Postcards from France [School & Library Binding]

Megan McNeill Libby (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0613102606 | ISBN-13: 978-0613102605 | Publication Date: May 1998

This rare gem of a book is a teenage girl's witty, warm, and insightful memoir of a year in France. With a quality that is both innocent and wise, high-school junior Megan Libby shares her delightful journey of discovery in a strange country, learning a strange language, and coming of age in the most magical of places.

For readers of all ages, this endearing collection of travel essays will delight lovers of French culture and fans of Peter Mayle's mega-bestseller, A Year in Provence.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up. Libby, a high school junior from Ridgefield, CT, spent the 1994-95 school year in France as an AFS (American Field Service) student. Her account of this year abroad is organized into 12 "postcards." These short chapters cover language, food, school, friendships, dogs, and other aspects of French life. The author is an intelligent, perceptive young woman who writes with style, insight, and a touch of humor. Her book's principal disadvantage is its brevity. Readers will want more, much more detail and information. Nonetheless, Postcards from France is an enjoyable and thought-provoking read that will be useful for French students as well as for all teens who have been, or hope to be involved in foreign exchange/study abroad programs.?Ann W. Moore, Schenectady County Public Library, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 8^-12. Before Connecticut high-schooler Megan Libby leaves to spend her junior year in Valence, France, she arranges to write a monthly column for a local newspaper about her experiences as a foreign exchange student. Those 12 columns (now chapters) cover a variety of subjects, from the total exhaustion of language immersion to French dogs at the dinner table. Sophisticated and witty, Libby does a fine job of exploring, confirming, and blasting American stereotypes of the French. Although this slender and highly entertaining memoir will be especially appealing to Francophiles and French students, it should also appeal to any student who has ever toyed with the idea of living abroad. There is a certain careful, studied feel to the text, but the laugh-out-loud passages (such as Libby's attempt to provide an authentic American Thanksgiving feast with venison instead of turkey) temper the formal essay quality that occasionally appears. An attractive photo-collage dust jacket with snapshots of Libby in France completes the enticing package. Debbie Carton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• School & Library Binding
• Publisher: Rebound by Sagebrush (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613102606
• ISBN-13: 978-0613102605
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 3.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,211,112 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vive Megan McNeill Libby!, March 5, 2000

By 

James (Bel Air, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Postcards from France (Mass Market Paperback)

On the cover of this book, the publisher exudes, "A delightfully irresistible, charming account of a young American girl's year abroad." For once, this kind of description is actually an understatement. Yes, the book is in fact "delightfully irresistible" and truly charming. But the writing is also exceptionally limpid and evocative and betrays an exceptional maturity and talent. Megan McNeill Libby gives us beautifully impressionistic portraits of France, the French, and her very personal struggles, disasters, and triumphs. Her depiction of the French is extraordinarily perceptive and from my own experience living in France totally accurate. At times, I laughed until I cried; more frequently, I caught myself involuntarily smiling and nodding in agreement. But the deeper reward of reading this book is simply seeing the way that Ms. Libby writes and thinks. She is one of those rare authors with whom one falls in love after (no, during) a single reading. I am normally sparing with my praise, but I readily admit to being a gourmand for this book. Merci bien, Megan, and please give us more!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A teenagers postcards expanded into a book., March 6, 2004

By 

Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Postcards from France (Hardcover)

The author of Postcards from France, Megan Libby, was just 16 when she went to France in 1994 as your typical AFS student. But she wasn't typical: she had her eyes wide open and was able to record, in a series of letters and postcards sent back home, what a humbling experience it is to be a newcomer in another culture. By turns comedic, touching, insightful, and revealing, Postcards from France is always refreshing - and it's highly likely this talented young author will go on to write more books that will be a pleasure to read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars C'est tres bon, July 2, 2002

By 

Larissa Wilson (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Postcards from France (Mass Market Paperback)

I am planning on studying abroad to France in 2003 and this book has helped me out in many ways. It told me exactly what I need to know before I go, how the French people are, the school system, and it gave me encouragement. Just reading about how she doesn't regret going makes me want to go even more. I just wished she would have added more about how to handle so much school! Anyway, this book is great to read, even if you aren't planning on going to France. It has a lot of interesting facts that I could never imagine possible. Great book.