Finding Mr. Darcy: High School Edition
by Erin Butler
Publisher: Swoon Romance
Release Date: September 16th 2014
Rate: Average (3 stars)
Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Liza Johnson takes fangirl to a whole new level of crazy when she decides to take dating advice from her literary hero: Jane Austen.
With the help of her best friends, Liza sheds her ancient-speak and complete Austen wardrobe for something a bit more modern in an attempt at finding her very own Mr. Darcy.
Enter Will, the new kid and Liza's Darcy incarnate. Add her BFF's ex to mix and the sexy Brit who kisses with an accent, and Liza is in trouble.
So, what's a girl to do? Without her mom to go to relationship advice, Liza turns to the only person she can truly trust with matters of the heart via her mother's copy of COMPLETED WORKS OF JANE AUSTEN.
It's too bad Austen's heroines have never played Spin the Bottle or Seven Minutes in Heaven. Liza's determined to find her true Austen-esque happy ending, but if she can't trust herself instead of books, she just might end up in her own tragic love story.
Finding Mr. Darcy is for sure on of those Young Adult stories that Jane Austen fans have to read. Not only for the promise to bring some of Jane Austen' drama to a modern high school, but because these readers might get Liza better than anyone. It is indeed a good story about finding the right person.
This story is told from Liza's point of view and Janie's. At first, we meet the characters in high school, leaving Liza and Janie not in the popular ranking at all. We get to know Liza, who is a Jane Austen fan in big letters: wearing her t-shirts and speaking like a character Jane's novels. And then Janie who's a good friend and, to me, a teenager who's interested in boys and acts as a normal teenager in those ages.
When Liza gets to go to England, she does not go alone. Will, the new kid at school and her possible Mr. Darcy, goes to and she gets the chance to explore with boys, see all England has to offer and live an experience all Jane Austen's fans would love to life. All these scenes were perfectly written and it exuded a romantic style that only a novel from Jane Austen can achieve. It is a completely experience to read through Liza's eyes all they do in England and I think this is what fans are going to love most about this book aside from other aspects in the story.
What truly shocked me is that, for the attitude, I thought I would feel more identified with Liza and like her more than Janie due to all his love for romance and Jane Austen. But as the story progresses, I found myself liking more Janie 'cause she shows how good a friend can be and I truly enjoyed her chapters. She was the most realistic character.
Moreover, Liza is in this stage in adolescence of trying to find the right person and there are two boys that have the potential to end up being her happily ever after. I'm excluding one, Ben, because I knew this character was only there to make the others jealous.
Few stories get to surprise readers and for some readers, Finding Mr. Darcy kind be one of those. Not only the authors leads us to experience two potential relationships with a perfect, romantic and Austen-esque ending, but leads us to experience what is like to find the right person. Not the person you have thought would be your prince charming, but the person who you are comfortable with and you do not have to work extra hard to keep the relationship alive.
Full of romance, teenage drama and friendship, Finding Mr. Darcy was a good and cute read.
Erin Butler is lucky enough to have two jobs she truly loves. As a librarian, she gets to work with books all day long, and as an author, Erin uses her active imagination to write the kinds of books she enjoys reading. Young Adult and New Adult books are her favorites, but she especially loves the ones with kissing scenes.
Erin lives in Central New York with her very understanding husband, a stepson, and doggie BFF, Maxie. She prefers to spend her time indoors reading and writing, but will venture out for chocolate and sunshine. She is the author of BLOOD HEX, a YA paranormal, HOW WE LIVED, a contemporary New Adult novel, and FINDING MR. DARCY: HIGH SCHOOL EDITION, a contemporary YA.
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I am a sucker for P&P retellings/spinnoffs/whatever. I have not heard about this book before today but now I'm incredibly anxious to get my hands on it!
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