The Trouble with Flirting

February 4, 2013
LaZebnik updated Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in 2011’s Epic Fail; now she turns to Mansfield Park, giving the theatrics of the original (both on- and off-stage) the rom-com treatment. Standing in for Austen’s Fanny Price is Franny Pearson, a junior who is eager to find a summer job to save for college. Since Franny can sew, her grumpy aunt agrees to let her work in the costume department at elite Mansfield College, where high school–age aspiring actors hone their Shakespeare over the summer. Upon arrival, Franny quickly makes friends (and frenemies) with the well-to-do kids enrolled, including her old crush, Alex. Franny falls for this outwardly sweet boy, but Alex chooses gorgeous Isabelle instead. Meanwhile, Harry, a hot guy with questionable intentions, lavishes Franny with affection. While LaZebnik offers flirtatious entanglements aplenty, she only scratches the surface of her large cast of characters. Readers who enjoy romantic folly might bite, so long as they are in the mood for heavy banter and a featherweight plot. Ages 13–up. Agent: Alexis Hurley, Inkwell Management.

January 15, 2013
High school junior Franny Pearson reluctantly accepts a job sewing costumes for the renowned Mansfield College Summer Theater Program and finds herself in the middle of her own romantic drama. Franny enjoys acting, but with her parents divorced and money tight, she settles for working as her aunt's assistant in Mansfield's program and is pleasantly surprised when an old friend, Julia Braverman, arrives for the program with her brother Alex. Franny's always had a crush on kindhearted Alex. When she's not sewing, Franny hangs out with the self-absorbed, well-to-do Mansfield students, who find her sympathetic and intelligent. She's pleased and hopeful when Alex pays attention to her, even though he seems involved with another student. She's confused and mildly irritated when flirtatious heartthrob Harry Cartwright pretends he's attracted to her. Convinced Harry's not serious, the flattered Franny flirts back with surprising results, leaving her even more confused about Alex and Harry. Bemused Franny's first-person, present-tense voice gives humor and urgency to her firsthand chronicle of the vagaries of the human heart. The novel is loosely based on Mansfield Park, and unfortunately, the somewhat superficial teen characters and twisted plot pale in comparison with the original. This light summer romance with a theater theme is good for a getaway but not much more. (Fiction. 13 & up)

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May 1, 2013

Gr 8 Up-In this light, romantic tribute to Jane Austen, the setting is a theater program for high school students at Mansfield College, and the plot focuses on who is courting whom. Franny Pearson is surrounded by talented teens who are attending a six-week program to hone their acting skills. Franny, however, is there to work as a seamstress for her Aunt Amelia, the college's costume director. Most of the self-centered, insecure teens are seeking a love interest to complete their summer fun. When Franny meets an old friend, Julia Braverman, she recalls the crush she had on Julia's older brother when she was in eighth grade and is delighted to find out he's there, too. Spending time and sharing meals with the actors when she is not working, Franny enjoys the attention she receives from Alex but is confused as to why he would then choose to spend most of his time with beautiful Isabella. Meanwhile handsome, irresistible Harry flirts with all of the females willing to fall at his feet, convincing Franny that he's not to be trusted. Still, she has a wonderful time with him on one of the group's outings and the two become a couple. Enter Alex. Once again he touches Franny's heart, and she is left trying to figure out who is two-timing whom and what her role is in the summer's complicated relationship configurations. If you need enjoyable beach reads for teens looking for airy intrigue and affairs of the heart, this volume works.-Joanne K. Cecere, Monroe-Woodbury High School, Central Valley, NY

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2013
Grades 7-10 At the Mansfield Summer Theater Program, there are two exceedingly good-looking boys and many pretty girls. You do the math. High-school junior Franny is spending the summer as a costume assistant to her aunt (money is tight at home), but that doesn't stop her from finding herself in a love triangle between beautiful specimens Harry Cartwright and Alex Braverman, the aforementioned hotties who are students at the program. Julia, Alex's sister, sums things up: Let's go somewhere where you can draw me a diagram so I can figure out who's going out with whom, because it's all getting way too confusing. It's just as well the program is concentrating on Shakespeare's plays, as the mixed messages and mistaken intentions translate well to the goings-on between the students. As the program and character names suggest, this is basedlooselyon Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. Readers looking for quirky drama types won't find them here; it's beautiful people as far as the eye can see. The summer theater theme and breezy tone make this best for reading from the comfort of a beach chair.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)