French Kiss (Diary of a Crush, #1)

Dec 20, 2011 Sita Sargeant added it

Hmmm. I like it. But my e-reader keeps screwing up saying UnKnown error. GRRRR!! I want to know how it ends!!

Now it's ended and I say hmmm again.

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Apr 22, 2013 Donna {Book Passion for Life} rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review, from-publishers, ya-contemporary-romance

"Dylan could make kissing the most exciting activity in the world. He kissed my shoulders and the stroked all the hair back from my shoulders before planting little butterfly kisses on my forehead and my eyebrows and my eyelids before reaching my mouth again. And when he kissed my mouth, it wasn't like those kisses you tell your friends about where you joke about boys trying to slip you a bit of tongue; it was as if he was touching my soul."

The Diary of a Crush series is one I've been aware of...more "Dylan could make kissing the most exciting activity in the world. He kissed my shoulders and the stroked all the hair back from my shoulders before planting little butterfly kisses on my forehead and my eyebrows and my eyelids before reaching my mouth again. And when he kissed my mouth, it wasn't like those kisses you tell your friends about where you joke about boys trying to slip you a bit of tongue; it was as if he was touching my soul."

The Diary of a Crush series is one I've been aware of for some time, however as it's only available on Amazon to purchase by a second hand seller, so I've always put off reading it. Thankfully, Atom have decided to re-publish this series, giving them a new gorgeous covers with a new release date. Mark 30th May 2013 on your calendars guys, because French Kiss is an addictive, fast-paced and very entertaining read!

French Kiss follows the life of Edith aka Edie, a sixteen-year-old girl whose just moved to a new town and has to start a new college. Edie is a shy person but by meeting new people it starts to bring Edie out of her shell - especially the most gorgeous guy on campus; Dylan. He's broody, dark and very frustrating and it's clear from their first meeting that there's something between them. As Edie embarks in her new life, one that involves a school trip to Paris and a lot of kissing, can a guy like Dylan be for real or will he just end up breaking her heart?

I had no idea that this story was originally published in J17 magazine and then turned into a book. Seriously, J17! I used to read that magazine when I was a teenager! I loved it. Anyway, Fresh Kiss really lives up to it's name because it's written as diary entries rather than from a first person narrative. At the end of a certain days, Edie will tell us what's happened to her that crazy day. Admittedly, it was slightly hard to get into the way this story was told but, after a few minutes, it became very easy.

Edie is a character that has so many pros and cons about her, she's loving, fun, caring, honest but then at times she is rash, stubborn and at times, very immature. With her being sixteen and most of the other characters being nineteen, you can sometimes see the age difference bewteen them. Dylan and Edie have a slight age gap (about 3 years) and this seems to be the part of the problems for them, not only that but Dylan is emotionally troubled and doesn't believe he can handle a relationship with Edie as he believes she will only get hurt by him.
For me, Dylan was a love/hate character that you tended to love more and more as the story progresses, he sends so many mixed signals to Edie to start with but in the end, he really does come around.

In all, I'm glad I got the opportunity to read French Kiss, Sarra Manning creates a very good YA read and I can't wait to read more in Kiss and Make Up!(less)

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Dec 04, 2010 Nic rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, young-adult

Diary of a Crush was kind of crappy.

This book is written in diary enteries and it sometimes lacked emotion. It was hard to get a feel of what was going on at the beginning. The first half the writing was really choppy and kind of disconnected but the second half had picked up and had a nice flow and started to get that emotional connection that was missing in the first bit.

Edie, she drove me mad. She kept kissing and crushing after Dylan even when he treated her like dirt. The guy is moody and a...more

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Nov 16, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

I really like reading books that are in diary form, and author Sarra Manning doesn't disappoint with the diary of Edie (short for Edith) Wheeler, a sixteen-year old college student living in Manchester, England. I will admit that it was sometimes difficult for me to follow along with this book, mostly due to some terms I wasn't familiar with and situations that are different from those in the United States. Once you realize, however, that A-levels in college ap...more Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

I really like reading books that are in diary form, and author Sarra Manning doesn't disappoint with the diary of Edie (short for Edith) Wheeler, a sixteen-year old college student living in Manchester, England. I will admit that it was sometimes difficult for me to follow along with this book, mostly due to some terms I wasn't familiar with and situations that are different from those in the United States. Once you realize, however, that A-levels in college appear to equal being a Freshman, and that sixteen isn't, in fact, too young to be attending college when college appears to be another word for high school, and that some social situations "across the pond" are very different than you're used to, you'll get into the rhythm of FRENCH KISS quite easily.

Edie has fallen in love at first sight with Dylan, a guy in her Photography class. The problem is that she isn't the only one. Her good friend, Shona, also seems to have a thing for him, and it's driving her crazy. Add to that the fact that Mia, a crazy-popular girl that Edie has been talking with has a thing going with Paul, Dylan's best friend, and it gets a little complicated. But that's not the end of it. Mia is using Edie to get Paul off her back so she can get with Dylan, Shona wants to be with Paul but thinks Edie likes him, and Dylan is kissing with Edie but having intimate conversations with Mia. Yes, it's truly a complicated situation.

As the class gears up to take a trip to Paris, things with Dylan seem to be alternately heating up and cooling off. They can't seem to keep their hands off of each other when they're alone, and yet around anyone else Dylan only treats her like a friend. Even though she's patched things up with Shona, Mia is still in the picture, and Edie is getting tired of it all.

Before these teens leave the most romantic city in the world, some things will have to come to a head. Ultimatums will be made, friendships will be either solidified or ruined, and Edie will learn once and for all if Dylan is the love of her life. FRENCH KISS is a fun, easy read that will have you rooting for this great couple, and hoping that Mia, with her dirty tricks, will be shown for what she really is by the end of the book. (less)

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Oct 11, 2007 Annie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone .

This book was about a girl named Edie who's new at going to collage. She firsts explains how she feels like a stranger on the campus. She goes to class and takes her courses, like Art. On the first few days, when she describes how she thinks she is invisible, a girl named Mia talks to her. As the book goes on, she learns more about Mia and turns out to dislike her. Edie makes other friends like Shona who has her back in everything. Throughout the book, Edie talks about her love for her fellow cl...more

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May 15, 2013 Lyndsey Rushby rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

After absolutely loving other Sarra Manning books such as Adorkable and Nobody’s Girl, I will read anything she has published now. Whilst I never read this series when it was in J17 magazine, I had heard nothing but good things about it and was dying to read it. Manning has slightly updated this series from when it was first published to make some pop culture references more up to date and current.

As this was something that was first in a magazine, the diary format works really well. I can see...more After absolutely loving other Sarra Manning books such as Adorkable and Nobody’s Girl, I will read anything she has published now. Whilst I never read this series when it was in J17 magazine, I had heard nothing but good things about it and was dying to read it. Manning has slightly updated this series from when it was first published to make some pop culture references more up to date and current.

As this was something that was first in a magazine, the diary format works really well. I can see how well this would have worked in each issue and as the diary entries all vary in length, it would have made for easy and quick reading. This also works in a book format as well because it means you’re never having to wait ages for the end of a chapter if you need to put it down. Instead, you can stop at the end of a diary entry and pick it up again easily. I also found the diary format to give the writing an edge as it was fast paced and punchy.

Diary of a Crush: French Kiss follows Edie and her move to a new home. She finds it difficult at first to fit in at college and seriously misses her old friends back home. Edie is one of those characters who I fell in love with straight away. She’s quirky, different and has a fabulous dress sense. She wears what she wants, even if it means a posh looking dress with her favourite converse. At 16, I definitely wasn’t that sure about what I wanted to wear and how I wanted to be portrayed. I think 16 is also a scary age to move and to have to start over again but I think Edie coped pretty well.

The friends she does make at college though are older than her. At 19, they have more life experience, have had more relationships etc and have more maturity (at times anyway). Dylan is the brooding bad boy who everyone seems to love. Dylan’s behaviour gave Edie every single reason to be angsty over him. One minute he seems to want her, the next he doesn’t and then he does again. What a way to mess with a girl’s head, especially one three years younger and with very little experience. This book gets the idea of mixed signals spot on and I was thinking does he/ doesn’t he the whole way through. As annoying as Dylan was though, I did love him a little bit. It was clear did he did like Edie but was just torn about what the best thing to do was.

Secondary characters also help to show the kinds of relationships and friendships teenagers have. Some of the funniest moments were between Edie, Mia and Shona. I remember having bitchy fights with my friends as a teenager and these scenes made me think back to these times. These characters also made me think about the boyfriend swapping, boy drama and going behind other people’s backs in order to get what you wanted. Being a teenager was so dramatic. Manning gets the voice of a teenager perfectly right too, honing in on all of the emotions that can be felt and the mood swings which are inevitable.

The additional setting of Paris made this book even more perfect for me. I remember going away on both a school trip to Germany and then a college trip to Prague and this book brought back so many memories. The trip is what helped to really explore the relationship between Edie and Dylan. Before the trip, the pair had been having a very informal kind of fling, with random kissing going on. Edie wants more but Dylan seems quite happy with what they have. There isn’t much actual talking before the trip to Paris so it was nice to see the pair on a deeper level.

Diary of a Crush: French Kiss is a wonderful book about teenagers and one that is very entertaining. I can’t wait to read the other two books in the trilogy.
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Apr 18, 2013 Amber rated it 3 of 5 stars

Original review can be found at http://themilelongbookshelf.blogspot.com

Edie and Dylan meet in Photography class at college. From the first scene that Dylan is in, we can see that he is a player and doesn't particularly care for anyone's feelings. However, Edie becomes a little obsessed with him and starts going out with Josh to try and get rid of her feelings for Dylan. I felt really sorry for Josh as he seemed nice and he genuinely cared for Edie, unlike Dylan. The scene where Edie ungratefull...more Original review can be found at http://themilelongbookshelf.blogspot.com

Edie and Dylan meet in Photography class at college. From the first scene that Dylan is in, we can see that he is a player and doesn't particularly care for anyone's feelings. However, Edie becomes a little obsessed with him and starts going out with Josh to try and get rid of her feelings for Dylan. I felt really sorry for Josh as he seemed nice and he genuinely cared for Edie, unlike Dylan. The scene where Edie ungratefully accepts a gift from Josh for their one month anniversary was cringe-worthy and I felt empathy for Josh. The whole book was basically a massive love triangle - Josh loved Edie, Edie loved Dylan, Dylan loved Edie and Mia, Mia loved Paul, Shona loved Paul, Paul loved Mia and Shona...it goes on.

I really liked the diary format of the book as it was easy to tell the timeline of events. However, it was a bit hard to understand the intentions of some characters through the diary. For example, at the beginning of the book, Dylan and Shona are all over each other. But then it becomes apparent that they are just good friends and Shona becomes best friends with Edie. At first, I was a bit sceptical of Shona as it seemed like she might be trying to get gossip about Dylan from Edie to use against her, but then I realised their friendship was real and they actually made a nice addition to the book.

The cover is really nicely designed and I love the mixture of a real photo with an illustration. It stands out well and is different from other book covers.

A slight disappointment that I had with this book was that there didn't seem to be any real plot, and there were no twists in the story to keep me reading. I only continued reading because I'm one of those people who have to finish a book, whether it's good or not. The story was basically just Edie and Dylan slowly realising their love for each other. It was a nice, quick read but it didn't seem to have any real substance. There was some great potential and I liked Edie and Shona as characters, but I just don't feel this book was as good as it could have been. Sarra Manning is actually one of my favourite authors, but sadly this book just wasn't for me! 3/5.(less)

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Jan 01, 2013 Kat rated it 5 of 5 stars

Edith, Edie para todos por favor, se muda obligada por el trabajo
de sus padres. Y lo odia. Sus compañeros ni si quiera le dirigen la palabra.
Pero entonces, se inscribe en el curso de fotografía y entonces, conoce a Dylan: Ojos verdes. Cabello marron chocolate desordenado ~~en el cual quieres pasar tus dedos y ordenarlo~~ y una actitud desaliñada. Un apuesto chico.

Muy apuesto.

Y entonces, Edie se vuelve loca por él. Pero, claro, las cosas con este chico empiezan bien, pero todo es un total desastre d...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Zoe rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, ya

This book was surprisingly good.

I didn’t actually know what this book was about, and was kind of dreading it. I’m not into diary stories much. But the first paragraph grabbed me for the very simple reason that I too went to university/college before I was eighteen, and it was awkward as hell.

Edie starts off as a shy, overwhelmed, klutz. But enough time spent with her emotionally unstable college pals and she is sharpening up in no time. I liked that she learns quickly that she had to be her ow...more

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Apr 29, 2012 GW rated it 2 of 5 stars

In a way, this book was really similar to her other one, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me ...but not as good. It definitely felt too long, and parts were dragged on and on. Edie is such a sad and dramatic character. She's just so - ugh. I didn't like her character at all. She pretty much just used Josh. I felt really bad for Josh, and the rest of the characters I didn't really care much about. The only other two characters that I really liked were Nat and Trent. They're always there for Edie ju...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Viva La rated it 2 of 5 stars

real rating: 1.5

Okay, i though this would be a good book, thinking it would be funny (like how meg cabot wrote the princess diaries) but the writing at the beginning was pretty blunt and choppy-ish, and didn't really flow. It did pick up afterwards, but didn't sound really like a diary anymore. Anyway, the problems i had with this book was how much Edith went on and on and on and on about Dylan. that's it. there was nothing else happening in the book apart from Dylan kissing her every 5 seconds...more real rating: 1.5

Okay, i though this would be a good book, thinking it would be funny (like how meg cabot wrote the princess diaries) but the writing at the beginning was pretty blunt and choppy-ish, and didn't really flow. It did pick up afterwards, but didn't sound really like a diary anymore. Anyway, the problems i had with this book was how much Edith went on and on and on and on about Dylan. that's it. there was nothing else happening in the book apart from Dylan kissing her every 5 seconds and then dissing her out completely. it was just going round in circles "dylan kissed me so hard and deeply bla bla bla the next day he gave me a cold look bla bla bla why is he doing this to me? i love him so much! bla bla bla dylan kissed me again i kissed him back but then he dissed me again bla bla bla i'm so sad! why is he being like this bla bla bla he kissed me again!"
I did keep reading on, because i'm the sort of person that has to know how a book turns out, plus, strangely enough, i did read most of it without skimming, probably because the book was short, there wasn't a lot of boring descriptions to read, and i did like the dialogue between the characters. Still though, nothing really ever happened, nothing significant anyhow, it seemed like sarra manning didn't really know what to write, and just kept repeating stuff to fill out the book.
I also didn't like Dylan at all, yeah, he was meant to be hot, but i felt nothing for him cause he was a total douchebag. He kept kissing Edith, and it was clearly obvious he liked her a lot, getting jealous and all that, but didn't want to be with her exclusively cause she didn't wanna sleep with him and because he liked mia too apparently. the mia thing annoyed the hell outta me, there was nothing to show he liked her, did he kiss mia like that too? all i know was that he had a thing for her. it just didn't seem like he even liked mia!
And why did he ALWAYS treat edith like crap after kissing her???? and then have the audacity to question her when she kissed other guys and stuff??? why would she like someone who was a total jerk??? she told him she wanted him, and he was "oh i cant be with you" crap.(less)

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Jun 21, 2011 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

Reading this was purely as nostalgia trip for me as I am sadly old enough to remember not only when this was seralised in my all-time-favourite teen girls magazine J17 - which, sadly, no longer exists - but to also remember way back when Just 17 changed format, shape, style AND title to become J17. I loved J17 oodles more than Sugar or Bliss or More because it felt more real, less condescending and infinitely more interesting. And just all around cooler, quite simply.

This is the first book in th...more

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Jun 13, 2011 Fiona rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: junior-year

Edie, a junior taking college classes to do her A levels has fallen hard in love with a boy named Dylan, a college student. They take the same photography class which brings them a bit closer together. That is until things go crazy, and Edie suddenly realizes that she's actually really into him. She doesn't know how to react with him or anything so she just doesn't speak. When the time comes for a trip to Paris, Edie and Dylan start talking a lot. Both characters have a thing for each other but...more

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Mar 08, 2010 Joanne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-contemporary

New town, new college, new people, Edie's feeling overwhelmed. What if nobody wants to be her friend? But then something happens that turns her life upside down: Edie spots Dylan. Messy-haired, pouty, frustratingly elusive Dylan. It's love at first sight!

Fast forward to the college trip to Paris and things are really hotting up. In between the shopping, the clubbing, the kissing and the making up, something happens between Edie and Dylan that changes both their lives for ever...But do toxic boys...more New town, new college, new people, Edie's feeling overwhelmed. What if nobody wants to be her friend? But then something happens that turns her life upside down: Edie spots Dylan. Messy-haired, pouty, frustratingly elusive Dylan. It's love at first sight!

Fast forward to the college trip to Paris and things are really hotting up. In between the shopping, the clubbing, the kissing and the making up, something happens between Edie and Dylan that changes both their lives for ever...But do toxic boys like Dylan ever play for keeps? From Amazon UK

Oh, there are no words to describe how much I loved this book! I finished this book yesterday, but I was on too high a buzz to actually form coherent sentences to write the review, so decided to wait until today, but I'm still struggling on how to talk about this book without just repeating "EEEE IT WAS SO GOOD!" in several different ways, and just general unintelligible gushing. But I will try.

I really like the way in which this book was written; there aren't any chapters, it's all diary entries. But these diary entries could be anything from half a page long to several pages long. It
really annoyed me at first, simply because sometimes there were too many breaks after not much being said, and it also left me thinking "just one more chapter" would be pretty hard to judge. But as the story goes on, the diary entries get longer, and become more of what I'd consider an acceptable chapter length, and I actually started to like it! I've read maybe one or two diary-like novels before, but this is the only one where I've actually enjoyed the fact that it was a diary.

Edie was a great character, but she did annoy me a few times. The girl is 16, she's now at college studying her A-levels, so no longer a school girl - yet she seems to have forgotten this. She talks about how "boy shapes" suffer with "boy disease", and I just kept wanting to shake her, and shout "You're not 12!" And a few times she had these angsty, mopey periods over Dylan which I just felt were more the behaviour of a younger teenager, especially when considering all her friends were 19 - surely you would try to act a little more maturer?

I managed to forgive her all that because of Dylan. Who could fail to be all angsty over the gorgeous Dylan? There was so much sexual tension in this novel, you could have cut it with a knife. He's a bit of a bad boy, but not in that he's mean or gets up to no good, just he simply can't make up his mind! He likes Edie, but not enough to to commit to her - yet he can't stay away from her, and always ends up cornering her for a kiss. Talk about mixed signals! The boy wanted to have his cake and eat it, and ohhh, I wanted to slap him so many times! But this is partially why I enjoyed this book so much - it was real. Things like this do happen; girls get angsty, guys can be infuriating, and even though I wanted to slap them both sometimes, when they were together and not arguing, it was just the most sweetest thing!

The other characters in the book were also pretty cool; Nat and Trent, Edie's gay friends, were awesome in that they were always there for her no matter what. They were just lovely! Shona I had trouble working out at first; she was elusive, then she was nice, then she wasn't, then she was. I always thought, until the French trip, that she was up to something. I didn't realise it was actually Mia who wasn't the one to trust. As Edie so nicely puts it, "Mia est une grande vache." (Mia is a big cow). There was one point when even the secondary characters were a little off with Edie, because they thought she went a little far in one argument with Dylan, but I have to say, I was cheering her on so much. Dylan need not have been such a pig at times.

Oh, I really loved this book! It's now official; Sarra Manning is one of my favourite authors. If you haven't read this book yet, you really need to! Now I just have to get my hands on a copy of Kiss and Make Up.

From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog(less)

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Apr 20, 2009 Steph Su rated it 1 of 5 stars

This is, quite literally as the title says, a diary of a crush, a crush that’s probably very obsessive as Edie is completely immersed into it. 16-year-old Edie’s family has just moved to a new town. Edie finds her new classmates hard to know, but there are several who intrigue her most. One of them is Dylan, the hot but moody artist who’s the guy of every girl’s dreams. The other is Shona, Dylan’s best girl friend since childhood, a cool girl who’s got it all together.

Edie develops an epic crush...more

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May 20, 2013 Jenny / Wondrous Reads rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: uk-author, for-review

I first read parts of the Diary of a Crush series when it was serialised monthly in J17 magazine many years ago, then when it was published in novel format in 2004. I loved it the first time round and when I saw that it was being republished and updated, I was pretty excited. I won't lie. Nostalgia is the first feeling I got when I re-read it; I think I was in college the first time so I was a lot younger, maybe seventeen. I've changed a lot since then, as has my reading tastes, but I still enjo...more I first read parts of the Diary of a Crush series when it was serialised monthly in J17 magazine many years ago, then when it was published in novel format in 2004. I loved it the first time round and when I saw that it was being republished and updated, I was pretty excited. I won't lie. Nostalgia is the first feeling I got when I re-read it; I think I was in college the first time so I was a lot younger, maybe seventeen. I've changed a lot since then, as has my reading tastes, but I still enjoyed French Kiss. I wasn't sure if I would, but that old love for Edie and Dylan is still there.

Reading it again at age twenty-six, I noticed some things I didn't notice when I was first introduced to Edie and her super crush on Dylan. For starters, I now see just how obsessed Edie is with him. It's obsession to the point of irritation, but I suppose that's what crushes are like, aren't they? Though I must admit, I've never semi-stalked anyone like Edie has - that must definitely be a teenage thing! Also, Dylan is seriously *such* an idiot! He treats Edie so badly, often with no explanation as to why and, honestly, it's a miracle she continued to pursue him. Though, hey, teenage boys are very hard to figure out - am I right?!

I also picked up on the writing, and how it's not the best I've ever read. Still, it was Sarra Manning's first foray into writing anything expect magazine articles and, when you bear that in mind, it's good. Easy to read and fairly simple, but good and enjoyable all the same. Sarra Manning writes like she's still a teen herself; she knows all the ins and outs of their minds, what clothes they wear and what's popular. She's nothing if not authentic.

In this updated edition, some pop culture references have been changed (bye bye Leo DiCaprio, hello Ryan Gosling), bits of her writing has been tweaked (I think she mentioned some dodgy sentence structures in her author notes) and Edie and Dylan have generally been brought forward by a decade and a bit. It's about time this got an overhaul, as now it will appeal to a whole new teenage audience who probably haven't even heard of J17 magazine! Wow, now I feel old...

Anyway, if you read the original when it was published, then I suggest you pick up a copy of this edition and re-read it. The nostalgia will be in full force, along with a glaring realisation that you're glad you're no longer a teenager, consumed by drama and boys who have sticky up hair and a nonchalant attitude. I may even buy the next two books in this series and see what other changes have been made. I just can't help myself!(less)

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Apr 26, 2013 Arjun Thakrar (Excellent Reads) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For me this is one of those book thats quite a bit out of my comfort zone. Something I don't usually read, but I'm always open minded, so I dove in, headfirst, completely ready for the book and I loved it. Every now and then It's nice to take a breather. Read a short, funny lighthearted book and this was all of those things. It was fun, quirky and had some laugh out loud moments. No gothic themes or knee deep plots. Simple, airy and a pleasure to read.

Seeing as I've never read any of Manning's s...more For me this is one of those book thats quite a bit out of my comfort zone. Something I don't usually read, but I'm always open minded, so I dove in, headfirst, completely ready for the book and I loved it. Every now and then It's nice to take a breather. Read a short, funny lighthearted book and this was all of those things. It was fun, quirky and had some laugh out loud moments. No gothic themes or knee deep plots. Simple, airy and a pleasure to read.

Seeing as I've never read any of Manning's stuff before, this is definitely a gateway for more. The plot were brilliant. It had me interested every part of the way and I loved it. It wasn't heavy in the slightest but still kept you thirsty for more. It moved quick, and although a romance had the appeal to both boys and girls.

The writing was really nice to read. Considering it's meant to be a diary the perfect amount of detail was put in whilst keeping it diaryish and still as though it was written by a teenage girl. The description was perfect and I loved the way having it like a diary helped it open up to reveal much more personal aspects of Edie's life. I feel that the more I know a characters the more I love the book.

The characters in this were brilliant! By the midway point every character you know is flipped and the complete opposite and all of the sudden the people you like you hate and the people you hate you like, say for Edie. The characters were created so cleverly and developed in such a way that they instantly materialise in your mind. There weren't too many which we extremely nice and I felt as though they were definitely right in my mind.
My favourite character has to be Shona. Even though we're initially meant to hate her she's essentially the peacekeeper between Dylan and Edie and once you get to know her she's an instantly likeable person.

Overall this is a beautiful, lighthearted quick read that make you want to read more. I couldn't put it down and by the time I was finished I was ready for book 2. Perfect.
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Sep 23, 2012 Nea Barabea rated it 3 of 5 stars

French Kiss is the first book in the serie Diary of a Crush. It starts with Edie moving to Manchester and everything is new and she feels very shy about everything. And the she sees him. Her whole world changes. She fall in love with Dylan.

Edie. Edie was a sweet and funny character. She is really cool. And she loves to shop - so if you're a shopaholic you'll love this book ;) She is also a nice girl who gets thrown in the middle of the drama between her new friends Dylan, Shona, Mia and Paul. He...more

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Jun 25, 2011 Em-em rated it 5 of 5 stars

When Edie and Dylan first met an instant attraction sparked between the two of them. As perfect as Dylan seems he has flaws that drives Edie insane and they continue to fight with each other. A trip to Paris will test both Edie and Dylan. The more they continue to fight with each other to more they realize that they can't keep their hands off each other.

This book is really cute. I had fun reading this. This is truly a realistic book. This is different kind of book because it is diary and I can o...more When Edie and Dylan first met an instant attraction sparked between the two of them. As perfect as Dylan seems he has flaws that drives Edie insane and they continue to fight with each other. A trip to Paris will test both Edie and Dylan. The more they continue to fight with each other to more they realize that they can't keep their hands off each other.

This book is really cute. I had fun reading this. This is truly a realistic book. This is different kind of book because it is diary and I can only get a glimpse of what Edie feels and her perspective with the things that happened to her. There were times that I was confused especially the part where everyone seems to hate her but they it was all cleared in the other part of the book. What is very interesting in this book is that the guy lead character is not perceived as a perfect guy. Dylan is just like every guy that we meet everyday except for the part where he is really good looking. There were really times that I hated Dylan because he is being manipulative. He can't seem to make up his mind. In addition to this there's Edie who becomes dumb the moment she sees Dylan. thank goodness that the girl started having a backbone in the middle of the book. When she started telling Dylan a piece of her mind I was like good for you way to go tell him. I was always rooting for Edie it is because I saw that she really did grow up in the book. In the beginning she was this love struck girl who can't even talk to Dylan and was always being pushed around by people like Mia. But as the story progresses she was able to stand up for herself. The character that I really hate was Mia. She is the epitome of evil. She seduces other people's boyfriends and makes stories about everyone especially about Edie. Gosh! I just want to strangle this girl. This girl is the picture of a girl who lacks self-esteem.

Five out of five is what this book deserves for its realistic take on a teenager's story about growing up, friendship, family and love!(less)

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Apr 19, 2013 Daniella rated it 3 of 5 stars

"When I'm alone inside my head, I have these amazing conversations with Dylan and I'm funny and intelligent and just a little bit quirky. But in reality I know that I'm just a stupid, dump girl who's too chicken to even speak to him."

If I was 15 again, I'd give this 4 stars. But, I'm 22. That's not to say I didn't enjoy this. I'm a huge fan of chick-lit, it gets me through the night, and I'm an avid fan of Sarra Manning. Diary entry novels usually annoy me, and I feel like I never get the entire...more

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Dec 20, 2008 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

French Kiss is about a girl named Edie. Edie is a 17 year old girl in a love triangle. She is dating a boy named Josh but she likes another guy named Dylan. Her main internal conflict i dealing with Dylan. Dylan is a college boy. Edie seems like she can't stay away from him. Her external conflict is with Josh Josh is her current boyfriend , but she is all the way in paris and he is in where ever she lives. The setting takes place in Paris.
During this book I made a text to world connection. Som...more

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Oct 19, 2010 Ayesha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: to-re-read, thank-god-for-public-libraries

I wonder if British people get confused when they read American authors who write about the intricacies of school/college/popular vernacular. Ha. Reading French Kiss, aside from being one of the most enjoyable detours into sweet fictional oblivion I've ever taken, was a lot of fun just running into expressions every now and then and bein' all, "Huh?" Makes you appreciate what non-Americans must go through reading American authors.

The book itself, you ask? I'm almost ashamed to admit that I Love...more

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Jun 18, 2011 Joy (joyous reads) rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, flounced-can-t-continue

I can't even...I can't--I have no words other than I cannot finish this. I'm at page 42 and I have to stop. I'm so sorry. I don't want to be mean but I'm one of those readers who takes on the character as if it were me. Edie--oh my girlfriend, I know you're young and all but I hope and pray YOU DO NOT EXIST in real life. She's as flaky as flake can be. Shallow and a pushover when it comes to Dylan. She was just plain unlikeable.

Dylan. Good Lord. I've never developed such hatred for a love inter...more

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Mar 12, 2010 Pamela Todd rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-mg

New town, unrequited love, no real friends...sucks to be Edie, right? Just wait. Things are about to heat up, and fast!

I first discovered Edie and her band of misfits and heart-throb art students way back when - all the way back to the days of the teen hit magazine Just Seventeen, when every month I would rush straight to Edie's diary and devour it over and over again. So when, a few months ago whilst browsing online, I discovered all the magazine excerpts had been published into a book! All th...more

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Dec 25, 2012 Jianne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ibooks, fangirl-for

This is a fun, humorous yet filled with ups and downs book. First of all, Edie's voice is just so entertaining. Just like a real fangirl obsessing over a hot boy. I can totally relate.

However, it just has a lot of ups and downs. Like a real roller coaster ride. And I really hate those characters who don't know what they want and just end up manipulating other characters. Needless to say, no matter how hot and attractive Dylan is (and I suspect they're British, all the more reason for my knees to...more

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Jan 22, 2010 Huiling_mei rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 11, 2013 Misty rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, recieved-for-review

French kiss was a fun, short read. Although I found it slightly immature for me - the protagonist is only fourteen - I did enjoy this book, its was a nice light read and was perfect after I'd just finished working my way through a big series.
Edie's slightly dramatic and immature at times but she was a nice character to read and I can just imagine her sitting down and writing the things we read in her diary, if you didn't already know, this book is written as her diary.
I didn't always like Dylan,...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Trisha rated it 1 of 5 stars

This reminded me a lot of Bridge Jones diary. Not only is it told through diary entries, but this girl just seems neurotic.

She can't seem to breath or think around Dylan and makes a fool of herself constantly. She starts at a new school and struggles to make friends. When she's suddenly befriended by Mia, she is brought into Dylan circle - of crazy girls, backstabbing and girlfriend swapping. It was hard to keep up who was kissing who and who was mad and just...yeah, it was all crazy.

But she j...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Unholy Unicorn rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-lit, half-troll-half-rag, epistolary-novel, hearts-and-flowers, insta-love, just-kill-me-now, lost-the-will-to-live, mediocri3-is-a-sin, what-kind-of-ending-was-that, young-adult

I was wondering if I would ever came across another book that will capture my heart in the same way that Anna and the French Kiss did. I just want to

and somehow feel

so I could do my happy dance

but this book

it's not...

it's NOT it!

One day. One day I'll find a book that will have a special place in my heart which I can equate with love, just like Anna and the French Kiss.

~~And when I find that book, I'm positive that it doesn't involve Manning's troll characters.~~

With that being said, let us have a mo...more

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Oct 19, 2012 -A rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked it. After heavy stuff like James Patterson's 'Along Came a Spider' this was very refreshing.

I liked how it was written as a diary - it made it feel more personal and it was easier to relate to the main character.
The story was interesting and fast-moving, the characters were interesting, well developed. Sure, you can't really avoid some clichees but since they didn't dominate in any way, I guess it's fine.

I liked that the story showed how basic things can be misinterpreted - happens all t...more

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French Kiss (Diary of a Crush #1)

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