Title & Author:
Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik
Publisher:
HarperTeen
Publication Date:
August 02, 2011
Pages:
288
Source:
Purchased

Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long. – Goodreads

Cute cute cute! Epic Fail is freaking adorable and fun – a perfect pick-me-up on a rainy, sad day.

When I first started reading Epic Fail, I had no idea it was a modern take on Pride and Prejudice until someone told me, but then I thought about it and I definitely saw the similarities as I was reading. This is awesome on two levels – I love Pride and Prejudice, but Claire LaZebnik was clever/talented enough to make the story her own without overdoing the retelling. I never once thought “yeah, yeah, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy already did this” – I was too invested in what was happening to Elise and Derek.

A lot of the elements in Pride and Prejudice would have been tough to translate to modern times, but the setting for Epic Fail was very crafty. A prep school in LA suited the story perfectly.

I liked Elise’s character a lot – I thought she was witty and clever, just like Elizabeth. I must admit, I had no real affinity for Derek until the end, but that’s true with Mr. Darcy as well.

Overall, I loved reading Epic Fail. It definitely brightened by day, and even though it was one of those books where I knew exactly how it would end, I couldn’t stop reading – it was too much fun getting there. Epic Fail is a fun and adorable book, and I definitely suggest it to anyone in need of a pick-me-up.

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