A Date with Darcy: Book Review

I have not done a book review in a really long while. Sadly that’s because I have not finished a book in months. I just was bust with other things. 

Then yesterday I had my full on day of meh. I did not want to be social. I just wanted to curl up in bed and make the world go away for awhile. So I snuggled under the blankets with a new book, A Date with Darcy. It is the first book in The Bookish Boyfriend series by Tiffany Schmidt. 

The main character, Merrilee, is a 15 year old girl, who reads to much and has never been in love with a real person. She tells everyone that boys are better in books. Then she spends her entire first day of school drooling over all the boys she meets and making up dreamy scenarios in her head. To sum things up, Merrilee is boy crazy. 

Her English class is reading Romeo and Juliet, which Merrilee thinks is the most romantic book ever. (GAG!) She decided that her new boyfriend, Monroe, is the modern day Romeo to her Juliet. Seriously? Who wants to start a relationship that will cause tension with everyone they know, and then DIE? UGH

Her English teacher challenges Merrilee to read Pride and Prejudice, because she thinks that is Merrilee’s book. At first she can’t find the romance to the book, but the more she reads, the more parallels she draws to her experiences at Hero High. She assigns her friends and the headmaster as characters and gets swept up in the moment. It’s well written, but a little crazy. 

The plot is not the only thing I find ridiculous. The name of their high school is Hero High, which just conjures up the movie from the 2000s. Announcements are done in the auditorium during convocation at the end of the day, instead of in homeroom in the morning. One of their classes is Latin. Do high schools even offer Latin now a days? 

I really did want to like Merrilee, but it took some time. She is feisty and loves her family. At one point she even threatened to fill a pillowcase full of porcupinesin order to protect her sister, which I love the imagery of. I just hate how easily she became a doormat for the idea of a boy who made her her uncomfortable with possessiveness and didn’t take no for an answer. 

Her best friend Eliza stayed far truer to herself. She is less apt for impulsiveness and tends to follow ALL the rules. She even fills out  explanatory paperwork for sleep disturbances and charts her caloric intake and exercise. Still a whole lot of ridiculousness in her life, but at least she never made me go, “What the hell did she do that for?” 

All in all I will rate it a solid 3.

Here are my favorite quotes from the book: 

Chapter 1

I think of my style as toddler-chic. Lots of color and sparkles are a bonus. 

I totally picture her accessorized like a harajuku girl. So fricking cute.

Chapter 2

… -but at least on the first day, try to focus on what people actually say – not the narratives you’re inventing for them. 

I can totally relate to needing to remember this. I run conversation scenarios through my head before saying what I am thinking all the time, especially when I am anxious. 

Chapter 9

“Sometimes I think God gave you a double dose of intelligence but forgot to include any common sense.” 

My dad used to tell me this while I was growing up. He referred to it as book smarts, but no common sense. I’ve gotten better, but there was an innocence to life back then that’s been lost through knowledge. 

Chapter 19

“…you’re allowed to change your mind about what you want . It’s part of growing up.”

This is the best advice given in the book. I hope my children all know that their lives are not set in stone and it is okay to change paths. 

I plan to read the rest of the series, because I am curious to see what other classic stories they decide to bring to modern high school life. Also, I hate things unfinished, so… I’ll keep you updated as I go. 

Thanks for reading with me. 

Kristie