[description from goodreads]Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating. So she vows: no more. It's a personal choice. . .and, of course, soon everyone wants to know about it. And a few other girls are inspired. A movement is born: The Lonely Hearts Club (named after the band from Sgt. Pepper). Penny is suddenly known for her nondating ways . . . which is too bad, because there's this certain boy she can't help but like. . . .
Review:
The Lonely Hearts Club is definitely not the deepest piece of literature out there, but that doesn't stop it from being totally fun and sweet. Even though it is a bit predictable, it's still satisfying to see everything come together in the end.
You can probably guess part of the ending of this book based off the summary alone; I know I did. However, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing because the road to the end wasn't as predictable as it could have been. The Lonely Hearts Club (the club in the book, not, you know, the book itself) never seemed to be without drama; school, friend, and boy issues were constantly causing trouble. After the admittedly slow but interesting beginning, when all the other problems showed up, there was a never a dull moment. There were a few cheesy and unrealistic but still sometimes kind of adorable moments, but they definitely weren't dull.
Penny is such a refreshing narrator because she's actually not a loser. There are too many "My best friend is way prettier than me why can't I be more like her I am so unpopular wah wah wah" characters in YA nowadays, so reading from the point of view of someone well-liked was just so lovely. That, and the fact that she took on a leadership role and didn't hide behind her friends, made me adore Penny. She had a realistic backstory, filled backstabbing friends and icky boys, that made all her actions made sense. I understood where she was coming from, which was so nice.
I wish that Penny's friends weren't as obnoxious, her parents showed up more often because they were hilario, and that the book wasn't so cheesy at parts, but honestly, my biggest complaint about The Lonely Hearts Club is that my book smells really weird (not that I smelled it on purpose. I could smell it from like 8 inches away). It's pure fun- predictable, sometimes sickeningly cute, fun. Could have been better, yes, but I know that every so often I need to read something that's more feel-good and sweet.
Book details: Point/Hardcover/$17.99
Links: Elizabeth's website/blog/twitter
3 comments: