Publisher: Touchstone
Publishing Date: June 24th, 2014
Page Count: 380
Source: Local Library
Format: Hardcover
Description from Goodreads.com:
Based on the Emmy Award–winning YouTube series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
Twenty‑four‑year‑old grad student Lizzie Bennet is saddled with student loan debt and still living at home along with her two sisters—beautiful Jane and reckless Lydia. When she records her reflections on life for her thesis project and posts them on YouTube, she has no idea The Lizzie Bennet Diaries will soon take on a life of their own, turning the Bennet sisters into internet celebrities seemingly overnight.
When rich and handsome Bing Lee comes to town, along with his stuck‑up friend William Darcy, things really start to get interesting for the Bennets—and for Lizzie’s viewers. But not everything happens on‑screen. Lucky for us, Lizzie has a secret diary.
The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet takes readers deep inside Lizzie’s world and well beyond the confines of her camera—from the wedding where she first meets William Darcy to the local hangout of Carter’s bar, and much more. Lizzie’s private musings are filled with revealing details about the Bennet household, including her growing suspicions about her parents’ unstable financial situation, her sister’s budding relationship with Bing Lee, the perils of her unexpected fame, and her uncertainty over her future—and whom she wants to share it with.
Featuring plenty of fresh twists to delight fans and new readers alike, The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet expands on the web series phenomenon that captivated a generation and reimagines the Pride and Prejudice story like never before.
Review:
I have to give full disclosure and say that I did not watch The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet on YouTube. I heard of it, it sounded great, I intended to watch it, but then never got around to it. Luckily, I was contacted to read the second book in this series, The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet, and was given the excuse to borrow this one from the library to read first. I have to disclose a second bit of information and admit that I never read Pride & Prejudice, but it's one of my favorite movies! I know! That is just as blasphemous as when I admit to you that I've only watched all the Harry Potters and have never read any of the books. I KNOW, DON'T KILL ME! At least I still loved them!
Anyways, we're getting off track here. Pride & Prejudice is one of my favorite movies and whenever I see a re-telling in book form, especially YA although these ones technically fall under NA, I always pick them up. So, when I was offered to read this series for review, I jumped at it. And, boy am I glad I did. This book was fantastic! I always find re-telling's so interesting, because I look for the ways that they change things from the original, and I am super happy with how it was adapted into modern day for this series. It was seriously ingenious, worked really well, and kept me reading page after page.
What was super fun is knowing that eventually Lizzie and Darcy will get together, but waiting to find out when. It's always my favorite part of the re-telling, because he is such a douche in the beginning and it's fun to see how the author will turn him around to become the love interest. I loved the idea of a video blog in order to explain the events going on in Lizzie's life. It was so fresh and modern. This book definitely has me wanting to watch the videos, so hopefully I will get to those soon. If you love a good re-telling of Pride & Prejudice, check out those other re-tellings, but if you want a GREAT one, read this series!
Overall:
I absolutely loved it. Pride & Prejudice is one of my favorite movies and I always love reading YA and NA re-tellings of the story. This is definitely my favorite re-telling so far and I love how fresh and modern it was. I never got around to watching the YouTube channel, but it is definitely on my to-do list. Check this series out! You will not regret it!
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 5/5
**The books cover, description, and info was all found on Goodreads. A link back has been provided. All other work and ideas are of my own creation. This book was borrowed from my local library.**
