Lisette's Paris Notebook

Gr 8 Up—Australian teen Lisette has three months to spend in Paris before she goes back home to attend university. Lisette's mother is a seamstress and the novel is full of haute couture commentary. Lisette's clairvoyant landlady persuades her to attend language lessons with a group of international students, and her adventure begins. American readers will find the Australian vocabulary intriguing: stayups (pushup bras), capsicam (red peppers), two-minute noodles (ramen), doggy underwear. Lisette, in many ways, is just another teenager on a three-month gap before college who is plowing through relationships, both good and bad, and trying to find her purpose and what makes her unique. In the end, she starts to discover just what that is, along with what may be a true love. Fans of Stephanie Perkins's Anna and the French Kiss and Jenna Evans Welch's Love & Gelato will enjoy this sweet and entertaining read. The French adventure and Lisette's relationships will pull in reluctant readers.