Prom and Prejudice - Elizabeth Eulberg

 Prom and Prejudice:

Pages: 231

Published: 4^th January 2011 Point

Genre: Contemporary/ retelling/Y.A

Format: Paperback

Acquired: My own collection

Date Finished:  13^th August 2012

Synopsis:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single girl of high standing at Longbourn Academy must be in want of a prom date.

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?

Thoughts/ Review:

I know it is somewhat of a crime to have not read the original Austen Classic “Pride and Prejudice” but I decided that before embarking on that journey I would fit one more re-telling in. I have enjoyed the month immensely so far and reading Prom and Prejudice only made my quest to devour the original even more tempting.

From what I believe from reading this book, it is a modern retake with subtle uses of both language close to the original era and scenes inspired from the novel itself. When I first started the novel I was enthralled by the relationships I had learned about from reading Wickham’s Diary, so it was exciting to see Wick come back into play with Elizabeth’s take on Pride and Prejudice and to be also introduced to a wonderful cast of characters who I fell in love with almost instantly. Yes even Caroline has her purpose in this story.

The story is simply told but yet has its intense moments. For me this was a fun and quirky read that was an introduction to the classic and a fantastic novel in itself. I am not one for being a fan of prom type related books as I think I am a little beyond that mind set, but I enjoyed the tension and the events unfolding around it and was so glad that it did not dominate the entire storyline. Yes, this book was about prom, but it was so much more than that and I learned so much from it.

Oh and the romance, squeals. Now I am a big romantic at heart, but I do suppress it a lot however Prom and Prejudice mStay tade me fall in love with romances again and this is one of the prime examples of young adult romance at its best. How the plot thickened and the relationships progressed. I loved learning about Mr. Darcy and seeing him in a whole new light and how Lizzie’s prejudice against Mr. Darcy was explored as well as his own prejudice against her. I loved how the modern setting left room for a different type of courting, but I believe still stayed true to her inspiration from Austen.

There were times when I got annoyed with Lizzie, being the headstrong girl that she is. But I understand why so many people have fallen in love with these characters over generations. Even Jane and Charles, their sweet simple relationship darkened by the jealousy of Caroline made me laugh and feel like crying at the same time. It was weird reading a book and smiling while at the same time I felt like crying because it was both so cute and such a brilliantly told story.

My only real beef with the story was it was a little slow in some parts, but that did not trouble me enough not to enjoy the story. And I think, no I know that I may have a little wee crush on Mr. Darcy. But who can blame me, right? Stay tuned for later this month [fingers crossed] when I read and review the original. For now though I would certainly recommend this book to anyone as it reads well as a re-telling and as a book in its own rights.

I am giving this:

★★★★.5

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