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A review by laura_cs
By the Book: A Novel of Prose and Cons by Amanda Sellet
5.0
I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The daughter of two college professors and the fourth of five children, Mary Porter-Malcolm loves books. Particularly books written in the 19th century. Jane Austen, the Brontes, Gaskell, the works. Mary is contently in her comfort zone... Until her on-campus school gets shut down. Until she starts attending public school. Until her best friend dumps her and humiliates her on the first day of school.
But then when she willingly gets out of her comfort zone to prevent another girl from going out with a playboy, Mary finds herself making three new friends. Together, they embark on a journey of meeting teenage milestones (ranging in everything from going to parties, attending sport games, and going to formal dances), and creating a blog about how to avoid Scoundrels based off of Mary's beloved books. Mary just wishes playboy would stop hanging around her and getting on her nerves. But is he really as bad as she first thought? And what does that mean for herself and her friends?
Adorably swoony and bookish, Mary and her friends (mystery loving Terry, fantasy reader and future judge Lydia, and obsessive organizer Arden) are a delight. Any girl (or guy) would love to have a friend group like this. This is much more of a book about epic friendships and handling problems within friendship relationships than it being a romance book, the romance is also wonderful and ties the story all together in a neat little bow. Then there's Mary's wonderful parents (why is it so hard to write good parents in YA novels? I adore Mary's parents!) and her array of siblings--the Shakespeare obsessed twins Van and Addie, sporty Cam, and obnoxious little brother Jasper--who further add a layer of liveliness, drama (literally and figuratively) and snark. Add in a whole bunch of bookish puns and literary references, and you've got a book so full of life you feel like everything and everyone should be palpable.
The daughter of two college professors and the fourth of five children, Mary Porter-Malcolm loves books. Particularly books written in the 19th century. Jane Austen, the Brontes, Gaskell, the works. Mary is contently in her comfort zone... Until her on-campus school gets shut down. Until she starts attending public school. Until her best friend dumps her and humiliates her on the first day of school.
But then when she willingly gets out of her comfort zone to prevent another girl from going out with a playboy, Mary finds herself making three new friends. Together, they embark on a journey of meeting teenage milestones (ranging in everything from going to parties, attending sport games, and going to formal dances), and creating a blog about how to avoid Scoundrels based off of Mary's beloved books. Mary just wishes playboy would stop hanging around her and getting on her nerves. But is he really as bad as she first thought? And what does that mean for herself and her friends?
Adorably swoony and bookish, Mary and her friends (mystery loving Terry, fantasy reader and future judge Lydia, and obsessive organizer Arden) are a delight. Any girl (or guy) would love to have a friend group like this. This is much more of a book about epic friendships and handling problems within friendship relationships than it being a romance book, the romance is also wonderful and ties the story all together in a neat little bow. Then there's Mary's wonderful parents (why is it so hard to write good parents in YA novels? I adore Mary's parents!) and her array of siblings--the Shakespeare obsessed twins Van and Addie, sporty Cam, and obnoxious little brother Jasper--who further add a layer of liveliness, drama (literally and figuratively) and snark. Add in a whole bunch of bookish puns and literary references, and you've got a book so full of life you feel like everything and everyone should be palpable.