Title: The French Impressionist
Author: Rebecca Bischoff
Publication date: December 6th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Rosemary is fifteen and gloriously free, on her own for the very first time. Part of an exchange program for aspiring artists, she arrives in sunny southern France with a single goal: she doesn’t plan to leave, ever. She wants a new life, a new family, and a new identity. But her situation, crafted from lies big and small, is precarious.
Desperate to escape haunting images from her past and a stage one helicopter parent, Rosemary struggles to hide her lack of artistic talent and a communication disorder that has tormented her all her life. She believes her dream of a new start will come true, until she unwittingly finds herself enveloped in a decades-old mystery that threatens to ruin her only chance for success. Determined to stay, Rosemary must choose whether or not she’ll tell the biggest lie of all, even if it means destroying the life of someone she cares about.
Dramatic, heartwarming, and full of teenage angst, The French Impressionist perfectly captures the struggle of those who feel they have no voice, and also shows the courage it takes to speak up and show the world who we really are.
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‘France’ and ‘communication disorder’. Those three words made me sign up for this blog tour. One of my favourite settings for stories is Europe, I just absolutely love them. And I’ve always loved reading about characters with disorders.
Of course, I also had my doubts about this. It didn’t help that I could only really find the mood to read this book after the second time. Rosemary lied to get to where she was, and she continued lying throughout the book. Normally, that alone would’ve put me off, because nothing good ever come out of lying, especially if it is for something as big as that, and I didn’t know if I could handle it; the frustration and the second hand mortification I would feel when everything is revealed. But then, ‘FRANCE’!
I’m glad I was able to get into this book, because it wasn’t so bad at all. In fact, it managed to make me laugh. But then again, it’s easy to make me laugh. Sure, I couldn’t really connect to Rosemary, and I find her annoying at times and it was hard for me to sympathize with her, but I think the book is still worth it to go through all of that. At least once.
I would recommend this book to YA readers who love contemporary, especially books about teens going abroad to Europe. Although, I think artist readers might want to stay clear or read at the risk of feeling frustration, annoyance and outrage.
I rate this book 3 stars.
Author Bio:
Rebecca Bischoff currently resides in Idaho with her family and works as a speech-language pathologist. She loves helping others, especially kids and teenagers, discover their own unique voices and learn to share who they are with the world. When she isn’t writing, she loves to read, spend time with her kids, and make awkward attempts to learn foreign languages. She is drawn to all things both French and Italian, used bookstores, and anything made out of chocolate.
GIVEAWAY!
(A signed copy of The French Impressionist, a $50 Amazon gift card, and a box of macaroons)
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