Monday, April 18, 2011

Vive la France

A friend was recently telling me about her upcoming trip to France. Since then, everywhere I look I am surrounded by all things French. So, I thought I would take the opportunity to share a few of my favorites. So eat a croissant, listen to the soundtrack of Les Miserables and enjoy.

Revolution by Jennifer DonnellyAn angry, grieving seventeen-year-old musician facing expulsion from her prestigious Brooklyn private school travels to Paris to complete a school assignment and uncovers a diary written during the French revolution by a young actress attempting to help a tortured, imprisoned little boy--
Louis Charles, the lost king of France.

Zazoo by Richard Mosher“ One wispy October dawn, a boy on a bike came and went. Little did Zazoo know that this inquisitive, bird-watching bicyclist would hold the key to her past and open a window to the future as well.” Amid old secrets revealed and rifts healed, a Vietnamese orphan raised in rural France by her aging "Grand-Pierre" learns about life, death, and love.

Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow by Faïza Guène “In the rough Paris housing projects, Doria, 15, a child of Muslim immigrant parents, sets her soap-opera dreams against the grim daily struggle, even as she does sometimes find the bold and the beautiful in herself and in her neighborhood. "It's like a film script. . . . Trouble is, our scriptwriter's got no talent. And he's never heard of happily ever after." Author Guene, 19, has grown up in the neighborhood she writes about, and her irreverent commentary never denies how hard it is. The first-person contemporary narrative, translated from the French, is touching, furious, sharp, and very funny. – Hazel Rochman”

Amélie Amelie is a young woman who had a decidedly unusual childhood; she spent most of her time in her room, where she developed a keen imagination and an active fantasy life. Despite all this, Amélie has grown into a healthy and beautiful young woman who works in a cafe and has a whimsical, romantic nature. She decides to step into the lives of others around her to help them out. MPAA rating: R.

and for a little nostalgia (best read aloud with a fake French accent)

Anatole by Eve Titus A French mouse decides to earn an honest living by tasting the cheese in a cheese factory and leaving notes about its quality.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Anna and the French Kiss?