PROM & PREJUDICE by Elizabeth Eulberg

Title: PROM & PREJUDICE

Author: Elizabeth Eulberg

Publisher: Point (Scholastic)

Release Date: January 1, 2011

Number of Pages: 231

How I Got It: Bought the Hardcover because of the author

Author's Website:  www.elizabetheulberg.com

Goodreads Synopsis:

After winter break, the girls at the very prestigious Longbourn Academy become obsessed with the prom. Lizzie Bennet, who attends Longbourn on a scholarship, isn’t interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be — especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London.

Lizzie is happy about her friend’s burgeoning romance but less than impressed by Charles’s friend, Will Darcy, who’s snobby and pretentious. Darcy doesn’t seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it’s because her family doesn’t have money. Clearly, Will Darcy is a pompous jerk — so why does Lizzie find herself drawn to him anyway?

Will Lizzie’s pride and Will’s prejudice keep them apart? Or are they a prom couple in the making?  

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I really enjoy Elizabeth Eulberg's books.  I loved her debut novel, THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB (read my thoughts here), and thoroughly enjoyed PROM & PREJUDICE as well. There's just something so easy about her writing style - it's comforting and familiar. Her books are quick reads and so enjoyable. They're just happy books. Sometimes (especially on a snow day) I just really want a light-hearted book, and that's what Elizabeth delivers, but always with a good message. Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice is a classic for a reason, and with PROM & PREJUDICE, Elizabeth has delivered a cute contemporary twist on the classic. Some scenes were so familiar from the many interpretations I've seen and read of Austen's original work, but with the new Lizzie, Darcy, and Jane, they all felt like friends I would have wanted to have in high school and it felt so contemporary. 

The importance placed on getting a prom date at Longbourn Academy is entertaining, and setting it in a boarding school gives the perfect background for analyzing class differences and the problems that can cause. I found myself rooting for all of them to figure it out and see the goodness in each other. There are issues of prejudice by many in this book - and it's really about misconceptions and assumptions made before one knows the person or gives them a chance to prove themselves different and worthy of positive thoughts...hmmm, maybe something we should all take away from a book. I like how Elizabeth writes her characters - they're flawed and real and make mistakes and are easy to relate to. Another aspect that was subtle was the love of piano playing that this Lizzie has. Elizabeth places references to several classical music pieces throughout as a part of Lizzie's identity as a scholasrship student due to her gift at playing piano. As a former cello player, I always appreciate references to classical musicians such as are scattered throughout this book. I thought it was interesting that both of Elizabeth Eulberg's books feature music as a prominent piece of the action. PROM & PREJUDICE is a really cute contemporary reboot of the classic story and you'll read it quickly and enjoy every page.

4 STARS for PROM & PREJUDICE

I can't wait to see what Elizabeth has planned for her next book!

Best I've Read 2010

Best I've Read 2010 (BIR2010) December 6-14
A group of nine bloggers got together for the first annual Best I've Read 2010 event. I've been entering book giveaways all week, and got inspired to do my own Best I've Read 2010 list. This is a bit of a departure for me, because I usually do Heise's Hot List based on the school year calendar and the dozen favorite books I read that year. I've decided to try it this way to share my list of favorite YA books I read in the calendar year of 2010 (in no particular order - I have a hard enough time narrowing the list down, no way am I going to rank order it!). These are the books that have stuck with me the most for varying reasons related to the writing, the story, or the message.


Best Books I've Read 2010
NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer*
THE MOCKINGBIRDS by Daisy Whitney
THE LOST HERO by Rick Riordan*
MATCHED by Ally Condie*
MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins*
THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher
HEIST SOCIETY by Ally Carter*
LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater*
THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie
DASH & LILY'S BOOK OF DARES by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
MY MOST EXCELLENT YEAR by Steve Kluger
IF I STAY by Gayle Forman


Honorable Mentions
NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL by Siobhan Vivian
THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB by Elizabeth Eulberg
THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series by Cassandra Clare*
LEAVING PARADISE and RETURN TO PARADISE by Simone Elkeles
ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins
*series books

THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB by Elizabeth Eulberg

Sometimes I really want a light-hearted book without all the angst and drama of a lot of the popular YA books/genres out there right now, and to get a good girl-power message - even better. That's exactly what I got with Elizabeth Eulberg's debut novel, THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB, plus I got a little Beatles nostalgia along with it. I was drawn to it as soon as I heard the plot summary, but of course, the cover sold me on getting it in hardcover - it's so fun!


This book is a story with an independent high school junior girl main character who gets treated badly by a boy she's had a crush on for a long time. The girl - Penny Lane (a Beatles song of course since her parents are huge fans) - decides she's not going to deal with one more boy treating her badly, so she swears off dating for the rest of high school. Thus starts the lonely hearts club (inspired of course by the Beatles' Sargeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band). Once word gets out, other girls decide they don't want to deal with immature boys who treat them badly either, and they see how much fun the girls in the club are having, so the club gets a reputation around the school.


There's a really important message coming out of reading this story - it's not just about not dealing with the boy drama, but it's more about what it means to be a good friend to the girls around you.  It's about keeping your friends honest, being there for each other, and not letting boys change your priorities. The club's rules say that a girl can't change who she is for a guy, she can't ditch her friends for a guy, she can't let a guy take over her whole life and forget about her friends - what a great message to send teen girls who need to remember that when they get to high school and boy drama and pressure becomes so much more of a part of their lives. 


I think the highlight about this book for me was that even though it deals with the typical boyfriend drama of high school girls, it's done in a unique way in which the girls still get to be strong characters. I do wish some of the secondary characters had the chance to be developed a little more fully because they had the potential to really add to the story more than they were able to with the length of the book, but it was it will be an accessible book for many adolescent girls - and it doesn't cross the line into mature content. I loved this book for it's light-heartedness, great message, and fun story (with a Beatles twist) and am glad I found it.


4 1/2 STARS for THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB