I love a good (clean) retelling of Pride & Prejudice that gives a new perspective with a familiar and era-appropriate feeling to the classic story. Lizzy Bennet’s Diary by Marcia Williams (Candlewick, 2014) adds scrapbooking to an illustrated first-person diary-format story to give young middle-grade readers a delightful and fun introduction into the classic novel! Williams adds cute illustrations to the diary entries to give it even more personality.
But Lizzie Bennet’s Diary is not just a diary with illustrations. Williams has also included three-dimensional elements, such as a filled out “dance card,” a formal menu listing, invitations and ticket stubs from a visit in London, and letters, which well attached to the page but also unfoldable. Most of the text is rewritten or retold from Austen’s original text so it seems fresh and modern, but it still feels very close to the same Lizzy’s perspective as in the original novel, so I can forgive any abridging and retelling going on here. How fun to unfold Jane’s letters to read the contents!
The only downside is that all the letters are in a cursive typeface (with each person writing with a different style), and I’m afraid that my tweenager may not be able to read them well. I’ll have to see what she thinks, though, when she opens this book on Christmas morning. I can’t wait to introduce her to Lizzy and I’m excited that Lizzy Bennet’s Diary has put this favorite story of mine into such a fun format that will be just right for girls like her.
