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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed this retelling of Pride and Prejudice and loved EJ as the stand-in for Lizzie. It wasn't an exact beat-for-beat, scene-by-scene retelling, which I appreciated.
A couple of minor quibbles:
These are 22 year-olds in 2021; while they're on the higher end of Gen Z, I found them reading much more as Millennials to me (there was a Ben Folds reference). Also, while it's not his story, I wish there had been more about Will's career as an actor. I never got a feel for what he wanted to do with his career or if had any long-term goals.
A couple of minor quibbles:
These are 22 year-olds in 2021; while they're on the higher end of Gen Z, I found them reading much more as Millennials to me (there was a Ben Folds reference). Also, while it's not his story, I wish there had been more about Will's career as an actor. I never got a feel for what he wanted to do with his career or if had any long-term goals.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Haven’t read a YA book in a while, so this was a good change of pace. Enjoyed the homage to Pride & Prejudice. Diverse characters and it was great reading about many different communities.
Oh man, this is trying way too hard. I like a good, socially conscious romance, but it has to be good. [b:The Bennet Women|56605592|The Bennet Women|Eden Appiah-Kubi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610217134l/56605592._SX50_.jpg|86828324] is not good. It is painful.
Nothing happens. Nothing is allowed to happen because Appiah-Kubi is too busy protecting her precious characters from anything approaching a plot. EJ is every bit as two-dimensional as a more racist book would make her, only instead of being stupid or dangerous, she's magically brilliant at everything. She's charming and smart and wonderful and everyone is always cheering for her. She doesn't even have the original Elizabeth Bennet's character flaw of judging people too quickly. Every possible obstacle she might face is immediately swept away because god forbid these characters ever face a challenge.
Similarly, Will is quiet and reclusive, but never does he make anything approaching the level of mistakes Mr Darcy does. He is saved from ever making any real mistakes by the magic of authorial providence. It's exhausting. Even the risk from not-Whickham is subdued before it ever becomes a real problem. Why bother writing a book if you're not going to bother with plot?
I'm sure Appiah-Kubi meant well with this. I'm sure she wanted to give women, especially women of colour, a book of wish fulfilment to enjoy. But the fact is that without conflict there is no story. By preventing her characters from having problems, she's destroyed any chances of this being an enjoyable read.
Nothing happens. Nothing is allowed to happen because Appiah-Kubi is too busy protecting her precious characters from anything approaching a plot. EJ is every bit as two-dimensional as a more racist book would make her, only instead of being stupid or dangerous, she's magically brilliant at everything. She's charming and smart and wonderful and everyone is always cheering for her. She doesn't even have the original Elizabeth Bennet's character flaw of judging people too quickly. Every possible obstacle she might face is immediately swept away because god forbid these characters ever face a challenge.
Similarly, Will is quiet and reclusive, but never does he make anything approaching the level of mistakes Mr Darcy does. He is saved from ever making any real mistakes by the magic of authorial providence. It's exhausting. Even the risk from not-Whickham is subdued before it ever becomes a real problem. Why bother writing a book if you're not going to bother with plot?
I'm sure Appiah-Kubi meant well with this. I'm sure she wanted to give women, especially women of colour, a book of wish fulfilment to enjoy. But the fact is that without conflict there is no story. By preventing her characters from having problems, she's destroyed any chances of this being an enjoyable read.
Perfect!
Exactly what I was hoping for and more. Diverse cast in college. I love this friend group!!! I read this in one sitting and enjoyed every bit.
Exactly what I was hoping for and more. Diverse cast in college. I love this friend group!!! I read this in one sitting and enjoyed every bit.
I try to find stories with diversity and I liked, no loved, the diversity of this book! And I mean there was sprinkle of all kinds of people from black, thick and in STEM, to Asian, famous, and into art, to transgendered, ginger dating a cis-mixed male! It’s more relatable than a lot of tales are. College is a melting pot of different flavors, at least it was in my experience, but SO many stories miss that point. This was good at eluding to situations in modern society and the problems we still see and doing so in different POVs which I believe was extremely helpful!