A serendipitous encounter brings Isla and Josh together over the summer in New York City, but it's a misunderstanding that pulls them apart just as immediately. But their senior year means Josh is left at SOAP without his friends, and finally, without a girlfriend. With an impossible shyness, she'd loved him from afar, adored him even when he had a girlfriend. For Isla, it was her misgivings about self worth, particularly as those feelings related to her forever crush on a tall and talented boy. For Josh, these internal musings dealt with feelings of abandonment from his absentee parents and loneliness from being left behind by his graduated friends.

This story seemed to have a more introspective quality than its predecessors, as both characters worked through their own internal struggles, while at the same time processing the feelings that bloomed for each other. Isla and Josh's tale is plagued with turmoil, insecurities, unspoken fears and fragile friendships, but it's also a story about taking that tremulous risk of reaching for your happily ever after. Perkins' prowess at characterization shines again, as she infuses a special kind of quirkiness into each of her protagonists, making them indelibly real, relatable and unforgettable. This latest installment is roused to life by vibrant characters who've met abroad at the School of America in Paris (SOAP), at a time where life lay before them teeming with possibility. With her distinctive brand of effervescent storytelling, Perkins delivers a story full of magic and realism, dreams and heartache, wishes and happily ever afters. Internationally bestselling author Stephanie Perkins brings her beloved Anna and the French Kiss// series to a close with the just-released Isla and the Happily Ever After.

Isla and the happily ever after