Elizabeth Eulberg's debut novel THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB is undeniably fluffâbut it's the best kind of fluff, with a likable and realistic protagonist, a predictable yet sweet romance, and an avoidance of typical fluff gender stereotypes.
Penny's character was deep, no-nonsense, and thus extremely enjoyable. Unlike the typical protagonist in this genre of YA, Penny is happily free of the tendency to obsess over boys or freak out over every little mishap. Freed of this trope, Penny becomes a remarkably astute, clever, and strong girl, and we like her so much as a result.
The secondary female characters were mostly flat stereotypes and rather annoying. They fail to act as nice counterparts to Penny's well-developed character. On the other hand, I thought that most of the male characters were interesting to read about, even if their negative qualities tended to be slightly exaggerated in order to justify the formation of the Lonely Hearts Club.
Readers can probably almost instantly pick out Penny's eventual love interest, but thankfully Penny is not the âlove/lust at first swoonâ kind of protagonist, and instead we can see the cute, gradual development of their romance and her realization that the original rules of the Lonely Hearts Club can be modified. Most of the plot points contributing to Penny's eventual eye-opening are cheesy and clichéd, but the strength of the main characters makes sure that this book does not disintegrate into another tries-too-hard-to-be-hip-and-YA chick lit feel-good novel.
Despite the fact that the characters and the plot are rather forgettable, the feeling that this book elicits will stay with you. The core of it is, after all, a story of staying true to yourself and not giving up your identity for the sake of a boy. If anyone wants a quick and easy lighthearted read, I will not hesitate to recommend THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB. A great âfluffâ debut!
Penny's character was deep, no-nonsense, and thus extremely enjoyable. Unlike the typical protagonist in this genre of YA, Penny is happily free of the tendency to obsess over boys or freak out over every little mishap. Freed of this trope, Penny becomes a remarkably astute, clever, and strong girl, and we like her so much as a result.
The secondary female characters were mostly flat stereotypes and rather annoying. They fail to act as nice counterparts to Penny's well-developed character. On the other hand, I thought that most of the male characters were interesting to read about, even if their negative qualities tended to be slightly exaggerated in order to justify the formation of the Lonely Hearts Club.
Readers can probably almost instantly pick out Penny's eventual love interest, but thankfully Penny is not the âlove/lust at first swoonâ kind of protagonist, and instead we can see the cute, gradual development of their romance and her realization that the original rules of the Lonely Hearts Club can be modified. Most of the plot points contributing to Penny's eventual eye-opening are cheesy and clichéd, but the strength of the main characters makes sure that this book does not disintegrate into another tries-too-hard-to-be-hip-and-YA chick lit feel-good novel.
Despite the fact that the characters and the plot are rather forgettable, the feeling that this book elicits will stay with you. The core of it is, after all, a story of staying true to yourself and not giving up your identity for the sake of a boy. If anyone wants a quick and easy lighthearted read, I will not hesitate to recommend THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB. A great âfluffâ debut!
Reviewed by Ashley B for TeensReadToo.com
Penny Lane Bloom is sick of dating boys. All they do is cause her trouble and heartbreak. She vows to date no more for the next two years, until she graduates from high school. Penny decides to start a club: The Lonely Hearts Club (yep, like the Beatles).
The club soon has multiple girls joining. These girls have also realized that they are changing themselves to get the guy, only to get hurt in return. Things change after an article in the school paper though, and Penny doesn't like how she is now known for having the "lonely heart."
Besides, there is this one boy...
This was an amazingly written debut novel. I loved every minute of reading, and I could not stop until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. The characters were fun and unique. The plot was totally original, which made the story even better.
The Beatles references weren't over-done. It seemed like there were a lot of main characters, but that was okay, because the plot flowed nicely, and I got to know each character pretty well.
Overall, THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB was very enjoyable and extremely cute. It is a great book about the meaning of friends, especially while in a relationship. A great debut!
Penny Lane Bloom is sick of dating boys. All they do is cause her trouble and heartbreak. She vows to date no more for the next two years, until she graduates from high school. Penny decides to start a club: The Lonely Hearts Club (yep, like the Beatles).
The club soon has multiple girls joining. These girls have also realized that they are changing themselves to get the guy, only to get hurt in return. Things change after an article in the school paper though, and Penny doesn't like how she is now known for having the "lonely heart."
Besides, there is this one boy...
This was an amazingly written debut novel. I loved every minute of reading, and I could not stop until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. The characters were fun and unique. The plot was totally original, which made the story even better.
The Beatles references weren't over-done. It seemed like there were a lot of main characters, but that was okay, because the plot flowed nicely, and I got to know each character pretty well.
Overall, THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB was very enjoyable and extremely cute. It is a great book about the meaning of friends, especially while in a relationship. A great debut!
Liked it, typical YA book, but liked the characters.
My Thoughts: I've read a few reviews on this so I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I've heard good and bad. But, since I usually like romantic books I dove into this one. From the first page I was hooked. We meet Penny who I instantly liked. We meet her friends, and we meet Ryan, her ex-best friends boyfriend. I instantly liked him from the get-go. Even when Penny was saying how once her best friend started dating him, she ditched Penny. I still liked Ryan. HA, the boy whose locker was next to mine in high school was also named Ryan! HAHA! We also meet another guy who is into Penny. She seems to be the nice girl who the guys want but don't usually make their feelings known. I totally adored this book. There were parts that were somewhat predicable but it made me want to keep reading more and more. I loved the chemistry between Penny and her mystery guy. I loved all the Beatles references. I loved Penny's friends. I loved the club. Can I join the club please? We've all been through what Penny goes through before. Feeling like guys are losers and are evvillll! Been there, done that! This book is adorable.
Overall: Adorable! Cute! Awesome! Loved It! Loved the club. Loved Penny. Loved Ryan. Loved it all! Plain and simple: This book will be bought as a keeper for me.
Overall: Adorable! Cute! Awesome! Loved It! Loved the club. Loved Penny. Loved Ryan. Loved it all! Plain and simple: This book will be bought as a keeper for me.
I absolutely loved this book! It's a great story about a girl who swore off love but found it anyway. Plus it's packed full of girl empowerment! A really excellent read!
A cute, whimsical read. Not deep or thought provoking, but light and fun. I'd recommend this book for anyone- preteen through adult.
I am in the middle of a divorce, so the premise of this book spoke to me. I am sure everyone who has had their heart broken can understand the idea of swearing off the opposite sex. And when I started this book I thought it would be a little over-top and even boy bashing.
But instead I found this book to be more about women empowering each other. The Lonely Hearts Club is more about bringing the girls together to support and empower each other than doing anything else. I think in a lot of times friendships between women get portrayed as catty or even shallow. This book was really good at showing that women can be in friendships that make everyone in the group better.
The author does a good job of moving the story along--and making the emotional progression that the girls are going through seem very realistic. Yes, at first the club seems to start as a knee-jerk reaction to a bad experience with a boy. But by the end the girls all see that the club is more about themselves. And that they are stronger as friends than they were before.
I think what really annoyed me was the principal of the school. His reaction to the club seemed unrealistic or if it is realistic than I am very disappointed in school administrators.
But instead I found this book to be more about women empowering each other. The Lonely Hearts Club is more about bringing the girls together to support and empower each other than doing anything else. I think in a lot of times friendships between women get portrayed as catty or even shallow. This book was really good at showing that women can be in friendships that make everyone in the group better.
The author does a good job of moving the story along--and making the emotional progression that the girls are going through seem very realistic. Yes, at first the club seems to start as a knee-jerk reaction to a bad experience with a boy. But by the end the girls all see that the club is more about themselves. And that they are stronger as friends than they were before.
I think what really annoyed me was the principal of the school. His reaction to the club seemed unrealistic or if it is realistic than I am very disappointed in school administrators.
