Dreaming In Books

Title:  Prada and Prejudice

Author:  Mandy Hubbard

Publisher: Razorbill

I am not a giant Jane Austen fan, but I really enjoyed reading Pride and Prejudice for a book club at school last year, so the title held some merit for me.  The use of a major fashion brand of shoe AND time travel made me instantly want to read it.  Not to mention Lauren's cries of 'CUTE BOOK'.  My library had a copy, so I caved and read it over the weekend.  I was really happy with the light read, but some parts of it just weren't to my taste.

Callie is on a trip to London for school.  She thought it would be one of the coolest things ever - except her best friend moved away, and she's stuck dealing with random people with British accents and the group of three popular girls that just won't give her the mind of day.  When Callie overhears one of the girls talking about her love of Prada, she decides to splurge on the 'Emergencies Only' credit card and get herself a real pair of Prada pumps.

Callie isn't even a couple blocks away before she trips, smacking her forehead onto the sidewalk.  She awakens in a forest almost twenty miles from town, picked up by a girl named Emily in Regency dress who proclaims her to be her old friend Rebecca visiting from America.  Callie gets taken back to discover that she is in London - accept it's rewound about two centuries.  Just when she starts to find a friend in Emily, she also discovers some of the not so great things about society, especially when they consider women.  Not to mention she's practically swooning over the Duke, aka Alex, who possibly holds a sinister secret.

Prada and Prejudice is pure chick-lit, and because of it the characters are quirky and light and meant to relieve tension more than anything else.  Callie was a pretty decent protagonist, though at times I felt her to be immensely short-sighted for her supposed smarts.  After she finally decided she was indeed in Regency England rather than modern-day London, she continued to speak like she would in modern times.  Sometimes it was for good reason, and I really enjoyed her pro-feminism streak, because I can relate to not wanting to shut up just because someone says so.  However, the way she spoke was very, very different from the rest of the characters in terms of vocabulary and slang, and as much as the country difference accounted for it, there were times I felt she could have regulated her words.  The rest of the characters were much more enjoyable.  I liked Emily's simplicity and trust, along with her hidden crafty streak, and Alex was a fine enough male lead.  He wasn't around ALL that much, but I liked the parallels between his romance with Callie and the one found in the original Pride and Prejudice.

The plot moves like lightening, and I really enjoyed the take on it.  It wasn't anything I'd call ground-breaking, but it was a pleasant read that worked well in preparation for summer.  Hubbard's writing was pretty average, and I liked it well enough.  I did notice one instance where she referred to a character by their name chapters before Callie - who is narrating first person - ever learns it.  That didn't really detract from the experience, but I just happened to notice it.  The only thing I was really sad about was the ending.  I would have enjoyed a less-predictable solution, though I enjoyed that Callie had managed to come full circle and change up her scruffier parts.

Prada and Prejudice was overall a light and fluffy read that serves its purpose, and manages to come above some of the other average chick-lit, though it sometimes falls into the same tropes that feel over-done.  I liked Hubbard's pacing and idea working immensely, and I'll be interested to see what she has up next for teens.  If you're ever looking for a good beach read or quick-day getaway in book format, I'd recommend this in a heart-beat.  Though, if you happen to cringe at the thought of Prada heels taking a beating, I'd be a little more skeptical.  ;)

Cover Comments: LOVE the cover!  Sleek and trendy red heels with a nice little background flourish that helps tie the book together with the chapter openings. :)

Rating:  3.5 Stars (Though if you take chick-lit less seriously, I'd say round it up a bit)

Copy:  Borrowed (Library, I thank you)

*Note*  This review, as well as Thursday's and Friday's feature, will be a bit late in coming up due to marching band and/or finishing up things with school.  Not to disappoint y'all or anything, but I can't do everything!  T_T