Anna and the French Kiss Read-Along Discussion #3

The Anna and the French Kiss Read-a-long is hosted by Molli from Once Upon a Prologue and Suz from A Soul Unsung

St Clair knows he needs to make a decision about his relationship with Anna, but his hesitation only hurts her. Do you sympathize with him?

I do. If it were real life, I guarantee you I wouldn’t be so sympathetic, but seeing it from the outside, I can definitely see where he’s coming from. He’s hurting, he’s scared for his mother, he’s mad at his father, and he just wants to hold on to what’s familiar - and that happens to be Ellie. And even though Anna’s there and has been there all year, for some reason it’s just easier to keep things as they are and not have one more big change in his life. My heart hurts for him...even though, like I said, if it were real life, I wouldn't be nearly as patient or understanding - I'd tell him to make up his mind (and preferably choose me...I mean come on, it's St. Clair).

Anna is hurt by St Clair, and makes some bad decisions, relationship wise. Do you sympathize with her, or not?

Again, I do. She can’t understand St. Clair’s hesitation. She’s hurt, and people don’t always make the smartest decisions when they’re hurting or angry.

How would you have reacted in the park if you were Meredith? How do you think Anna handles the fall out with Meredith?

I’m not the type to make a scene, so I don’t think I would have reacted the way Meredith did. If I’d seen them, I likely would have left without them knowing I’d been there and then confront Anna privately or be really cool and not talk to her until she realized what was going on. I think Anna handles it to the best of her ability - it’s a sticky situation. She cares about Meredith and doesn’t want to hurt her, but she’s in love with St. Clair. What do you do in that situation? I don’t know if there’s any right or wrong, and Anna does initially try, but when it doesn’t go well, she kind of gives up, which maybe wasn’t the best way to handle it, but I bet that’s how a lot of people would deal with it.

Anna has a meltdown in chapter 42 – do you think this was a break-through for her?  St Clair tells her that he isn’t the only one who is afraid of being alone. Do you think Anna ever realized this before now?

I think it’s definitely a breath-through. She learns some things about herself, including that she’s afraid of being alone, just like St. Clair. It’s always interesting to watch a character you really like have these big realizations about themselves, and then grow from it.

Were you proud of Anna for the steps she takes to repair the relationships in her life?

Absolutely. I think it takes courage to mend a broken relationship when you feel like you’ve been wronged, or when you know you hurt someone yourself. Hurt feelings and guilt can seem insurmountable, and some people would rather let a friendship go than face things, be honest, forgive, or be forgiven - especially at that age, when everything seems like it's the end of the world. 

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