Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Sass and Serendipity by Jennifer Ziegler - ESSENTIAL


Ziegler, Jennifer  Sass and Serendipity, pgs. 369. Delacourte Press, an imprint of Random House, Inc., 2011.  $15.99.  PG – Language (20-25 soft-core swears); Mature Content: PG-13 (party with drinking and making-out); Violence: G.
This is a delightful book that follows, more or less, Jane Austin’s “Sense and Sensibility.”  Set in the present, Gabby is the sensible, serious “Elinor.”  She is a 17year old senior and older sister to 15year old Daphne, the “Marianne” character.  Gabby works hard to get good grades and help support their family.  Daphne, ever the cheerleader, goes out to buy a Prom dress, spending money the family doesn’t have, before she even has a date.  Their mother, Liz, is recently divorced and not doing well financially or emotionally.  They are in dire circumstances and being threatened with near homelessness when an unexpected turn of good luck saves them.  Who are the Edward Ferrars, John Willowby and Colonel Brandon characters?  You’ll have to read the book to find out!  I really liked reading this book.  The characters were believable.  It was a breath of fresh air to have main characters that weren’t interested in drugs, alcohol, or premarital sex… or vampires. There were enough unexpected twists and turns in the story to keep me wanting more.  The flaws in this book were:  the plotline didn’t follow “Sense and Sensibility” as much as hoped for; the sisters didn’t come together to overcome adversity as much as expected.  MS / HS – ESSENTIAL.   Mary Jane Burton

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