By: Elizabeth Eulberg
Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
Penny Lane Bloom (yep she's named after the Beatles song) has sworn off boys. After being cheated on and humiliated by the boy that she thought was hers forever, Penny Lane has decided not to date. She gathers up a few friends who are also sick of the slim pickings at their high school and they form The Lonely Hearts Club. Rules include hanging out with the club exclusively on Saturday nights (only exceptions are for family and bad hair days) and immediate withdrawal of membership for dating a boy before graduation. As their club picks up steam, they also pick up problems including a budding relationship for the founding member.
Audio Review: This was my first title by Khristine Hvam (I'm saving Daughter of Smoke and Bone for a very special occasion). And I have to say that I was really impressed. This is a title that I'm not sure I would have made all the way through if it weren't for her. She has a great diversity of voices, channels a teenage energy, and breezes through some of the more cheesy dialogue. I can't wait to hear more of her titles!
Book Review: The Lonely Hearts Club was fun, and pretty cute. I enjoyed the Beatles connection through about the first half of the novel, and then admittedly got a little tired of it. More so because of the real airiness of Penny Lane's parents. If they had just been a little less enthusiastic about the Beatles and a little more involved in Penny's non-Beatles activities, it probably wouldn't have reached annoyance level.
Honestly, who hasn't sworn off boys at some point or another in their life? (Maybe you currently are?!) But, I can definitely get Penny's motivations for starting the club, and actively recruiting her friends. I thought Eulberg did a great job of not making the club all about hating males, but more about spending time with friends and enjoying being a teenager. The Lonely Hearts Club could have been formed at my high school, for sure.
Two areas that were a miss for me were the dialogue and the sheer number of characters. Some of the characters spoke with slang that was a little too old for the book (what to the evs), and it outdated even now, and the book was only published in 2009.
As the club grows, new characters are added to it. Some of the names are only mentioned once or twice, and are not meant to be remembered. (Literary cannon fodder, if you will) Every once in awhile there is a massive name bomb that goes off, and many new characters are introduced never to be heard of again.
However, my main gripe was something that has bothered me in contemporary novels for a very long time. The name dropping of colleges and brands. A character in the novel who is a talented musician is applying to Julliard. And, a gift of jewelry is from Tiffany's. I feel like little tidbits like this are just a shortcut to characterization.
Was it a fluffy feel-good read? Yes. But part of me wished that it had had a little more dimension and flavor. As it is, it probably wasn't substantive enough to stick to my brain for long.
Sounds good but hard to keep up with. Thanks for your great honest review.
ReplyDeleteIt was okay. It just wasn't a book that is going to stick with me forever.
DeleteYou really have to listen to the Smoke and Bone audiobook. Hvam is simply amazing in it and it takes you away into the world of Laini Taylor. I think I'd listen to any audiobook by her.
ReplyDeleteBut, I understand the waiting, I'm saving The Fault in Our Stars for a special weekend.
Oh, I'm saving it. Because I know that it's going to be awesome.
DeleteIt does sound like it be a pretty good read. Thank you for the honest review, and sharing it.
ReplyDeleteJenea @ Books Live Forever
Would you recommend this book to a 'not really a fan' of the Beatles? Would the references fall flat, or would it help the enjoyment?
ReplyDeleteI'm a casual fan of the Beatles. I thought some of it was cute, but a little overkill. I don't think you have to be a die-hard fan of the Beatles, but if you don't like them at all, this probably isn't a good choice.
DeleteI thought the idea of this book was cute, but for me I didn't like some of the characterization. Some of the girls and the relationships just came of a bit unbelievable to me. I'm glad you were able to enjoy it for the most part though!
ReplyDeleteThey were a little cardboard and over the top. I liked it okay, but it wasn't a memorable book.
DeleteI felt a similar way about this book : I thought this was ok, but nothing much more. Cute, not super memorable. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Kay!
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