Title: Prada and Prejudice
Author: Mandy Hubbard
Published: June 2009 by Razorbill
My Rating: 3 stars
Tags: YA | Romance | Historical
Includes: Sensuality
First Lines: It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a teen girl on a class trip to England should be having the time of her life. At least, that's what I thought.
Insecure Callie is on a school trip touring London, with a group of other teenagers. After buying an expensive pair of red Prada heels (to impress a group of girls), she trips and bonks her head. After waking up, Callie finds herself in the 1800's of England! She's quickly mistaken by the Duke of Harksbury's family of a friend named Rebecca, who they're expecting from America. From there, Callie must keep up the charade of being Rebecca, while lying to her new friend, Emily; and as she tries to understand the strange attraction she feels for the arrogant duke, Alex.
From Page 100
I stop in the hall, taking the opportunity to stare at him, even though I'm sure Emily will tease me about it later. She's insane if she thinks I actually like him. I just like looking at him. The second he opens his mouth, the appeal is gone. And the more I learn about him, the more I despise him.
Hmm I have mixed feelings about this book. It's my first real historical-fiction young adult book, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. The whole novel was cute, sassy, and fun. It's a quick and easy read, but doesn't go that far in depth. Cassie's insecurities and lack of confidence showed during the beginning of the novel, but seemed to fade throughout the story. Overall I liked her character, it felt realistic and girly, but I didn't really step into her shoes. I kept waiting for a part in the book when I'd feel connected with her, but unfortunately that never happened.
The whole storyline is really creative and cute! I liked reading about how different Callie's world was during the 1800's, compared to the twenty-first century. Little details about her surroundings, clothes, and dialect made it seem more real.
From Page 23
The elderly man staring back at me is thin and frail, with a sneer and a hard glare that makes me want to step back. My stomach twists. He doesn't look very friendly. He's dressed in a really old fashioned way, wearing a starched white shirt and black jacket, and get this - he's wearing a powdered wig like George Washington or something.
I do have a big complaint about the book though - and that's the fact that it's never explained why Callie even "went back in time" in the first place. She frequently asks herself this, if maybe she's supposed to change the outcome of something, in order to go back to the twenty first century. I kept waiting to read why tripping on Prada heels transported her back in time but the author never explained. Also, it's never clarified whether it was just a dream/her imagination, or if it really happened. Ugh, that's bothering me so much!
I guess the overall book is a cute and funny read, that will hold your attention. The characters all have a strong and diverse personality, and the time period descriptions were fairly accurate. (Minus the time Callie calls the Duke by his first name, Alex. Yeah right!) I'm glad I read this book but I can probably live without reading it again. If the ending actually made sense, I'd like this book a whole lot more.
From Page 100
I stop in the hall, taking the opportunity to stare at him, even though I'm sure Emily will tease me about it later. She's insane if she thinks I actually like him. I just like looking at him. The second he opens his mouth, the appeal is gone. And the more I learn about him, the more I despise him.
Hmm I have mixed feelings about this book. It's my first real historical-fiction young adult book, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. The whole novel was cute, sassy, and fun. It's a quick and easy read, but doesn't go that far in depth. Cassie's insecurities and lack of confidence showed during the beginning of the novel, but seemed to fade throughout the story. Overall I liked her character, it felt realistic and girly, but I didn't really step into her shoes. I kept waiting for a part in the book when I'd feel connected with her, but unfortunately that never happened.
The whole storyline is really creative and cute! I liked reading about how different Callie's world was during the 1800's, compared to the twenty-first century. Little details about her surroundings, clothes, and dialect made it seem more real.
From Page 23
The elderly man staring back at me is thin and frail, with a sneer and a hard glare that makes me want to step back. My stomach twists. He doesn't look very friendly. He's dressed in a really old fashioned way, wearing a starched white shirt and black jacket, and get this - he's wearing a powdered wig like George Washington or something.
I do have a big complaint about the book though - and that's the fact that it's never explained why Callie even "went back in time" in the first place. She frequently asks herself this, if maybe she's supposed to change the outcome of something, in order to go back to the twenty first century. I kept waiting to read why tripping on Prada heels transported her back in time but the author never explained. Also, it's never clarified whether it was just a dream/her imagination, or if it really happened. Ugh, that's bothering me so much!
I guess the overall book is a cute and funny read, that will hold your attention. The characters all have a strong and diverse personality, and the time period descriptions were fairly accurate. (Minus the time Callie calls the Duke by his first name, Alex. Yeah right!) I'm glad I read this book but I can probably live without reading it again. If the ending actually made sense, I'd like this book a whole lot more.
Book Supplied by: Won in a blogger's contest!
This sounds cute, but no doubt hard to take seriously lol.
ReplyDeleteTruth - a couple of years ago I had a similar idea for a story (common theme, yeah) and amused myself (I was probably doing some mind numbing chore at the time, like laundry)picturing some airhead valleygirl type back in the time of the Salem Witch Trials ... yes, I have a strange imagination lol
This sounds, as Mary Ann said, cute! The small excerpts that you posted are hilarious! Callie is the most prejudiced character I've heard of!
ReplyDeleteI've been really torn on this book. There were such great reviews for it, but I just didn't see how it could really be what they were saying.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad for your review! It sounds more like what I thought the book would be and answers my questions about it.
Thanks!
I haven't read this, but it sounds interesting...YA historical fiction was never my reading forte but I'll try this out =)
ReplyDeleteAww... I thought this book would be really good. I was trying to borrow it at the library, but they didn't have a copy available. Now I know that I don't have to buy it.
ReplyDelete