Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

Published: January 1^st, 2011

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 231

Rating: 4/5

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl of high standing at Longbourn Academy must be in want of a prom date.
After winter break, the girls at the very prestigious Longbourn Academy become obsessed with the prom. Lizzie Bennet, who attends Longbourn on a scholarship, isn't interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be - especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London.
Lizzie is happy about her friend's burgeoning romance but less than impressed by Charles's friend, Will Darcy, who's snobby and pretentious. Darcy doesn't seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it's because her family doesn't have money. Clearly, Will Darcy is a pompous jerk - so why does Lizzie find herself drawn to him anyway?

Review:

            Lizzie Bennet is different than the rest of the girls at her school. She doesn’t care about $800 dresses or Jimmy Choos or Gucci bags. And she has zippo interest in prom. In fact, after only one semester at Longbourn, she’s sick of hearing about prom. Of course, this is beyond appalling to the other Longbourn girls. So appalling that she’s become the object of taunts and pranks. If she can just get through without too much physical or emotional harm coming to her, and soak up as much as she can from her music lessons, then everything will work out fine. But that was before that arrogant cod Will Darcy entered the scene…

            I usually try to avoid Pride and Prejudice spin-offs (or all Austen spin-offs, rather). Why? Well, long story short, if the spin-off turns out bad, it kind of sours the original book for me. But I gave Prom and Prejudice a go, and was surprised when it turned out alright. In fact, it was delightful and charming and kept me entertained the whole time through. I read it in record time- less than 24 hours (well, record time for me). It was a sweet, easy read and didn’t deface the original Austen work in the least.

            The story line follows along pretty closely with that of Pride and Prejudice, but is much more modernized, of course. I actually liked the modernized style, and wouldn’t mind trying another updated version of the Austen classic. Elizabeth was obviously very careful in not tainting the original story in her effort to recreate her version, and I applaud her for that, because many authors have absolutely mutilated many Austen titles in their efforts to design new versions. (let’s leave Austen and vampires separated, please). I was pleasantly delighted that Elizabeth didn’t stain the classic romance with her own awful version- no, quite the opposite.

            One thing I wished I saw more of was romance between Darcy and Elizabeth. It was very tame, and that’s perfectly alright, but kind of wish there was a least a kiss or two. This is my only complaint, and a bad one at that, since I’m usually complaining about an issue that’s the exact opposite- the content not being tame enough. I am thankful Elizabeth didn’t sexualize it overmuch, though, because that would have ruined it completely.

All in all, Prom and Prejudice was a delightful summer read that was both short and sweet. I highly suggest you add it to your pile of fanciful romances to read over the summer.

Quick Content Review: *may contain spoilers*

Language: None- Mild (one or two words, if I remember correctly)

Violence: None

Sexual: Mild (“Wick,” aka George Wickham, previously tried to take advantage of Darcy’s younger sister. The handsome devil also attempts to take advantage of Lydia, Jane’s wild younger sister. He’s stopped both times before anything come of it. Nothing described.)