A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

 

An awkward kid goes on a 3-week school trip to Europe in 1989 in this "embarassingly true" memoir. Dan Santat is an illustrator, so it was natural for him to write up his teenage memories into a graphic novel. In this book, Dan is off on a trip to Paris, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and England. He doesn't have any friends signed up for the trip, and doesn't even want to go, but his parents want him to see the world and he is eager to shed his middle school humiliations and missteps. As he travels from country to country, his friendship with Amy turns into his first romantic relationship, and it is helped and hindered by the other kids on the trip. He also experiences an amount of freedom that kids today would never enjoy--and along with it he has some harrowing adventures. It is rare to find a romance story for middle schoolers that is about kids who are 13 years old. The illustrations beautifully capture the sights of Europe, and the writing is full of humor and compassion for the kid that Dan once was. A wonderful story about first love and so much more that is perfect for middle schoolers (and anyone who ever was that age). 

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

It’s hard to feel sorry for Anna—she is spending her senior year of high school at a boarding school right in the middle of Paris where she quickly meets a new group of friends and begins to explore her new city and learns to enjoy the newfound freedom of living on her own. But Anna isn’t happy. Her father forced this new life on her and took her away from her hometown of Atlanta, her best friend Bridgette, and her almost-boyfriend, Toph. At first Anna spends time e-mailing Bridgette and planning her reunion with Toph (the last time she saw him they kissed but she’s not sure where they stand now). But when she meets handsome, charming Étienne St. Clair she can’t stop herself from falling for him. The only problem is that he already has a girlfriend. And even if he didn’t, her new friend Meredith clearly has a long-standing crush on him. But St. Clair seems to like Anna—at least he likes taking her around Paris, going to movies, and sitting by her at every meal. What’s a girl to do in the most romantic city on earth? How can she hide her feelings for him? And how can she be “best friends” with someone she loves so much? This is a predictable yet fun romance with a fine romantic setting and believable characters. Recommended for high school romantics and world travelers.  (FYI—except for some well, French kissing, and teenage drinking this book is pretty innocent. It would be fine for 8th graders on up.)