Name:
Reached: A Georgie Darcy Novel
Author:
Amanda Quain
genre:
Young adult
Publisher:
Books on Wednesdays
Release date:
July 26, 2022
Format:
Hardcover, e-book, audio
pages:
320
It is a universally accepted truth that Georgiana Darcy should were kicked out after the Wickham Foster incident last year – at least if you ask any of her classmates at Pemberley Academy. She may have escaped expulsion because of her last name, but she hasn’t escaped the disappointment of her older brother Fitz, the scorn of the entire school, or, as it turns out, Wickham’s influence.
But she’s back for freshman year, and she needs to prove to everyone—Fitz, Wickham, her former friends, and maybe even herself—that she’s more than just a disgrace to the family name. How hard is it to become the Perfect Darcy? All she has to do is:
– Restore your reputation with the marching band (even if it kills her)
– Forget Wickham and his lies (however tempting they may be), and
– Distract Fitz Darcy – the helicopter bro extraordinaire – by making him fall in love with his classmate Lizzie Bennet (this can be tricky…)
Sure, it’s a complicated plan, but so is being a Darcy. With the help of her bandmate, Avery, ideas for finding friends taken straight from her favorite fanfics, and lots of pancakes, Georgie sets out to make her every plan a reality. But when the weight of being Darcy’s Perfect crumbles away, Georgie will have to find her own way before she loses everything forever – including the one guy who sees her for who she really is.
“Achieved” going to live in my English Lit Major heart rent-free for the foreseeable future. I was expecting to read a heart-wrenching take on Jane Austen’s classic novel from another character’s point of view, but I was so pleasantly surprised that THE WAY IS WRONG.
“My older brother, Fitzwilliam Darcy, could suck it up.”
This classic retelling with a twist really took the Pride and Prejudice characters we know and love and remade them within the framework of a modern day soap opera…or should we say CW show. IYKYK.
High school is it the worst. Children are so mean.
Georgie got confused with the wrong variety, made a few mistakes and lost some fun points with the kids at school. Instead of just moving on to the next person’s fool, her fellow students opted for the cold shoulder or worse.
Quain is so good at writing passive-aggressive and angry dialogue. There is no grace given by the newlyweds. They see all your scars, your fears, and your insecurities glistening on a billboard in the middle of a dark highway, and they use any means necessary to turn those feelings into ammunition to hurt you. It’s easy to lash out and hurt someone before they hurt you. I really felt for Georgie and hoped as I turned page after page that she would somehow find her footing (as all unpopular kids in the real world do when they grow up and shine) and begin to trust herself.
Grace costs you nothing, and it’s a lesson that seems to take longer than the others.
First love
“It was intoxicating when someone looked at me like that. I missed it.”
Quain really captures the yearning and heart-wrenching of a teenage girl. I have to admit that revisiting my crush from that day makes me cringe. Not the people themselves, they’re all still beautiful, but the more embarrassing feelings and actions that went along with it. Even now, twenty years later, my face turns crimson from the memories of how clumsily and ridiculously I behaved as a smitten kitten.
Georgie is no different as she reflects on her behavior when she was with Wickham, although I think she may be more mature than I am because she definitely shows more determination and grit throughout her story. I wish I had some of her self-awareness, but hindsight is 20/20…ish.
Final thoughts
Quain’s debut novel brings joy to my book-loving heart, and I hope future readers will enjoy her growing list of titles. Accomplished has original storylines and character combinations and reimagined them with modernity, making the classic story a fun read. I’m so excited for all the readers who will be able to get to know Georgie, Fitz, Charlie, Lizzie, Jane and Wickham in this new way. Even better, if it’s their first encounter with these characters, they might love it so much they’ll want to pick up Pride and Prejudice and start over.
Classic Lit is just the foundation, the foundation, the starting point. It’s the further stories that keep us on our toes.
“I took my final pose, shoulders back, eyes alight with pride. Not just Darcy’s honor or Pemberley’s honor. Georgie’s pride.”
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