But this was a GREAT opportunity to look at classism and...there was none of that. ( )

Hallie and Grace are sisters. Their father has just died, so they and their mother are forced to find a new place to live, so they move to L.A. to live with family there. The overly dramatic sister Hallie wants to be an actress so it excited to be in L.A. The serious sister, Grace, has to leave the boy she has fallen for.

This was an ARC I obtained a couple of years ago. It has, of course, been published since, so I'm not sure what – if anything – was changed. I enjoyed this. It was light and fluffy YA/chick lit. The book alternated viewpoints between Hallie and Grace, and given that Grace was so much more like me, I enjoyed her sections more, but Hallie did (somewhat) grow on me – or at least her storyline did! ( )

Review originally published on my blog: AWordsWorth.blogspot.com
ARC provided by publisher for review

This contemp take on Sense & Sensibility throws some interesting twists into the original storyline, but I never got the feeling anything was "missing." In fact, I think McDonald did a masterful job of transferring a very time-and-culture-specific situation into a contemporary, relatable story. And the characters are marvelous. Simply marvelous. Grace is an Elinor that I think people will relate to more than Austen's original, and Hallie is a spot-on imagining of a twenty-first century Marianne. With cellphones and the internet, and being set in Hollywood (hello!), the whole Elinor/Edward relationship between Grace and Theo develops more "naturally", and seems more plausible. Who hasn't wondered what a guy means when he texts/emails so-and-so, or stops texting/emailing after such-and-such? Likewise, Hallie's relationship with Dakota (Willoughby) is more realistic, though just as dramatic. And I love-love-loved Brandon, who is - clearly - the contemporary remaking of Colonel Brandon.

A very fun reimagining of a favorite story, with characters I could root for (even if I occasionally wanted to shake Hallie) and relate to. A quick read that will also appeal to readers who are not fans of Jane Austen (gasp!). ( )

3.75/5

Review to come. ( )

When Grace and Hallie’s father suddenly passes away, leaving everything to his new wife, they move with their mother to Beverly Hills and encounter a lifestyle very different from San Francisco. Grace, the mature, dependable one, suddenly finds herself pining for the sort-of crush she left behind. Hallie, the impulsive one, immediately pursues her acting dream and starts dating a wannabe rock star. They each must learn to deal with their father’s death in their own way while creating new lives for themselves in an unfamiliar environment. A modern take on Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. ( )