Prom & Prejudice

by Elizabeth Eulberg

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the work of Miss Jane Austen is oft copied and updated, usually with disastrous results. This dear Reader, would be one such novel.

It’s Gossip Girl meets Pride and Prejudice, as Elizabeth Bennet navigates the social scene at prestigious Longbourn Academy. A scholarship student from Hoboken, Elizabeth is an immediate pariah, except to her kind roommate, Jane.

Well, dear Reader, you probably know how the story goes: some flirtation with snobby Will Darcy, more flirtation with bad boy George “Wick” Wickham, and a suitably pleasant ending. Well, pleasant enough.

What bothers me most about this Austen update is the portrayal of Lizzie Bennet. At Longbourn, Lizzie is an outcast and bullied by all of the other girls. I was disturbed and disappointed by her victimization. Of all of things that the author could change, why this? Miss Bennet is so much better than that.

Other gripes: the language used is sometimes modern and sometimes Austen-like, the whole music storyline, and the somewhat disappointing ending. I would say that this could have been better, if properly executed, but I cannot. The basic plot/concept of this novel is just too weak.

Very disappointing.

1/21/11