Two Girls, A Guy, and...the SATs?

Expected Publication:  April 21st, 2015

Wrong About the Guy

By: Claire LaZebnik

Harper Teen

ISBN-13:  9780062252302

As the stepdaughter of a TV star, Ellie Withers has it all: an amazing house in LA, a devoted friend who loved her before she even knew who Ellie's stepfather was, and a burgeoning romance with handsome Aaron Marquand.  But Ellie isn't the kind of person who's content with simply having it all -- the people in her life have to be equally happy.  And, of course, she knows exactly what they need.

When Ellie's plans for her family, her friends, and even her love life don't turn out the way she imagined, she begins to wonder if maybe she could stand to learn a thing or two after all.  Most surprising, though, is that the perfect person to teach her is the last person she'd expect.

Review

       Ellie has a charmed life with her Mom, famous stepdad Luke and little brother in an LA mansion.  But she thrives on getting things to go her way, whether that means sharing her infuriating SAT tutor George with her less motivated best-friend Heather, getting her Mom and Luke to honeymoon where she wants them to, or planning the future of her own love life.  When Luke's best friend's son moves back to LA for his senior year, Ellie thinks this might finally be the time to jump start her own romantic life.  But there doesn't seem to be any chemistry to speak of between the two of them.  With fake girls at school giving her trouble, fights with Heather over college (and surprisingly, a guy) putting a crimp in their friendship, and Aaron not being quite what he seemed on the surface, is it finally time for Ellie to admit that she needs to spend some time on her own life instead of everyone else's?

       I am a sucker for Jane Austen retellings and had previously read Epic Fail and The Trouble With Flirting by this author, and really enjoyed them.  That said, Elizabeth Bennet and Fanny Price were likeable heroines inherently and I was rooting for them in the original stories.  Emma was not really a favorite of mine.  I will say that Claire definitely managed to make the characters more approachable.  I especially liked Emma's Mom and her stepdad in this book, and the overall family relationship (a great one).  Heather was okay, but I do feel like she was dumbed down quite a bit to make the whole SAT situation more believable.  I honestly felt like Emma didn't even need an SAT tutor, but it was a good way to bring George (aka Knightley) into the story and lessen the originally FAR more creepy age difference between him and Ellie (Emma).  The were a few subplots, such as the one with Aaron's true object of affection, the one with a weird girl at school trying to get to Ellie's stepdad through her, and one with the slow development of Ellie's little brother/what could be responsible for it medically.  Overall, a sweet and fluffy retelling of Emma that I enjoyed and would recommend, even if I didn't quite love it.

VERDICT:  3/5 Stars

**I reviewed this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication date is April 21st, 2015.**

The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet

Published:  June 24th, 2014

The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet

By: Bernie Su & Kate Rorick

Touchstone

ISBN-13:  9781476763149

Based on the Emmy Award winning YouTube series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

Twenty-four-year old grad student Lizzie Bennet is saddled with student loan debt and is still living at home along with her two sisters, beautiful Jane and reckless Lydia.  When she records her reflections on life for her thesis project and posts them on YouTube, she has no idea The Lizzie Bennet Diaries will soon take on a life of their own, turning the Bennet sisters into Internet celebrities seemingly overnight.

When rich and handsome Bing Lee comes to town, along with his stuck-up friend William Darcy, things really start to get interesting for the Bennets & for Lizzie's viewers.  But not everything happens on screen.  Lucky for us, Lizzie has a secret diary.

The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet takes readers deep inside Lizzie's world and well beyond the confines of her camera; from the wedding where she first meets William Darcy to the local hangout of Carter's bar, and much more.  Lizzie's private musings are filled with revealing details about the Bennet household, including her growing suspicion about her parent's unstable financial situation, her sister's budding relationship with Bing Lee, the perils of her unexpected fame, and her uncertainty over her future, and whom she wants to share it with.

Review

     So, this review would have been up on Tuesday but I was having issues with my internet connection and couldn't get Blogger to load for me.  Therefore, here it's Thursday and I'm half a week behind, listening to John Legend and chilling at home - and finally getting you my thoughts on this book!  I will tell you one thing for certain, I am one of the rare people who watched maybe two episodes of the web series and quit.  I just am not really big on web series and even though I adore Pride and Prejudice, that form of digital media is mainly not my thing.  I went into this with a mostly clean slate and I truly enjoyed myself!  I always did say that if it ever became a book I would read it and when I saw it on NetGalley, I figured that I should keep my word.  I'm glad that I did!

     This is a book about Lizzie Bennet, 24-year-old Mass Communications grad student, who is living at home with her parents, her older sister Jane who went into fashion and makes next to nothing, and their younger sister Lydia who is more interested in partying, boys, and the YOLO lifestyle than anything else.  Lizzie decides to do a video blog for her thesis at school, enlisting the help of her best friend Charlotte Lu.  Everything begins to change when rich, young and handsome medical student Bing Lee moves into the neighborhood.  Lizzie's mother of course begins using all her Southern Belle tricks and cunning to get Bing and Jane together.  Then there's Caroline, the scheming older sister of Bing, and Bing's millionaire, digital media mogul friend Darcy.  Getting off on the wrong foot, Lizzie and Darcy's relationship to each other becomes one of challenges, arguments and prejudiced misunderstandings.  With everything being chronicled in her videos, and things spiraling out of control in her personal life, can Lizzie and Darcy ever fix their mistaken opinions of one another?  Will Bing and Jane get a happy ending?  And can Lydia overcome her most devastating mistake yet?

     So, like I said, I really enjoyed this one.  Here are my opinions on it:

PROS

1. Kitty Bennet versus an actually Kitty:  I really didn't mind this at all.  A lot of people complained about the fact that Kitty isn't there as a person.  Yes, she got kind of shafted.  But in a book based on a series of 3-5 minute videos, she really wouldn't have served a purpose.  She was basically just the extra Bennet sister and served as Lydia's shadow.  It was unnecessary in this particular incarnation.  I commend the creators for a smart decision.
2. The Bennet Family dynamic:  Jane and Lizzie were obviously close to one another, but they also had some snarky banter that was absent in the original Austen relationship.  I also enjoyed Lydia being fairly close with both the other sisters.  Lydia is less stupid in this one, so much as young naive and a bad decision-maker.  Not to mention slightly obnoxious.  But there is a bond between them all that shows fairly obviously to me as a reader.  The scenes with Lizzie's father were tops as well, and her mom isn't quite as hysterical or non-sensical as in the original.  She's satirized and over-the-top, but means well and really loves the girls.  Mary is the emo cousin with a hippie mother - nuff said.  She isn't really in the book all that much though.  Overall, the family dynamic in this one is really well illustrated in the interactions and dialogue.
3. Ricky Collins and Charlotte Lu:  This particular plotline was much better handled than the original, but considering the gap of almost 200 years, the social differences definitely account for this conclusion.  I liked that they ended up as business partners instead of a married couple.  Also, Ricky wasn't quite as bad in this adaptation, more like a harmless, lost puppy with absolutely zero social skills, than a complete creeper.

CONS

1. Lizzie and Darcy:  There really wasn't much of a relationship build between these two.  They just kind of fell into each other after Lizzie learned about his part in the Lydia situation.  She spends the whole web series and book (minus a few episodes and a small chunk of page-time) deconstructing him as a person and going on and on about how horrible he is and how much she hates him.  To me this did feel a little more like an "I owe you" situation than it should have.  Definitely a white knight complex in Miss Lizzie - which brings me to my next point.
2. George Wickham:  I felt like he was a very basic, flat, plot-moving character.  George is set up as the villain from the beginning without anyone realizing it (except P&P fans) and I feel like it's all very superficial.  Not to mention the whole swim week thing was slightly bizarre.  Like, that's the best excuse they can come up with to get him into the plot?  Not to mention the whole "random bar guy" thing seemed slightly out-of-character for this particular Lizzie.  He disappears for large chunks of time and the thing with Lydia was creepy but nowhere near as personal (or involved) as the original novel.

     Basically, I found this to be an interesting read, especially with all the focus on (and talk about) the field of mass communications, of which I have little experience with personally.  I did feel that it got a little too into that at times, but it made sense with the grad student storyline.  The oddness of the Lizzie/Darcy connection and lack of any real romance/spark deducts a decent amount for me personally.  I go into P&P retelling for the Darcy and Lizzie interactions!  Not the best I've ever read, but I think I would've liked it more if I'd been into the web series.  I'd highly recommend it to fans of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web series.

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

**I received this book from Touchstone, on NetGalley.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book was published July 1st, 2014.**

Go On Now, Take It

Published:  December 1st, 2013

Another Little Piece of My Heart

By: Tracey Martin

Harlequin Teen

ISBN-13:  9781459254749

What if your devastating break-up became this summer's hit single?  In this rock-and-roll retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, music can either bring you together or tear you apart.

At her dying Mother's request, Claire dumps Jared, the only boy she's ever loved.  Left with a broken family and a broken heart, Claire is furious when she discovers that her biggest regret became Jared's big break.  While Jared is catapaulted into rock-star status, another piece of Claire's heart crumbles every time his song plays on the radio.

The summer after her senior year, it's been months since the big break-up, and Claire is just trying to keep her head down and make it through a tense trip to the beach with her family.  But when Jared shows up, and old feelings reignite, can Claire and Jared let go of the past?  Or will they be stuck singing the same old refrain?

Review

     Let me just tell you right now (in case for some reason, you didn't already catch on from my other ramblings and related posts: I AM A COMPLETE JANE AUSTEN-OBSESSED FREAK!  For some people this would be equivalent with Austen purism and they wouldn't touch re-tellings or posthumous sequels with a 10-foot pole!  I am not a purist and adore the chance for more of some of my favorite characters in classic literature.  What made this book doubly impossible to pass up was the fact that it was a retelling of Persuasion - my favorite of Austen's novels, now that I've grown older.  Maybe it's because I relate almost completely with poor Anne Eliot and her miserable life spent in service of others.  Not everyone can be an Elizabeth Bennet or an Elinor Dashwood.  Some of us suffer serious heartache for our happiness!  So color me excited that this was supposed to be teenaged, modern versions of Anne and Wentworth! 

     I did enjoy a lot of things about this book.  I liked the fact that it was set during the summer, in a beach town.  It was a lot easier to have it be during that season - especially in modern America, with all the restrictions on the time and energy of today's teens.  I really enjoyed seeing how Claire (Anne) handled the loss of her college fund.  At least she wasn't afraid to go out and get her hands dirty to try and save some money for school (not that her family at all encouraged her in this)!  The writing was gorgeous at certain points and the descriptions of Claire's feelings after the break up were definitely spot on - take it from someone who knows.  My biggest issue was the characters.  With the reader limited to first-person point of view (Claire's) and we don't get any insight into what Jared, her Dad, her sister or her cousins are feeling or experiencing.  As a result of how closed our window into Claire's world is, us readers really only get to know her and her side of the story.  Also, Claire makes some REALLY stupid mistakes.  She has an inability to tell anyone 'no' and it almost causes her to have a serious issue, that could completely ruin her life!  All because she can't tell someone "no" at the least, "NO FUCKING WAY" at the most!!!  

     I could understand Claire's reasons for breaking up with Jared, but I agree with some other reviewers that have stated that Claire loved to victimize herself and paint everyone else as the villains.  Jared really drew the short end of the stick in this book.  The way the reader is introduced to him is as an asshole who asked his girlfriend to choose between her dying Mom who had cancer, and him.  Then he ran away in a hissyfit when she chose her family!  Plus he wrote a bunch of songs about what a bitch she is and how materialistic she is.  I'm supposed to root for Claire to get back with this guy?  Also, Claire's cousin is interested in him and Claire says NOTHING TO HER.  She doesn't tell her he's her ex-boyfriend or what an asshole he is.  Instead she just seethes and plays the martyr of the situation.  It annoyed me quite a bit.  By the end, I was won over (mostly) by Jared.  But I spent the majority of the book NOT invested in the romance, which is a problem for a book that is completely centered around romance/romantic angst.  The songwriting and singing bits were fun and I truly enjoyed them.  However, overall this book was fun but not very substantial or anything I will reread.  More of a summer beach read than anything.  In other words, classic Harlequin (even if it is the teen imprint)! :D

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, Harlequin Teen, via NetGalley.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book was published December 1st, 2013.*