"Perfect for fans of Jane Austen" except not.... I've never felt too old for YA but this did it for me. I wish I had the strength to DNF more books because I could not get past our leading lady.

This was a sweet bookish romance, if a bit predictable it was still fun to read because who doesn't love reading about love?

This sweet, bookish YA novel is a fast & easy read. I could see this being a book that I would have absolutely loved as a teenager & an easy pick to have in any classroom library.

I really loved the premise of this one, but it fell a bit flat for me. It felt odd that no one else has read classics, even though there are a lot required in public school.

Also, when Mary's friends' found her kissing Alex, he was painted as a predator. I know it was a miscommunication, but for the intended audience, it felt too muddled of a message to send to the audience of the seriousness of such an accusation.

By The Book was entertaining enough, but the main character felt painfully immature. The story felt like mid-level fanfiction at times with overdramatic dialogue and reactions that I had a hard time not rolling my eyes at.

I did enjoy the literature references!

You know you’ve read something special when you wish you had read a book at a particular time in your past. For me, I wish I had read By the Book during my own sophomore year of high school. Though I loved it even now at 27.

I’ve seen a lot of people complaining lately that young adult is reading too old. Well, this book is the perfect solution. Mary Porter-Malcolm is your average high school underclassman. She’s (trying to) starting to find herself amongst the personalities of her family, make new friends, define what chemistry and attraction even are, and have normal teenager experiences—like going to the mall and hanging out at athletic events.

I loved that the plot centered on her and her new friend group explaining their present-day realities (and boy drama) through the lens of classic literature, thanks to Mary. I ate up the references and added a few to my tbr.

The characters were realistic and endearing—said friend group, Mary’s parents and many siblings, the love interest Alex Ritter. Ahh, again, this was a swoon-worthy story perfect for younger ya readers.

Still, as an adult, I plan to reread this. I recommend this book to readers of all ages that love stories with close families, literature references, friend groups, and themes of finding yourself and belonging.

Hello and happy release day to By the Book! I'm excited to be part of this wonderful tour. I have to say, when I first started the book, I was a little skeptical because I wasn't sure if I liked the tone, but once I started to get into it, I really enjoyed reading it.

Something I really liked about the book were the little diary entries before each chapter. I feel like we got to know Mary better through those small bits, and it made her a more developed character overall.

There are a lot of great little tid bits of literature in here, and I loved the references! I did think it was a bit pretentious of Mary to assume that every sophomore in high school had read a lot of the books she did, but it was kind of hilarious for her to have the realization that maybe she is the odd one out for that.

I also loved Mary's family. Though her older twin sisters prove to be a bit of a rough spot for her when Mary goes to the new high school, she still loves them. The sibling dynamic throughout the book made me laugh and think of my siblings. It was great to see such a nice family dynamic and relationship in this book.

This book is super charming, and it's perfect for people who enjoy nicely nestled Easter eggs from old literature.

This was such a cute book, I really enjoyed reading it from start to finish! A cute rom-com perfect for fans of Jane Austen!

Mary Porter-Malcolm sees life as points of literary reference. She cites classics as though they’re guidebooks to life. In some sense, most readers view the world this way. Books have a way of turning your brain in the most delightful manner. You can imagine your hero as Prince Charming, or maybe you envision yourself as a knife-wielding hunter. Books allow your imagination to be not only boundless but unrestricted.

This novel is an ode to the beauty and complexity of literature—more specifically how it's a direct reflection of human life most books are modeled after.

When Mary makes friends with girls seemingly on the verge of being taken by cads, they come up with a Scoundrel surviving guide that’s supposed to help them navigate dating by avoiding the boys determined to break their hearts. Alex Ritter winds up at the top of that list—and due to ignorance and miscommunication, he stays there undeservingly.

The beauty of this novel is the heroine's growth from the beginning of the novel to the very end. She goes from an unassuming book worm to a life-learned teen with the world before her.

Between her growth, the endearing family dynamic—and the top tier banter between Alex and Mary, I have to say this is probably one of my favorite YA novels. It was as adorable as it was heartwarming. 'By the Book' was an all-around enjoyable literary experience. I'm eager to see what else this author cooks up!

As a book lover (obviously) and a huge Jane Austen stan, I thought this would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, I was...bored. I think maybe it leaned too much into the bookish schtick, and it read as a bit disingenuous. I wouldn't steer anyone away from reading this, but I wouldn't steer anyone towards it either.

Was not able to read before the publish date, my library has purchased several copies of this book and it seems to be doing well.

ADORABLE, fun and charming, this one is such a perfect book for book lovers and romance lovers alike. Also the cover is gorg.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

This was a cute YA romcom about a teen, Mary, who navigates life using classic love stories as a guide. Once she meets a group of highschoolers who befriend her and look to her for guidance, fun things ensue.

Continuing on my YA Kick, I read By the Book by Amanda Sellett. I totally only requested this from #NetGalley because of the super cute cover. This was a fun YA rom-com about Mary Porter-Malcolm. When she unexpectedly ends up changing schools, she unexpectedly makes new friends by wowing them with her knowledge of classic literature romance books (think: Jane Austen) by creating the Scoundrel Survival Guide. However, she may or may not end up falling in love with a scoundrel.

This was cute and quick. If you like YA rom-coms, you’ll like this!

Thanks to @NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin for my ARC!

Mary Porter-Malcolm has lived a sheltered life. Her large family values living a well-read life. With two parents who are Literature Professors at the local college, Mary has grown up with classic literature being her only real source of information on how people act in society. At the end of the summer, Mary learns that the small private academy located on the university grounds that she has attended all her life no longer exists since their grant was not renewed. Mary finds herself thrust into a normal high school and on the first day find herself friendless and alone. A chance meeting with some of the most popular girls in her grade brings Mary the opportunity to make influential friends. By sharing her knowledge of a certain scoundrel named Alex Ritter, Mary finds herself the groups appointed guru of relationships and reading between the lines. But has her limited real-life knowledge caused her to judge situations and a certain scoundrel, a little too quickly?
Overall, I enjoyed reading this story and loved how Mary drew parallels to classic works of literature all throughout. However, I feel that this would leave many students scratching their heads because their knowledge of classic literature is not as strong as Mary’s. I think the vocabulary used by Mary will also be difficult for many students who are not accustomed to that language.

This was super cute and charming! Loved the world and characters. A much needed breath of fresh air.

What's not to love about a book about books? If you're a fan of classic literature, this is a book you'll want to read. Mary is you're typical bookworm that spends all her time reading, the only difference is she loves all the classic love stories. I loved how she thought everyone one was just like the characters in her favorite books and that's aspect gave this book a whole other level of entertainment. While I'm sure many wish romance books were the road map to finding a HEA, that's definitely not the case. This quick, but highly enjoyable read is one you definitely don't want to miss!

This was a run-of-the-mill contemporary, but was still pretty fun to read. I love books about readers, so it was easy to connect to our main character, Mary, and relate to her throughout the novel. But the plot didn't really work for me, and I was left a little bored by the ending. Perhaps if I were fifteen like Mary, I might have enjoyed it more.

"The times we had together were the closest my life has ever come to the kind of moments that could be in a book."


This is me forcing myself to overcome a writing slump because I NEED to review this book. It’s definitely one of my favorite 2020 releases and now one of my inspirations for my work in progress. Also, I must say that reading this novel was a breath of fresh air after I endured a particularly bad retelling of Anna Karenina. The main character’s disdain for Vronsky was so on point!

By the Book is like a YA combination of Jane Austen’s Emma and Pride and Prejudice. Mary Porter Malcolm is like Elizabeth Bennet. She loves to read, she loves her big family, and she has a good head on her shoulders. However, she doesn’t have a social life, and she wants to change that in her new school. There, she meets Arden, a redhead who, similar to Emma Woodhouse, is in the business/hobby of matchmaking. Mary uses her profound knowledge of the classics to befriend Arden and two other girls (Lydia and Terry). Inspired by the flirty antics of Alex Ritter (the campus Vronsky), Mary and her companions start working on a dating manual entitled The Scoundrel Survival Guide. It’s all fun and games, but Alex might not be a scoundrel after all.

I loved Mary’s relationship with Alex because it was reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice. Mary’s initial opinion of Alex was entirely based on a misunderstanding. Since the story was told from her perspective, he really did seem like a debonair playboy. So when Alex finally had the chance to explain himself, the moment of truth was utterly hilarious. Mary had more scenes with her female friends, but this made her interactions with Alex more exciting and remarkable. And because of Mary’s critical attitude, the growth of their feelings was organic. This is one of the reasons why I like the enemies-to-lovers trope.

Another thing that I adored was Mary’s rowdy family. Imagine the Weasleys of the HP series but make all of the characters book-obsessed. Even the youngest child, who was 13 years old, had read all of Jane Austen’s novels. Moreover, unlike most YA protagonists, Mary was very honest with her parents. She didn’t mind sharing her problems, as personal as they seemed. I guess the family dynamics in this book were autobiographical since the author also grew up in a big household. Mary’s banter with her parents and siblings made me nostalgic. Because of the pandemic, it’s been months since I’ve enjoyed a meal with my parents.

My last compliment goes to Mary herself. I loved reading her diary entries at the start of each chapter because they reflected many of my own sentiments: the disdain of watching a movie before reading the book, the desire to have a spectacular life, and the temptation to avoid conflict and skip to the happy parts of books. The general tone of the narrative is something that I want to achieve: snarky but with a touch of innocence and wit.

Ultimately, By the Book now sits on my shelf of favorites because of its smile-worthy content. I can see myself rereading it when I need more motivation to write fiction. If you need a story to cheer you up during these stressful times, Mary’s literary observations might do the trick.