Book written by James Ramos, published 2015.
The beginning of senior year comes with endless possibilities. It’s the last chance high school gives you to try new things and learn who you are before shooing you off into the real world. But Elliott Bennett seems to be dragging his feet. His cousin Jake has decided to join the school play, all of his other friends are doing their best to get girlfriends, and Elliott’s parents and teachers keep nagging him to think about his future. Elliott is content to skate, read, and watch science fiction movies . . . until Darcy Fitzwilliam and her friend Bridget move into the neighborhood. Darcy is prickly and condescending, but, somehow, she gets underneath Elliott’s skin. Now, Elliott’s primary goal for senior year is to find out exactly what her deal is and solve the puzzle that is Darcy Fitzwilliam.
Overall, I liked this one and will definitely read it again. Ramos paints a very clear picture with his writing style and dialogue; I felt like I was thrown back into high school the language and atmosphere felt so familiar. There were a few places where I had grammar quibbles, but the flow and pacing of the writing style and plot are well-written otherwise. It's a really good book if you're looking for something short, sweet, and simple.
One thing I do want to warn you of is that the characters can get a little confusing here and there. Since this is a gender-swapped adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, the names of the characters don’t directly transition. There were a few characters where I needed to pause my reading to piece together who they were and what role they may play in the story. So if you haven’t read/seen Pride and Prejudice before, I wouldn’t suggest this as your starting point, but if you’re already familiar with the story, give this one a read, and let us know your thoughts!
This story contains minimal language, one fistfight, and no inappropriate intimacy.
Here come the spoilers! Stay tuned if you want more discussion about That Girl, Darcy!
"Making a choice wasn't an end-all be-all. There could be do-overs. I wasn't signing my life away by making a decision."
One part of the aesthetic that Ramos created that I really loved was that Elliott and Darcy both had more edgy senses of style; Elliott was a little nerdier, but still had the classic skater vibe. I have never pictured Elizabeth Bennett or Mr. Darcy to be very edgy, so this style choice on Ramos’ part was a pleasant surprise. And the more I think about it, it was an interesting technique for establishing Elliott’s and Darcy’s characters. Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy are both a little stand-offish and judgmental of new acquaintances, but they are fairly transparent about hobbies and the like. So for Elliott and Darcy, their senses of style marry those characteristics and translate them into modern-day perfectly.
I liked Elliott, but he didn’t feel as dynamic of a character until Darcy points out to him that he’s lost. Up until that point, Elliott just hadn’t felt motivated to think about his future—he’d get there when he’d get there. So, the first half of the book can feel a little slow because while Elliott has met Darcy and is fascinated by her, Elliott doesn’t actually have much personal stake in the story. But when Darcy suggests that he’s actually running away from things he doesn’t want to deal with, Elliott really starts to look at himself, and he starts making some changes. And even though Darcy brought it up, Elliott doesn’t change to impress her and prove her wrong. He changes because he decides she’s right and that’s not the kind of person he wants to be. I did like that character growth a lot, it just took some time to get there.
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