Pages As Planes: France

If there is one place in the world that totally and completely lives up to the hype, it’s France. I have always had a fascination with the country and it’s one that is so richly represented in books. It seems that Paris means a little something to everyone, in some way.

In today’s installment of Pages As Planes, we are headed to the City of Love and more as we board our literary jet and head off to France.

YA

The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordan H. Taylor—This came highly recommended by friend Alex! It’s told in dual timeline and follows a 16 year old girl who was left a previously unmentioned apartment in Paris by her late grandmother. The second timeline is from her grandmother’s POV when she was 16 in Nazi Occupied France.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins—I think this is a favorite of all time for so many people! Anna is can’t wait for her perfect senior year of high school at home in Atlanta, until her father sends her to boarding school in France. She meets Etienne, a charming French boy and a series of romantic near misses ensue.

My Grape Year by Laura Bradbury—Another exchange story! Laura heads to Burgundy, France for a year abroad and ends up falling for a charming French beau, but her host family has a no dating rule. Best of all, it’s a trilogy!

One Summer in Paris by Sarah Morgan—A story of unlikely friendship and new beginnings! Grace has planned the trip of a lifetime only to have her husband ask for a divorce. She meets Audrey, a young woman from London who also has a broken heart. They both live above a bookshop and discover that among heartache, we can find healing in the most unlikely of places.

Historical Fiction

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah—We all know I LOVE Kristin Hannah, but I haven’t read this one yet! It’s soon to be a film and my sources tell me this is one of the most beautiful and epic tales of sisters during WWII France.

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff—Inspired by true events, The Lost Girls of Paris tell the story of a group of heroic female secret agents sent from London to Occupied Europe during the war. They were couriers and radio operators to aid the resistance but mysteriously never returned home.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr —This book is a TOME and quite epic. It is about a blind French girl and German boy who’s paths cross during the Second World War in Nazi Occupied France.

The Paris Wife by Paula McClain—”Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.” —from the publisher

Romance

The Little Vineyard in Provence by Ruth Kelly—”Ava needs to escape.Stuck in a dead-end job, her husband Mark has left her with a mountain of debt and no clue as to when he'll be back.When she receives the news that her grandfather has passed away, Ava is shocked to learn he has left his entire vineyard, Chateau Saint Clair, to her.Fresh coffee and croissants for breakfast, a glass of red with the handsome local waiter Jacques; Ava starts to feel quite at home. But it would be madness to walk away from her marriage, to take a chance on a place she fell for as a child - wouldn't it?” —from the publisher

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George—This book is pure magic and a true love letter to book lovers. It follows Monsieur Perdu and his floating bookshop on the Seine. A moment of curiosity takes him on a journey through the country’s rivers, sharing his books and his heart with people along the way.

Paris Letters by Janice MacLeod—”Exhausted and on the verge of burnout, Janice poses this questions to herself as she doodles on a notepad at her desk. Surprisingly, the answer isn't as daunting as she expected. With a little math and a lot of determination, Janice cuts back, saves up, and buys herself two years of freedom in Europe. A few days into her stop in Paris, Janice meets Christophe, the cute butcher down the street-who doesn't speak English. Through a combination of sign language and franglais, they embark on a whirlwind Paris romance. She soon realizes that she can never return to the world of twelve-hour workdays and greasy corporate lingo. But her dwindling savings force her to find a way to fund her dreams again. So Janice turns to her three loves-words, art, and Christophe-to figure out a way to make her happily-ever-after in Paris last forever.” —from the publisher

The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain—A bookseller named Laurant discovers an abandoned purse with no clues to the owner except a red notebook. It is quintessential romance as he sets out to find this one woman in a city of millions.

Fiction

A Year in Provence by Peter Maylee—A classic! I couldn’t describe it any better: “In this witty and warm-hearted account, Peter Mayle tells what it is like to realize a long-cherished dream and actually move into a 200-year-old stone farmhouse in the remote country of the Lubéron with his wife and two large dogs. He endures January's frosty mistral as it comes howling down the Rhône Valley, discovers the secrets of goat racing through the middle of town, and delights in the glorious regional cuisine. A Year in Provence transports us into all the earthy pleasures of Provençal life and lets us live vicariously at a tempo governed by seasons, not by days.” —from the publisher

Paris is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay—A hilarious and heartfelt novel of a woman who retraces her steps across Europe from 7 years ago, when she took off on a post graduate backpacking adventure. It’s a story of reconnecting with oneself and finding love in the most expected of places.

The Paris Library by Janet Charles— Another fun story told in dual timeline and about book lovers! Book lovers must all reside in the city of love. in 1939, Odile has her dream job at The American Library in Paris. When the Nazis invade, she stands to lose everything and joins the Resistance to protect what is dearest to her. In Monday 1983, a lost teenager named Lily connects with her elderly neighbor over a shared longing and history.

If you have a favorite that I didn’t include in this list, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a comment and I’ll have to add it to my never ending TBR.

Be sure to catch up on our previous destinations! New York, Alaska, and Italy.