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A review by leahjanespeare
Being Mary Bennet by J.C. Peterson
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As a GIANT Austen fan, I actually don't read that many retellings. Mostly because I am just super picky and critical (not just about them, but like, in general). Anyway, I decided on a whim to read this that I had downloaded from a year and a half ago, to give it a go. Because I didn't bother to reread the book summary, it took me a minute to realized that this wasn't a straight up retelling but a self-aware comparison with a character totally obsessed with classic books. Yes her life is pretty similar to the Bennets in Pride and Prejudice, but since Marnie literally compares herself to the Mary Bennet of that family (the sister no one likes) I was totally on board with this sort of integrated, Austen-adjacent story.
What I did like:
-the writing. It's great for a debut.
-Marnie's internal narration/voice. It's funny and nerdy. This is definitely classified as a bildungsroman and not a 'YA rom com' because a lot of the plot is moved forward by her self growth and working through things that a lot of teenagers struggle with. Fitting in, family love, self worth etc.
-I did appreciate that as part of this growth, the inclusion of Marnie's crush on an unattainable asshole. This is where I had to repeat my mantra of "she is a teenager" for some of the stupid, naive decisions she makes and situations she finds herself in. She doesn't handle it all well, but I think this creepy situation played out realistically for someone her age: comments were dismissed and she doesn't tell people everything. Her feelings go from heart-eyes obsessed to self-doubt with a rollercoaster in between and I haven't seen this kind of plot in any YA contemporary before. (Probably plots like this are often in the slightly darker YA contemporary which I don't tend to read.)
-boarding school setting, her friendships
What I didn't care for as much:
-Alright so for a giant twist in this sweet genre, there is a BIG TRIGGER WARNING for a miscarriage by way of car accident. It was almost triggering to me and I don't have kids and likely won't ever. But holy shit that part of the book was maybe a little unnecessary in its extremity. To be clear it's not Marnie's, but a side character's. But the trauma of that character is described pretty intensely. I feel like a different traumatic situation could have been introduced and had the same plot-result. This was just unexpected for a relatively lighthearted YA with otherwise mild themes.
-The love interest was the definition of...'that escalated quickly'. Because this is a bildungsroman YA story, a lot of the book focused on Marnie as a teenager, and not developing a romantic relationship for the center of the plot. I liked the slow burn side romance that was something Marnie was thinking about, but not her main concern. (that's technically a pro in my list here) BUT then on like the last page she is like 'omg i love you!' and kisses him for the first time and then the story ends and I was like...wtf no? So it was good until the literal last moment.
-also a minor trigger warning for a couple fatphobic comments from Marnie's mom, but from how I read it, these comments were not supported by any other characters or the narrative, so it was her mom being a bitch. That being said, no one really said anything to defend Marnie from those small comments.
- Marnie is also part of a super rich family and her privilege could have been acknowledged more since she seemed a pretty socially savvy character for a cishet white person. But it's not that kind of story, so I get why it wasn't touched upon.
All in all, great read and I am definitely going to pick up Lola's story next!
What I did like:
-the writing. It's great for a debut.
-Marnie's internal narration/voice. It's funny and nerdy. This is definitely classified as a bildungsroman and not a 'YA rom com' because a lot of the plot is moved forward by her self growth and working through things that a lot of teenagers struggle with. Fitting in, family love, self worth etc.
-I did appreciate that as part of this growth, the inclusion of Marnie's crush on an unattainable asshole. This is where I had to repeat my mantra of "she is a teenager" for some of the stupid, naive decisions she makes and situations she finds herself in. She doesn't handle it all well, but I think this creepy situation played out realistically for someone her age: comments were dismissed and she doesn't tell people everything. Her feelings go from heart-eyes obsessed to self-doubt with a rollercoaster in between and I haven't seen this kind of plot in any YA contemporary before. (Probably plots like this are often in the slightly darker YA contemporary which I don't tend to read.)
-boarding school setting, her friendships
What I didn't care for as much:
-Alright so for a giant twist in this sweet genre, there is a BIG TRIGGER WARNING for a miscarriage by way of car accident. It was almost triggering to me and I don't have kids and likely won't ever. But holy shit that part of the book was maybe a little unnecessary in its extremity. To be clear it's not Marnie's, but a side character's. But the trauma of that character is described pretty intensely. I feel like a different traumatic situation could have been introduced and had the same plot-result. This was just unexpected for a relatively lighthearted YA with otherwise mild themes.
-The love interest was the definition of...'that escalated quickly'. Because this is a bildungsroman YA story, a lot of the book focused on Marnie as a teenager, and not developing a romantic relationship for the center of the plot. I liked the slow burn side romance that was something Marnie was thinking about, but not her main concern. (that's technically a pro in my list here) BUT then on like the last page she is like 'omg i love you!' and kisses him for the first time and then the story ends and I was like...wtf no? So it was good until the literal last moment.
-also a minor trigger warning for a couple fatphobic comments from Marnie's mom, but from how I read it, these comments were not supported by any other characters or the narrative, so it was her mom being a bitch. That being said, no one really said anything to defend Marnie from those small comments.
- Marnie is also part of a super rich family and her privilege could have been acknowledged more since she seemed a pretty socially savvy character for a cishet white person. But it's not that kind of story, so I get why it wasn't touched upon.
All in all, great read and I am definitely going to pick up Lola's story next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
Minor: Sexual harassment