ENTHUSIASM

Two best friends experience confusion in love in this nifty little spin on Pride and Prejudice. Julie can’t contain the swiftly changing obsessions of Ashleigh, so she goes along with them as best friends do. Ashleigh’s latest craze is Jane Austen. She decides to crash the school dance at the exclusive boy’s school in town, in an effort to meet Darcy and Bingley. The scheme works, and Julie falls hard for handsome Parr. Ashleigh, meanwhile, chooses Parr as her fanciful Darcy. Julie suffers, but can’t see that Parr is equally attracted to her. Comical misunderstandings ensue in this innocent who-will-wind-up-dating-whom farce. Shulman manages to lift the story above standard fare with clever plotting and quirky, often elegant writing that should please the literary crowd while keeping romance lovers engaged. Several cuts above the usual fare. (Fiction. YA)