“Look,” he said after several minutes. “Darcy…”
My grunt of disgust was instant. “Look, Lucas, no one likes to be addressed like that.”
He paused for a second. “Sorry. I have undeveloped social skills.”
Finally! Something we agreed on!
(from Pride, Prejudice, and Curling Rocks, page 44)
Pride, Prejudice, and Curling Rocks is a modern adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for the high school crowd, but adult fans of the classic novel also will enjoy Andrea Brokaw’s interpretation. The basic storyline of Pride and Prejudice is there — girl and boy meet, offend one another, hate one another, get to know one another, and navigate misunderstandings until they finally come to their senses. However, in catering to a modern (and younger) audience, Brokaw deviates from the original in many ways, making it easy for readers to get caught up in the world she has created and even forget that they are reading an Austen-inspired novel.
Darcy Bennet is a high school senior living in Meryton, New York. She does well in school, but she only cares about curling, so much so that she is upset when her best friend, Jean, expresses interest in going to college in California — a move that would dismantle their curling team. When Jean expresses an interest in Adam, Darcy encourages her to pursue a relationship with him in hopes that it will persuade Jean to go to Catskill College with Darcy and keep the curling team together. Darcy isn’t sure why Adam’s friend, Lucas Fitzwilliam, doesn’t want Adam and Jean together. She finds Lucas arrogant and annoying, and she makes sure he knows exactly how she feels about him.
Meanwhile, a fellow curler, Hunter, begins showing an interest in Darcy, and even though she thinks something isn’t quite right about him, she can’t deny that he is attractive. She soon learns that Hunter and Lucas go way back, and they don’t have anything nice to say about one another. Why would Lucas, according to Hunter, abandon his team in the middle of a curling competition? Darcy can’t think of a good reason, but she also can’t reconcile the Lucas who would abandon his teammates with the Lucas who dotes on his young niece.
I really enjoyed Pride, Prejudice, and Curling Rocks, and I don’t know anything about curling, other than what I’ve seen on the Olympics. Brokaw, a curler herself, makes it easy for non-curlers to follow the games she describes, and she made me want to one day try the sport. Darcy comes across as selfish and singularly focused, but I think most readers can remember being self-absorbed teenagers worried about being separated from their best friends as graduation day nears. And while Darcy is obsessed with curling, I am obsessed with books, so I can understand her need for an outlet from the stresses of life.
Brokaw does an excellent job creating believable characters who are both flawed and likable. I could see a little of Elizabeth Bennet in Darcy and a little of Mr. Darcy in Lucas, but I was glad that the book didn’t follow Austen’s too closely. Brokaw’s novel felt fresh and exciting, and even though I knew how it would end, I had no idea how the characters would get there. Pride, Prejudice, and Curling Rocks would be enjoyable without the Austen connection, but pairing Austen and curling certainly is a good way to attract attention!
Disclosure: I received Pride, Prejudice, and Curling Rocks from the author for review.
© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
This sounds like an interesting take on P&P, but I wonder how many teens know what curling is!
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Well The Girl has watched it with us on the Olympics, but I’m not sure how many teens have actually played it!
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What an odd combo! But I think I love it. My grad school friends and I got into an unexpected curling mood before a night of drinking. Memories! lol
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The combo really works well in this book. I was surprised and delighted.
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I think Pride and Prejudice is sort of biblical or Shakespearean, in that so many plots come from its basic premises! I also like books that teach me about other stuff – bridge, rowing, curling, whatever. I think it’s wrong to assume one won’t like the book because one doesn’t know about the thing featured, because a good author will teach you about it, and make you wish you did know more about it!
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Well said!
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LOL, PP and curling, well that is sure something I have not come across before
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It certainly is unique and it totally works!
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I love that whole idea of curling! I watched it once and thought I would like to try it!!! This sounds cute and I would have to read it because it’s a P&P variation! 😀
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I think you’d enjoy this one. It was my first YA P&P variation, and I wasn’t disappointed.
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Curling fascinates me after learning about it during the Olympics. Combining curling with P&P has to be a fun read!
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It really was a fun book and totally made me want to try curling someday.
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I’m fairly obsessed with curling. I’ve never played, but I wake up at all hours of the night to watch during winter Olympics. Definitely adding this to my to-read pile. Thanks for the review, Anna!
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You’ll definitely want to read this one, then!
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Sounds like a fun book! Do you feel like you learned anything about curling as you read it? I know a little about it from our Canadian friends.
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I do think Brokaw does a good job teaching the basics of curling without bogging down the narrative.
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What a funny spin on this book! Sounds like it worked too!
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It did!
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This sounds like a unique “take” on Austen. I enjoyed your review, Anna.
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Thanks, Suko. I’m always surprised by how many unique ways the story can be retold.
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I love that her name is Darcy Bennet.
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I liked how she used names from P&P in different ways.
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I’m glad this was fun. I don’t know why, but it’s the curling that’s drawing me to it. I don’t know much about the sport but find it fascinating for some reason.
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Well, you’d certainly learn a little more about it from this book!
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