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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed seeing the world from Lydia's POV and finding out what happened after the series ended. A great addition to the LBD world and a must read for the fans! :)
My Recommendation: Honestly, you could pass on this one. That being said if you enjoyed the web series or the book companion, this is a nice almost wrap-up to everything that happened in the series. I felt most of the doors were closed. You definitely don't need to watch the Lydia web series (I didn't), but maybe that would add to it?
My Response: Like the Damon Suede book I just finished, when I finished finally reading The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, I went to my local library to see if they had this. I didn't necessarily want to read it, but the completionist in me was like there are only two books in the series so why not. So here I am almost two months later finally writing my response.
Let's start with the bad: I honestly don't think Austen would've wanted Lydia to be this likable or this redeemable. I get that Rorick and Kiley, and the writers of The Secret Diaries of Lizzie Bennet web series made creative choices, but Austen very rarely wrote redeemable characters unless they were the stars of her novels (i.e. Elizabeth and Darcy). Lydia's comeuppance was to spend her life with Wickham basically exiled from her family. That doesn't happen in The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet and this isn't a bad thing as it definitely makes this a lot more readable, it's just not the same to me.
Now on to what worked great!
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
My Response: Like the Damon Suede book I just finished, when I finished finally reading The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, I went to my local library to see if they had this. I didn't necessarily want to read it, but the completionist in me was like there are only two books in the series so why not. So here I am almost two months later finally writing my response.
Let's start with the bad: I honestly don't think Austen would've wanted Lydia to be this likable or this redeemable. I get that Rorick and Kiley, and the writers of The Secret Diaries of Lizzie Bennet web series made creative choices, but Austen very rarely wrote redeemable characters unless they were the stars of her novels (i.e. Elizabeth and Darcy). Lydia's comeuppance was to spend her life with Wickham basically exiled from her family. That doesn't happen in The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet and this isn't a bad thing as it definitely makes this a lot more readable, it's just not the same to me.
Now on to what worked great!
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
It is no secret that the Lydia plot line at the end of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (and, relatedly, the behavior of certain members of the creative team who may or may not be a co-author of this book) nearly ruined the entire show for me. I loved Lydia so much, but I thought the adaptation of her "downfall" was lazy fucking writing at best and dangerous as shit at worst. So I didn't have much interest in reading this, to say the least.
That said, I had an Audible credit and a whim, so I figured what the hell. And I enjoyed it more than I expected to. The chapter with you know who pissed me off (stop trying to humanize abusers I don't fucking care what their childhood trauma is GOD) but aside from that, there was more good than bad, I think.
That said, I had an Audible credit and a whim, so I figured what the hell. And I enjoyed it more than I expected to. The chapter with you know who pissed me off (stop trying to humanize abusers I don't fucking care what their childhood trauma is GOD) but aside from that, there was more good than bad, I think.
Quite adorbs! A fun continuation of the web series.
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries was an amazing series to binge (which I have, on multiple occasions). I fell in love with Lydia over the duration of the YouTube series and being able to follow more of her story was a lot of fun. Anyone who watched the series needs to read this book.
Oh, I also highly recommend the audiobook, it's read by Mary Kate Wiles, making it all the more perfect.
Oh, I also highly recommend the audiobook, it's read by Mary Kate Wiles, making it all the more perfect.
I loved it. Come read why.
Though if you're already a fan of the series, it may feel a little redundant :)
Though if you're already a fan of the series, it may feel a little redundant :)
First of all: if you haven’t had the joy of watching The Lizzie Bennett Diaries webseries, please do give it a go. This YouTube vlog retelling of Pride and Prejudice is so much more than a cute wink-wink novelty, so much more than Austen Lite; it’s a first-rate adaptation, superbly written and acted, that hits every emotional beat.
In only one area does it truly deviate from the source material: it makes us care about Lydia. It reveals a real person behind the frivolity. And when her elopement to George Wickham is modernised into harrowing emotional abuse, it makes us reach out protectively, as if she were our own collective younger sister.
She is a wholly original creation, and it’s clear the show’s writers adore her. Who can begrudge them the desire to give her a proper ending?
And a very well-earned ending it is. Not a postscript, but a full novel arc that lets a newly-vulnerable Lydia step out of the shadow of her sisters, away from the restraints of adaptation, and into a terrifying new world. One in which she is utterly lost. One entirely disconnected from the carefree cheer of the front cover. One that gets a lot worse before it gets better.
Make no mistake: this is a YA novel about a young woman finding herself, and one that ultimately settles into a more familiar genre mould. But god am I impressed at how sensitively the writers navigate trauma, therapy, self-forgiveness, sexual identity and above all, failure; all normalised enough to assure the most vulnerable young readers that some very scary things are really, truly okay.
Lydia’s going to be fine. And so are you.
In only one area does it truly deviate from the source material: it makes us care about Lydia. It reveals a real person behind the frivolity. And when her elopement to George Wickham is modernised into harrowing emotional abuse, it makes us reach out protectively, as if she were our own collective younger sister.
She is a wholly original creation, and it’s clear the show’s writers adore her. Who can begrudge them the desire to give her a proper ending?
And a very well-earned ending it is. Not a postscript, but a full novel arc that lets a newly-vulnerable Lydia step out of the shadow of her sisters, away from the restraints of adaptation, and into a terrifying new world. One in which she is utterly lost. One entirely disconnected from the carefree cheer of the front cover. One that gets a lot worse before it gets better.
Make no mistake: this is a YA novel about a young woman finding herself, and one that ultimately settles into a more familiar genre mould. But god am I impressed at how sensitively the writers navigate trauma, therapy, self-forgiveness, sexual identity and above all, failure; all normalised enough to assure the most vulnerable young readers that some very scary things are really, truly okay.
Lydia’s going to be fine. And so are you.
I loved the character's introspection and voice. It was also really, really nice to see bits of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries/Pride and Prejudice reimagined through Lydia's eyes.
I had a hard time in the middle--my anxiety was off the charts for the character and I was displeased with the direction the plot was taking.
BUT THEN: everything turned around and got WAY THE FREAK BETTER.
I was seriously giddy and optimistic at the end. And what more can a person hope for, right?
I had a hard time in the middle--my anxiety was off the charts for the character and I was displeased with the direction the plot was taking.
BUT THEN: everything turned around and got WAY THE FREAK BETTER.
I was seriously giddy and optimistic at the end. And what more can a person hope for, right?