Review: An enjoyable retelling of a classic!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 30, 2012
I enjoyed this book a lot. I read it every free chance I had. This book is a fresh take on the wonderful classic, Pride & Prejudice. It was a quick read that made me laugh, made me anxious to see what would happen next and see how things would work out.I could definitely see the parallels between the two books and I can honestly say that I felt the anxious question throughout while reading this book as I did while reading Pride & Prejudice: Will Lizzie (Elizabeth Bennett) and Dante (Mr. Darcy) really end up together? Or will their pride and perceptions of each other get in the way?Lizzie is a smart and ambitious junior at Jane Austen Academy ready to room with her best friend, Ellie. Lizzie is a great play on Elizabeth Bennett. Both smart, witty, and quick to jump to conclusions before she finds out all of the facts. When the room assignments are switched, I was surprised that Lizzie took another path. When I read this first part of the book, I kept wondering why Lizzie would walk away from her best friend. And as the book progressed, I wondered why Ellie and Emma became so close. (I am anxious to see if this explored in later sequels!) And I kept wanting to tell Lizzie that she brought the anger she felt upon herself.I enjoyed the plot of this book...the new ownership of Jane Austen Academy and the renaming of their beloved, once all girl school. What I didn't quite get was why Lizzie was worried that Dante was going to take her one admittance to Georgetown University...isn't she a junior? Doesn't she have another year before she has to worry about that? I guess that just helped fuel her prejudice against Dante.I will definitely be reading more books by Ms. Gray! (I can't wait to read the rest of this series!)Would I recommend it: If you love young adult books and Jane Austen retellings, then you should definitely read this book!Will I read it again: I probably won't. It was a great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will read the other books in the series, but I don't know that I will read this one again.(I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)