Trade in marriage for prom night and you have Elizabeth Eulberg’s Prom and Prejudice. In this modern adaptation for young adult readers, Lizzie Bennett is on a music scholarship to prestigious Longbourn Academy for girls where she befriends Jane. Jane wants nothing more than to be asked to prom by Charles Bingley who attends the sister-school Netherfield Prep. When Lizzie meets his friend Will Darcy she immediately finds him rich and arrogant. Through the course of the novel, they continue to misread each other, but in keeping with the original version, they are able to work past their indifferences. But does he ask her to PROM?!
In this spin-off of the classic, Eulberg has made it most accessible to a younger audience including relatable themes such as prom, friendships, and misguided judgments. She tries to keep this story’s events similar to that of Jane Austen’s novel, but tweaks the relationships between the characters, i.e. Jane and Elizabeth are friends rather than sisters. The writing style of this novel keeps with that of a young adult audience and may not appeal to the interests of adults, but I think that any girl who enjoys the tale of Pride and Prejudice should read this version.
Check out our other Pride and Prejudice reviews here: Mr. Darcy’s Diary and Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Toni Guest