Bonjour Girl | CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Volume XXV / Issue 11 - November 16 / 2018

Bonjour Girl

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Bonjour Girl

Author:

Isabelle Laflèche

Toronto, ON: Dundurn, 201

286 pp., trade pbk., pdf & epub, $14.99 (pbk.)

ISBN:

978-1-4597-4200-0 (pbk.)

978-1-4597-4201-7 (pdf)

978-1-4597-4202-4 (epub)

Grades:

9 and up

Ages:

14 and up

Review by:

Sarah Wethered

Excerpt:

My name is Clementine. Yes, like the fruit. I like to think that I’m tangy and just the right amount of sweet. My parents named me after one of their favourite colours. I know, it sounds cheesy but they’re both kind of artsy-fartsy so I guess they just couldn’t help it.

My father’s a businessman from Beijing. He moved to Paris to open a shop that sells men’s clothing and rare books. He wasn’t thrilled about allowing his only daughter to leave Europe. New York is different. I get it: it’s the big city. Thankfully, my mother’s cousin Madeleine, a.k.a. Maddie, who’s ten years younger than my mom and teaches at Parsons, helped me find ways to convince him.

Maddie promised to take good care of me and even offered the spare bedroom in her cool Williamsburg apartment. I really lucked out – she lives in a huge loft with a stunning studio, where she keeps all of her stunning fashion collections. I just hope she lets me wear some of her precious things.

Clementine wants to be a fashion blogger and has convinced her over-protective parents to allow her to move from Paris to New York to attend the very competitive and prestigious Parsons School of Design. She becomes fast friends with Jake who wants to create clothing for disabled people. Through her cousin, Maddie, Clementine meets and starts dating Jonathan, a fashion photographer. Unfortunately, Clementine is bullied by Stella, a classmate who is jealous of Clementine and Jake’s talent. Clementine must gather her friends together to help when her reputation and Jake’s fashion collection are at risk.

Bonjour Girl is a fast-paced contemporary story that examines the life of a student leaving home for the first time. Clementine must adapt to living in a new country without her parents. She tries desperately to fit into Parsons but must keep the relationship with her cousin Maddie a secret as some classmates may feel that she, Clementine, only got into Parsons because of nepotism. She struggles to keep up with her classwork and to live up to the standards of Parsons. This struggle to fit in is relatable to many students.

The cyberbullying aspect of this novel is compelling, and readers will want to know what happens to both Clementine and Jake. The cyberbullying is realistic and demonstrates ways that people who are bullied can react and ask for help. This storyline is refreshing in a book that is essentially a love letter to fashion.

I recommend Bonjour Girl to fans of Sarah Dessen and Meg Cabot, as well as Sophie Kinsella’s “Shopaholic” series. Clementine is a smart, strong female character who stands by her friends and stands up to bullies. The diversity of the characters (Caucasian, Asian, LGBTQ, disabled) will also be a strong draw to many different readers.

Recommended

Reviewer:

Sarah Wethered has been a teacher-librarian at New Westminster Secondary School for 18 years, and she currently lives in New Westminster, British Columbia.