lizpatanders

Pride and Prejudice, one of Jane Austen’s most famous novels, is about several characters’ (most of whom are in there twenties) and their adventures in love and marriage. You’d think a novel that focuses so heavily on marriage might be tricky to retell as a young adult novel, right? Yet Elizabeth Eulberg’s sophomore novel Prom and Prejudice is one of the cutest, most enjoyable reads I’d picked up in a while.Instead of being a twenty something living with her family until a desirable marriage comes her way, Lizzie Bennet is a high school student at the prestigious Longbourn Academy boarding school. The way that Eulberg set up the world and characters made a lot of sense. Darcy and Bingley attended Pemberley academy, while Jane was Lizzie’s roommate, Lydia was Jane’s sister and Mary was a friend of the girls. It was a nice way to keep a lot of the characters incorporated in the novel while keeping things realistic.Eulberg’s prose is reminiscent of Austen’s style, yet the dialogue and setting keeps this story modern. Lizzie was a thoroughly enjoyable character to read about. She‘s very down to earth, unlike her rich classmates, and has a deep passion for music. I really enjoyed all of the sections that focused on music and how Lizzie felt about it. Even though Lizzie’s character is great, this story is incredibly fast-paced, sometimes too much so. While I felt as though I knew Lizzie, I wanted to get to know the other characters better, such as Darcy. I felt as though there was a lot of dialogue without enough characterization placed in between.Prom and Prejudice is not a perfectly crafted novel, but it totally satisfied my craving for an Austen-esque adaptation. I had so much fun reading this book, and didn’t want to put it down. After my fantastic experience with this novel, I can’t wait to read my copy of The Lonely Hearts Club and will be eagerly awaiting all of Eulberg’s future novels.