 6, 2016

"I'm here because I lied. A lot. I know it was wrong, but I don't care. I got away"

And that my friends is how this book starts. Immediately you start questioning what did she lie about and what is so bad at home that she felt she had to lie to get away. We get to meet Rosemary's new parents for the summer and what she will or is supposed to be doing this summer as well. (Honestly I still can't believe she was able to fool so many people to get to this point.) Rosemary is very unsure of herself and what she is doing until she finds some older letters from a person named Marguerite who appears to have had some speech problems as well. Through reading these letters and making up her own idea of who Marguerite was starts gaining confidence of her own and having hope for herself. She also learns because of what she finds of Marguerite a friend/s who truly care for her and will do what they can to help her. Sure nothing works like Rosemary wanted it to that summer, but things still managed to turn out pretty good for her, which was nice to see after you learn about her childhood so far.

"I've planted my feet here and can already feel the tender roots growing under them, connecting me to the earth in this place of sunshine and sand, mountains and ocean."

Sylvie and Emile who are her parents for the summer are extremely kind people who actively not only let Rosemary into their lives. But teach her things and don't pressure her into doing things. They let her be young and carefree all while keeping her safe. Sure they don't communicate much with her, but that can just be written off on the partial language barrier and the fact that they themselves are dealing with things as well.

"New home. New Family. New Rosemary."

Honestly I'm very torn on how to rate and review this book. One one hand I did enjoy it. But I also found the way the author dealt with things rather annoying at times. Not telling us for so long what exactly the main character was struggling with made me frustrated for the first quarter of the book until I was able to start putting pieces together. But it's still not explained why she is treated a certain way by her mother until the very end. I feel like if that was told sooner I would have liked this book more. Then we also have the problem of a teenager who is incredibly naive now in a foreign country that speaks a different language and has lied to everyone around her to get to said country. I found it incredibly hard most of the time to like the main character because of her actions. But I also really felt for her and just wanted the best for her. To me if things had been told sooner and we could have seen Rosemary actually start finding her voice and becoming her own person I would have loved this book. Instead this was just a start for Rosemary and while I am so glad she if finally getting freedom, I just wish she didn't have to go to such great links to get it.

Just an idea for the author I would love to see either novella or companion novel about Rosemary's best friend Jada. She seems like a really good character and it would be interesting to see her take on this whole thing as well as her side of the friendship with Rosemary.
"Jada never lets anyone make fun of her. She always has a comeback."
Plus we don't have enough books that actively deal with disability and show it in a positive light.

"You have made me realize that my own foolish dreams are not as foolish as I may have thought. My speech difficulty does not mean that I may not obtain what I truly desire... I will never forget what you have done for me."


Thank you to Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars.

The French Impressionist's strong start caught my attention. But, I had to wonder how Rosemary, the protagonist, managed to do what she did, meaning, the whole trip to France was a little far-fetched. But I went with the it because that's of no importance, really. What matters it's Rosemary's journey that goes from self-absorbed to realization. And there's so much to admire here--Rosemary's struggles with her control-freak mother, her speech impediment, and learning how to paint and socialize better. Also, the author paints France with words so vividly, it comes to life. I really enjoyed that. However, towards the end, the situations became a bit murky and, on a way, a bit convenient.

All in all, an entertaining read with great glimpses into France's way of life.

A teen tries to initiate her plan for a new life and family only to find herself working hard to keep up with her lies. As she navigates challenges, the girl will have to decide whether freedom from an over-protective parent is worth all the new trouble. Debut author Rebecca Bischoff fortifies her first book with her professional background in the slightly clunky but mostly compelling novel The French Impressionist.

Rosemary arrives in Nice, France, with a single objective: to start over in a new life. She’s done all her research. The family she’s chosen has posted on a blog about accepting aspiring art students on a summer exchange program. Her best friend has backed up her fake travel plans in front of her mother, Darla. Even Darla’s boyfriend helps out by loaning Rosemary the credit card she uses to book her flight.

Many kids who run away do so because of neglect, but Rosemary definitely doesn’t have that problem. She’d be mortified if any of her friends in school knew that even though she’s 15, her mother still does her hair. Darla is the one who insists they share lunch at school every day, and her mother is also the one who locks her in her room every night. If there were an Olympics for helicopter parenting, Darla would win the gold every single time.

She has to admit, albeit begrudgingly, that her mother has some cause for concern. Because of a motor speech disorder, Rosemary can’t talk like most people do. Her brain knows all the words and always offers her snappy comebacks. She just can’t get her mouth to move at the same speed or with the same efficiency. So she gets that her mother worries.

But the worrying has driven her nuts—and out of the house. Rosemary packs her things and goes to Nice for a summer of art, never mind that she doesn’t even know which end of a paint brush to use on a canvas. She moves into the home of Sylvie and Emile, a charming couple whose son suffered tragically in an awful accident. Rosemary knows she’s the perfect candidate to slide into the son’s place. She certainly doesn’t discount the importance of losing a child, but she also knows that she can’t go back home. No matter what happens, she’s not leaving France.

However, now that she’s dealing with people face to face, Rosemary finds herself teetering on the tower of lies she’s built. She’s in danger of losing her footing, thanks to the creepy old lady and her menacing son who live next door to Sylvie and Emile. The incredibly annoying family visiting from Texas doesn’t help either, never mind that their son is cute and her age.

Rosemary doesn’t want anyone intruding on the new life she’s trying to build for herself. The longer she stays in France, however, the more she realizes that lies make for a shaky foundation. If she really wants to establish a new life, at some point she’ll have to find something solid to build it on.

Author Rebecca Bischoff’s professional work as a speech pathologist shines in this book. She shows with a great deal of honesty Rosemary’s emotions and frustrations with herself as well as those around her. Readers in her target audience as well as older readers will appreciate whole sections of Bischoff’s prose. She uses fresh phrasing that delight as much for her word choice as for taking the story forward.

The book could have used one more round of light editing. Rosemary tends to spend a great deal of time acting out her frustrations with minimal consequences. Sylvie and Emile come across as sweet, affectionate, and possibly too tolerant. After all, they’ve invited a complete stranger into their home and let her exhibit what is, on the surface, flat out rudeness.

Also, while Bischoff makes a clear point about Darla’s dread, the memories that surface late in the book for Rosemary feel a little rushed and forced. Weaving them into the narrative with more subtlety and a little earlier would have helped them come across as a natural part of Rosemary’s story instead of as a necessary plot device. Along with that, the climax also feels like it got crammed into the story. Rosemary makes a choice that could potentially ruin someone else’s life and doesn’t stop to think through the consequences of that choice, which is hard to believe given today’s overload of information. The book would have benefited from someone helping to untangle the knots so the tension could remain taut without seeming overly complicated.

For the most part, however, readers will enjoy Bischoff’s debut novel and will almost certainly read the last line wanting only the best for Rosemary. I recommend readers Borrow The French Impressionist.

(I volunteered to write an honest, objective review after receiving a review copy of this book from the publisher.)

*Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review*

“I’m here because I lied. A lot. I know it was wrong, but I don’t care. I got away. My world is no longer black and white. It’s alive with colour. Blues and greens have melted together into a perfect painting of sea and sky.”

– Rosemary, The French Impressionist

A brilliant opening line, honest, truthful and intriguing. It sets the tone. Beautifully descriptive. Yes a little wordy but I adore it.

The French Impressionist is centred around Rosemary and it makes you ask..What is she running from? What did her family do to her that running away was the only option? Why has she led such a sheltered life?

My name is Rosemary, and I have a communication disorder. It has a name, too, but I can’t even say it. So there you have it.

– Rosemary, The French Impressionist

And now we know…the big secret!

Rosemary’s communication disorder has made it extremely difficult for her to lead a normal life and as such her mother has painstakingly sheltered her to the point of suffocating her. There’s more to the story a tragic event that shaped the futures of both Rosemary and her mother {you’ll really want to read it to find out}

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This runaway plan to find herself another family has her delving into situations that she has not right poking a nose into but it also puts her right on a path to finding love.

Gavin is a little mocking in his first meeting with Rosemary, I don’t believe he means to mock but Rosemary is already damaged that teasing/mocking cuts her deep. They both feel a connection.

Au revoir, Pumpkin Head. You are gone.

– Rosemary, The French Impressionist

au-revoir

Rosemary is more fortunate than she knows she has a great support system in both her best friend and her family. Yes – she desperately wants to be normal but what she doesn’t realise is normal is boring.

bff

Difference brings our imaginations to life…to see the world like Leonardo Da Vinci who too was a little different in his own way

What would it be like to be normal? To have a brain that wasn’t wired to make me sound like an idiot every time I opened my mouth?

– Rosemary, The French Impressionist

writer

What’s lovely about the way Rebecca Bischoff crafts her novel is that there were a number of things going on but it never felt like damn woman, please stop through another curve ball just for the sake of it.

It’s like a tapestry each section was lovingly crafted to intertwine and help you gracefully move through the story. To understand that people should not be judged for the appearance or their perceived disabilities that they too have more to give.

I’m selfish. I have been all along. I chose Sylvie and Émile as my host family only because they lost a son. I chose them only because Sylvie has suffered so much in her life I knew I’d find a compassionate, loving soul who would embrace me. And I hate myself for it.

– Rosemary, The French Impressionist

The realisation of selfishness, the growth of character that her selfish needs could bring great harm to the people she cares for, that she was prepared to use a grieving families grief to improve her situation. Rather then face her problem face on. TO SPEAK.

I give it……

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Score: 4/5