Who: Mandy Hubbard
What: Prada and Prejudice
When: June 11th, 2009
Why: Hype
How: Traded with Erica.
To impress the popular girls on a high school trip to London, klutzy Callie
buys real Prada heels. But trying them on, she trips…conks her head…and wakes up
in the year 1815!
There Callie meets Emily, who takes her in, mistaking her
for a long-lost friend. As she spends time with Emily’s family, Callie warms to
them—particularly to Emily’s cousin Alex, a hottie and a duke, if a tad
arrogant.
But can Callie save Emily from a dire engagement, and win
Alex’s heart, before her time in the past is up?
More Cabot than
Ibbotson, Prada and Prejudice is a high-concept romantic comedy about finding
friendship and love in the past in order to have happiness in the present.
I had heard Prada and prejudice was a light, cute. funny read so I picked it up to come to vacation beach-side with me. Good thing I did! Prada and Prejudice is the perfect book to read while soaking up some sun!
The plot was pretty unique. Clumsy girl hits her head and ends up in the 18th century! And then when someone mistakes her for a long-lost friend, she's taken into a strange household! The thing I liked about Callie was how relatable she was to a lot of people. She was just a girl who wanted to fit in, be noticed, and party with friends. I've had a similar problem a few years ago where my closest friend moved away. It's really awkward to fit back into the circles of society while still trying to maintain contact with someone far away!
One of the funniest things were Callie trying to act like an obedient girl and falling seriously short. All the conversations between her and Alex about 'her place' and role in society really keep me interesting and laughing. Though I did think Callie took a lot of things too personally and was just sorta all over the place concerning her personality and thoughts.
I wish the book would have been longer though, and explored everything a bit more. Emily was super sweet but kinda airheaded, And Alex did fall for her pretty suddenly. I would've wanted to enjoy it longer! I thought this was gonna be a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, but Mandy molded it her complete own way! You do see elements of Austen's novel (Their relationship and Alex fit the Darcy mold) in the story though that remind you but besides that, Prada and Prejudice is a really loose retelling.
Finally, the ending. It is something that really disappointed me! It ended abrupt and sudden, and just a big no-no for me. And then that last scene? I was sooo confused! The mean girls just had a random change of heart? That doesn't happen! So yeah, last scene was another big no-no.
Final Rating: AHHH-GREAT. I definitely recommend but don't go rushing to read it!
Happy Reading!
-Harmony B.
