Prom and Prejudice

Since I love Austen novels, I was excited when I heard about Elizabeth Eulberg's latest novel, Prom and Prejudice. Last year I read Mandy Hubbard's update, but I don't think I could ever get enough of updates of classics. 

There's so much to love about the book. Since I have already read Pride and Prejudice I enjoyed seeing the similarities and differences, but I think that teens who have not read Austen's original would still enjoy this fun book. 

Eulberg decided to open with the first words of Austen's well known original line, which I loved. She also named the characters the same; although, she made some creative changes to some of their relationships. It was fun to see the general plot in tact while making it work in the context of contemporary teens to see how some of the events would play out today. In both the original and this book, I loved the scenes with Lizzie and Collin the clueless who just does not get rejection when he sees it!

One of my favorite characters that does not come across with the same dynamics as the first was Mr. Bennett. He is barely in this version and his sense of humor never shines through. Though Lizzie's mom is in the book a little bit more, her personality is completely different as well, but I did not miss her hysterics as much as I missed Mr. Bennett. 

Nonetheless, Eulberg's version was a nice blend of similarities while also adding in her own creativity. In her acknowledgements, Eulberg wrote, "And of course there's Jane, the lovely Miss Austen. No one could ever touch what you have created. Prom and Prejudice is simply my attempt to pay homage to your brilliant work and to celebrate you as what you will forever be known as - one of the greatest authors of all time." I love the view of rewriting as a way to celebrate original works. I thoroughly enjoyed Prom and Prejudice. I still have another Austen remake, Scones and Sensibility on my TBR shelf as well, so I might be posting about more Austen themed books soon.