Diane Ratican, a native Californian, gives us this whimsical book comparing two of her favorite cities in Why LA? Pourquoi Paris? Between charming illustrations of Paris by Eric Giriat and LA by Nick Lu, Ratican narrates the main points that make these two cities alike and different.

I’ve seen a lot of compare/contrasts between New York City and Los Angeles, or Paris and NYC, but never LA and Paris and I like that that sets this book apart from the rest. I have never been to LA and learned quite a bit about the city. I am a huge Francophile and have read a lot about Paris and France so there wasn’t really new information for me there but I still enjoyed reading it. This would make a great read for any Paris, LA, or art enthusiast and definitely feels more like an art book than a travel book to me, though there are some travel suggestions.

The second edition of the book is coming out on September 14, 2017 and will be bilingual English and French. From what I gathered in skimming the French section, the LA bits are focused on presenting it to the French audience reading and the Paris parts focused on presenting Paris to English readers. The formatting was a mess on the copy I read, and even so I still enjoyed the book. After looking at what is available to see on Amazon in the first edition, it made me excited for the book all over again and I will have to go check it out in person when it does come out. It is also a great way to practice my French!

4/5 Stars

I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.