Paper Toxic

“So what do I wish for? Something I'm not sure I want? Someone I'm not sure I need? Or someone I know I can't have?”



My Rating: 5 stars

Everything was just really, really, really cute. It’s like I can’t even find enough words to say what I exactly think after finishing the book. Because basically, everything is mushed up in my brain right now and I could not, not even for a sliver of a second, think straight. Which makes this review so hard to write. Plus there’s St. Clair. Ohmyfreakinggods. Etienne St. Clair. In Paris. Hot guy. Gorgeous body. Need I say more?

The Cover: Meh. The only reason I picked this book was because of the good reviews it got from everyone. And I’ve always liked YA category, complete with humoristic sense of chockablock paragraphs. Plus, the whole deal was a cynosure in the city of love, Paris and it had always been my dream to fly there. What kind of girl doesn’t? Aside from being completely turned-off with the photoshopped-slash-unrealistic-slash-boring cover, I was totally deranged to have Etienne’s face cropped. And Anna was so much different than how I pictured her. Honestly, this would have done better for a pretty cover.



Overall Plot: I liked how the story went. There was a lot of drama in it but even so, it didn’t feel forced or too surreal to believe in. Everyone was genuine in his or her own way. It was cliché, yes, in a way, but the hackneyed concept of it was gladly hidden behind all those inexplicable glamour that just sets everything burning. It was like I couldn’t stop reading and my mind was just shouting: “Keep reading! Keep reading!” And even when my eyes started to hurt and I had to blink back tears because I was already very sleepy, it was very hard not to tear my eyes away from the pages. It was just plain lovely.

I had always wanted to be in a boarding school abroad, somewhere probably in Europe, and I get to have all these English classmates or French roommates. And I also get to experience different places, try new cultures and just be someone else. While I was reading this, I felt triumphant and very proud of myself. Because even though I really, REALLY, suck at French (and failing it, such a shame), I understood a few basic phrases. I mean, I thought I didn’t learn anything from a class I so hate but love! I learned a lot from the story, like the French cultures and how they don’t wear white shoes (apparently only Americans wear them, so they say). I’m part Russian and part American but I don’t believe a race had to be discriminated by the choice of shoes they wear.

But I can’t deny that I had a lot of laughs whilst reading. There was so much sarcasm and it was killing me with fits of giggles. And I shalt warn thou, don’t ever try to read this while you’re in a public place. Why? This makes you smile out of nowhere, snicker when everyone else is serious (who knows, someone could be dying in front of you) and laugh out loud when everything is as silent as a cockroach. Be in your room and create your own world full of Etienne St. Clairs.

I named my world Etiennelandia.



Not so original is it?

Characters: I fell in love with the characters right from the start. They were so genuine and true to everything and I adore them for that. Anna was a character just as strong as everyone else was. She had her doubts but she proved it in the end that what she worked hard on was worth it. She was such a strong character that she didn’t disappoint me all throughout. She made some mistakes but she knew how to make up for them.

Don’t get me started with Etienne.



Aah. The power of such perfection. It deranges me in every imaginable way. Oh, how I love to imagine his soft hair, his kisses, everything about him. I’m having a huge hangover after that trip to Paris with Anna, Mer, Josh and Rashmi. I couldn’t get St. Clair out of my head. He was all I think about. But the more I think about it, Ellie starts creeping out. Her hands on his hair, her lips on his mouth, on his neck, on his stomach, and Etienne doing the same. Oh god. I’m turning into some psycho-dude that talks trash about some fictional character that doesn’t even know I exist. What’s wrong with me?!

In short: Etienne is so HOT. Multiply that to a thousand.

So, in order for me to move on and accept the fact that Etienne is totally dibs on Banana Elephant, I’ll make myself some chocolat chaud and imagine flying back to Paris, France, right there in Point Zero, standing on the circle and making a wish:
Please don’t let my pretty mother get me striped socks for Christmas. She knows I hate those stuffs but she loves to buy them for me because I make such pleasing sounds of annoyance. Thanks.

Au revoir!