Sass & Serendipity
Author: Jennifer Ziegler
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 12, 2011
Pages: 384
Source: Purchased
About the Book: For Daphne, the glass is always half full, a situation is better managed with a dab of lip gloss, and the boy of her dreams—the one she’s read about in all of her novels—is waiting for her just around the corner.
For Gabby, nothing ever works out positively; wearing any form of makeup is a waste of study time, and boys will only leave you heartbroken. Her best friend, Mule, is the only one who has been there for her every step of the way.
But when the richest boy in town befriends Gabby, and Daphne starts to hang out more and more with her best and only friend, Mule, Gabby is forced to confront the emotional barriers she has put up to stop the hurting. And for once, her sassiness may fall prey to her definition of stupidity.
My Thoughts: A modern day retelling of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility? Yes, please! You know I love me some Jane in the modern day! 😉 This was a cute story loosely based on the original. When I forst started I was trying to match all the characters up with who they would represent from the original version. This was a bad idea. The author uses Sense and Sensibility as a starting point for Sass & Serendipity but this book is quite different. This is a good thing but I think I love the original too much to appreciate the differences fully!
Two sisters, Gabby and Daphne, are the main characters. One is uber responsible and, well, a bit uptight. The other is more fly by the seat of her pants. While there were some really fun scenes I felt that the sisters were a bit too much for me. I know that they are supposed to be in contrast to one another but I thought the were too extreme. It distracted from the story. Having said that, I still enjoyed the book. I liked watching the way the characters interacted. The varied relationships were interesting as were the ways they evolved. As a bonus? There was a Dr. Who reference!!! Win!
Overall a quick and enjoyable read. I caution die hard Jane Austen fans! Just remember that it is not a strict retelling!!!
Leave a Reply