From Goodreads:
Based on the Emmy Award–winning YouTube series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
Twenty‑four‑year‑old grad student Lizzie Bennet is saddled with student loan debt and still living at home along with her two sisters—beautiful Jane and reckless Lydia. When she records her reflections on life for her thesis project and posts them on YouTube, she has no idea The Lizzie Bennet Diaries will soon take on a life of their own, turning the Bennet sisters into internet celebrities seemingly overnight.
When rich and handsome Bing Lee comes to town, along with his stuck‑up friend William Darcy, things really start to get interesting for the Bennets—and for Lizzie’s viewers. But not everything happens on‑screen. Lucky for us, Lizzie has a secret diary.
The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet takes readers deep inside Lizzie’s world and well beyond the confines of her camera—from the wedding where she first meets William Darcy to the local hangout of Carter’s bar, and much more. Lizzie’s private musings are filled with revealing details about the Bennet household, including her growing suspicions about her parents’ unstable financial situation, her sister’s budding relationship with Bing Lee, the perils of her unexpected fame, and her uncertainty over her future—and whom she wants to share it with.
Featuring plenty of fresh twists to delight fans and new readers alike, The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet expands on the web series phenomenon that captivated a generation and reimagines the Pride and Prejudice story like never before.
Rachel: Hey everyone! Today Katherine and I thought we’d ramble together about The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, a book we both adored but Megan hasn’t read yet. Hopefully this ramble will convince Megan to 1) watch The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web series and 2) read The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet.
Katherine: And also encourages everyone who has not seen the videos to watch them as well!
Rachel: Yes, if you haven’t watched The Lizzie Bennet Diaries first, you must do so immediately. You’ll fall in love with all the characters through the web series, and then you can read the book and fall in love with them even more. :)
Katherine: This review will stay away from book spoilers, so you can keep reading if you have seen all the videos. If you have not seen the videos, you might want to look away so you can stay spoiler-free when you start watching.
Rachel: Okay, first of all, can we just talk about how cool it is that The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet is a book based on a web series based on a book? Because seriously, IT’S SO COOL. The transformation from the classic book to the modern web series worked really well, and the transformation from the web series back to a book told in diary format also worked really well.
Katherine: You don’t even need to read Pride and Prejudice to love everything about this! You can read the book and feel like you are watching the series all over again because the book captures Lizzie’s voice so well!
Rachel: Yup, I never read Pride and Prejudice (I know, I know...I’m the worst!) but I can still appreciate both the web series and the book. As I was reading, I went back and rewatched some of the LBD episodes and it really did feel like I was experiencing this story all over again. Every video, every tweet, every little detail from the original web series is captured in the book, and the show and the book fit together perfectly.
Katherine: I am currently re-watching everything with my brother and mom, so I’ve been getting super excited to share all of little secrets and screenshots of the tweets to them. (Especially the ones from the day walking in the city!)
Rachel: (Oh my gosh, those pictures are the best.) It’s so amazing how this story takes place outside of Lizzie’s videos and her diary. There’s a whole world they created with the characters’ social media profiles and updates, and it’s such a developed and realistic world that enhances the story.
Katherine: And The Lizzie Bennet Diaries characters also interacted with characters from Sanditon. All the work that the creators did to make sure that everything worked together really paid off and made following the stories on all front even more exciting!
Rachel: Yeah, and it’s really interesting how some details not mentioned in the videos or social media pop up in the book. So even if you’re a die-hard fan of the videos, there are plenty of things in the book that will surprise you. (No spoilers, but there’s something that happens with Jane that neither one of us was expecting. :P)
Katherine: The book does a great job of staying faithful to the videos as well as including the smaller more secretive details that the viewer wouldn’t know!
Rachel: Exactly. Overall, this book is such a fantastic companion to the videos. I don’t think you can be a fan of the videos and not love this book. It’s just as fun and dramatic as the videos, and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience reading it. Just like the web series is meant to be binge-watched, this book is meant to be read in one sitting.
Katherine: I agree with everything that Rachel just said. Everything about the series is great and I can’t wait to read a book from Lydia’s point of view when it comes out next summer!
Rachel: I had not been aware of this book about Lydia until Katherine told me, but I’m just going to trust her and start getting pumped to read it. :D It broke my heart when I finished watching the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, so I’m incredibly happy that this fandom is still alive and we have plenty of content to keep us satisfied, even without a new video every week.
Katherine: We hope this encourages those who have not read the book yet to go get it and read it to continue the Lizzie Bennet love. Now have some Dizzie to get you through your day!
Rachel: THAT PICTURE STOP IT I CANNOT I SIMPLY CANNOT EVEN KATHERINE. THE DIZZIE FEELS.
Katherine: They are SO CUTE.
Rachel: Anyway, thanks for reading this ramble-y mess. If you’ve read The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, let us know what you thought of it down in the comments!
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