A frothy and fun retelling.
Pride and Prejudice meets celebrity romance in this contemporary work set in rural Australia and Hollywood.
This modern take on Austen’s classic centers on Lily, a recent high school graduate living with her younger sister, Rosie, and single mother, Lydia, in the tiny, idyllic community of Pippi Beach, which is tucked away and hidden from Sydney by bushland. The family resides year-round in the expansive beach house of Lily’s wealthy aunt Jane. When Casey Brandon, a charming young American actor, and his entourage—his influencer sister, Cecilia, her friend Yumi, and his aloof best friend, Dorian Khan, an even bigger movie star—rent Pippi Beach’s most luxurious property, Lily and Juliet, her lovely, shy cousin from the city, encounter the VIP visitors at a local party. Despite overbearing Lydia’s meddling, Casey and Juliet quickly become genuinely smitten, while Dorian remains wary of the small resort town’s insular, aspirational inhabitants. Lily’s gap-year trip to Los Angeles further amplifies the celebrity angle, while the book stays remarkably faithful to Austen’s plot beats. The Australian mother-daughter authors cleverly reimagine Mr. Collins as an obsequious production assistant and Lady Catherine de Bourgh as his ruthless producer boss. Lydia and her sisters are based on the Bennet siblings, adding another layer of homage to Austen, although the focus remains squarely on Lily and Juliet’s generation. Lily and her family present white, and names cue diversity in the supporting cast.
A frothy and fun retelling. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781536239034
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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