Austenland by Shannon Hale | Teen Ink

Austenland by Shannon Hale

March 11, 2009
By ReaderGirl BRONZE, Peoria, Arizona
ReaderGirl BRONZE, Peoria, Arizona
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment

For a Jane Austen fanatic/ Colin Firth Fangirl, you'd think a trip to Austenland would be the dream vacation you'd be dying to take, but for Jane Hayes, an artist stuck in a job were she has to manipulate pixels instead of her preferred paint, it's a nightmare.

After going through 15 boyfriends, each one breaking her heart a little at a time and leaving little for the next man, let alone for Jane's spirit, only finding comfort in ordering in and watching the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice for the trillionth time, all the while dreaming that soon the day will come when she'll meet her Mr. Darcy, is it any wonder she's a little hesitant to delve fully into her fantasy for fear she might loose herself completely?

But, deciding that going on this trip might help her kick her Darcy obsession once and for all, she goes, hoping her decision wont make everything worse.

In Austenland, she dumps her jeans and t-shirts for bonnets, bloomers, corsets,and gowns, but finds she hasn't taken to her fantasy as quickly as she thought she would, unable to shake the fear of going for something that wont last. But soon, as Jane finds sticking to the rules of Austenland harder then she'd anticipated, and feeling a little silly about being mixed in with the wealthy women who come to Austenland to find a fling, or fulfill a fantasy, she can't "help" but fall for the gardener, Martin, who seems to agree with her about Austenland and it's inhabitants.

But will meeting Martin bring her something long term, or put her right back where she was before coming to Austenland?

Well I'm not going to tell you! :P

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Overall I thought this was a really cute book! I cared about Jane and wanted to read to the end as things got more exiting! It did get a little depressing in the beginning because Jane had had so many heartaches but things picked up and it ended up being a really satisfying read.


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msn9896 GOLD said...
on Jul. 31 2011 at 12:59 pm
msn9896 GOLD, Billings, Montana
11 articles 0 photos 31 comments

Favorite Quote:
I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality. ~H.A. Overstreet

Austenland is being made into a movie. Check it out :)