Series: None
Author: Claire LaZebnik
Published August 2nd 2011 by HarperTeen
Goodreads Summary
At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:
- As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school--not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.
- As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn't exactly on everyone's must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.
When Elise's beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince's best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.
Goodreads
Review
You'll probably be sick of hearing me say this, but any book that has any sort of connection to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is bound to get on my radar. So when I heard about this, I downloaded the book, and immediately got onto it.
In Epic Fail, Elise Benton and her sisters start at the prestigious Coral Tree Prep School when their mam is given the headteacher position. Elise and Juliana are flung into the snobby and snarky lifestyle of the LA Elite, and they're at a disadvantage that their parents are teachers, and not celebrities. They meet Derek Edwards, son of two of the most famous Hollywood actors, who is aloof and shy around new people. Immediately Elise and Derek butt heads, and she finds herself growing close to Webster Grant, who seems to have a history with Derek.
This book did stay fairly true to the original story. Based in the star flung LA scene, the characters are understandably quite full of themselves, especially those with famous family. I wasn't too keen on Elise, though, she didn't have the strong and endearing personality that we all know and love from Elizabeth Bennet. Derek, on the other hand, was a perfect Darcy figure, and he made the book worth reading.
Really, the book, though enjoyable, fell a bit flat, and was really short. I feel like a lot of the original story, like Mr Collins and Colonel Fitzwilliam, were missing, and they could have been added in somewhere. It did appease my Pride and Prejudice fix, but I wouldn't be in a hurry to read it again.
Dates Read:
June 16-17, 2016
Rating
3 Stars
Rating
3 Stars
