Loved reading this Shakespeare adaptation in a queer version. So great to have stories that my fellow peers and I can relate to.

Epically Earnest is an LGBTQ+ rom-com inspired by Oscar Wilde’s "The Importance of Being Earnest". Jane Worthing is adopted and in her senior year of high school, trying to work out her desire to find her birth parents while simultaneously crushing hard on her best friend's cousin, Gwen. This was a sweet story about the awkward phases of growing up, high milestones, found family, and being your authentic self.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Clarion Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Importance of Being Earnest was the play that first made me realize "classic" could also be funny. So I was excited to read a modern retelling. Especially since the original story is all about the persona we project and the lies that we tell. That fits pretty solidly into the modern world. But this version didn't work especially well for me. The plot deviates from the original play enough that the shared theme is not enough to draw parallels. It's a solid teen romance, just lacking in the sharp humor of the original play.

This was a DNF for me. I wasn't super interested in any of the characters, and it just wasn't my favorite. There was nothing awful except that I found it boring

i was a little wary going into this book, contemporary romancish books are not often my vibe, but i ended up really enjoying this book. it was short, and not a lot happened, but i really enjoyed following our main character, and her friends. my favorite part of the book was the obituaries she would write for the people in her life, both those close to her and those whom she had a single interaction with. it was so creative and interesting and added a lot to the story.

"I think it's because if a mystery is big enough and old enough, you have to worry that the answer might not be big enough to fill the hole the question has carved in you." - pg. 5

This book honestly ranks up there with Ophelia After All for me. Disclaimer, also, that I’ve never read The Importance of Being Earnest. For me, this book reads like an readalike for Molly Kasperek’s work. If I was reading a pitch for this book, it would comp their books. There’s fast moving romance, basically everyone in the book is queer, there’s dealing with internet fame. The worst thing about this book was how short it was, leaving me wanting more and admittedly feeling kind of unfinished. Four stars because I genuinely liked it so much.

I enjoyed Epically Earnest - although I found it to have a slightly rushed ending, overall I enjoyed the story and the vibe of a big old queer group of friends is something that I know many of my customers would love

3 ⭐️ read!

What I enjoyed…
-quick read & romance picked up right away!
-diverse characters
-re-telling was clever, the references were great if you are a Wilde fan / would want to use this book to compare the two for a class as a teacher!

What was lacking…
-characters didn’t really feel complex or finished
-although I LOVE quick reads, this at times did feel like we needed more of the story
-not a lot happened which didn’t make it super compelling!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC🖤

I really wanted to love this book. I was so excited for an Oscar Wilde retelling, but unfortunately the characters didn't feel well-developed to me. And although I could see some of the parallels to The Importance of Being Earnest, I didn't feel like this story did a great job of either being a faithful retelling or turning the story on its head and giving us a new perspective on it. The characters were all very privileged and didn't feel relatable. I don't regret reading this, but I couldn't see myself wanting to read it again in the future. 2.5 stars.

A really cute romance that’s perfect for teens and young adults. It was whimsical and held a genuine youthfulness to it that’s rare to find in books nowadays. 10/10 read.

So impactful! I loved it! I really recommend this to everyone. It was super good and had me in all my feels. Perfect for young adults and adults.

In this delightfully romantic LGBTQ+ comedy-of-errors inspired by Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, a high school senior works up the courage to ask her long-time crush to prom all while deciding if she should look for her bio family.

Epically Earnest by Molly Horan is a rom-com inspired by The Importance of Being Earnest. How close is the book to the Importance of Being Earnest, I'm not sure. I don't remember much about this book as I read it about a week ago. That being said I read the book in one sitting so I guess I enjoyed it. I gave the book 3.75 stars and I am rounding it up to 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure if this book just wasn't for me (entirely possible) but I couldn't get into it. Despite it being short, I found it incredibly prosey sounding and while I know that this was based off The Importance of Being Earnest, it felt disingenuous to the youth voice (or maybe not, I'm not a youth anymore so I don't know).

I wanted to love this and yet, it was just too stilted. I felt that Janey was trying really hard to be funny, when she wasn't. I didn't feel like the characters actually liked each other. I just didn't click. I love Oscar Wilde and was so excited to have a story about someone else's love of him.

What a great combination of some of my favorite story elements! Although I haven’t read any Oscar Wilde (I know, I know), I found that it didn’t impede on my enjoyment whatsoever. This story had me completely enthralled with an inviting friend group and cast of characters, witty and clever dialogue and relatable situations. I came to care for each character is deeply by the end that I almost wish that the book was longer. But every second of this was just wonderful: filled with a perfect combination of family and friend drama with romance sprinkled seamlessly in. I can’t believe this is a debut. I’d say, this author is definitely one to watch. A fantastic YA, great read.

This one was really just okay. I’m a little disappointed because I love the Importance of Being Earnest so much, but I do think this does it some justice. It follows Jane, a high school senior who is trying to find her biological parents and also navigating her colorful friendships and love life. The characters in this book stand out, especially her best friend Algie. Sometimes irritating, but always well-intentioned, Algie is the most interesting part of this book. Also interesting are Jane’s parents who are supportive and kind and have compelling stories of their own. I wish they got more page time.

Speaking of page time, this is a pretty short book, and I think that mostly works. This isn’t plot driven but character driven and there are a few side characters I wish got a little more time. Still, this works as a short, fun novel. I think this author has a lot of potential.

Ultimately, I didn’t hate this but don’t see myself recommending it to my students. It’s fun, but they might not grasp some of it without knowledge of the original play. Also, there’s a reference to adult film star James Deen, who is problematic and not someone middle schoolers need to read about. Still, I think this will work for some older teens and I’m glad I got to read it.

continuing my train of quick reviews (sorry if you’re tired of them already, but my capacity for much else is non-existent so here we are) with a short ya romcom by molly horan called ‘epically earnest’. inspired by oscar wilde’s comedy-of-errors ‘the importance of being earnest’, the book follows janey, a high school senior knows as the ‘#bagbaby’ around the world, as she was adopted by parents who found her left in a handbag as an infant. while deciding if she’s ready to look for her biological family, janey also works up the courage to ask her long-time crush to the prom. knowing she needs to be honesty not only to herself, but to her friends & family, the novel explores the complexity of identity & belonging, the many forms family can take, and staying true to yourself.

this book was fine. pretty average ya romcom, nothing amazing. janey as a main character wasn’t overly exciting, but some of the side characters grew on me. i think what this book struggled from was pacing: sitting at just over 200 pages, the story felt rushed, and i wish we could have had a bit of room to let the characters breathe.

I really enjoyed Epically Earnest, it felt really sweet and realistic and was quite quirky.
Epically Earnest is inspired by The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, and it was a fun retelling.
I also enjoyed the family dynamics in the book, and the friendships.

I DNF’d this book about half way through. While the premise and romance are cute in concept, I found it to lack foundation in world building and juvenile in execution. It had great aspects to it, but it just didn’t excite me to pick up.

This was an enjoyable read for me. It has been so long since I read “The Importance of Being Earnest” that I genuinely could not tell how reliant upon that play was the plot of “Epically Earnest.” Overall, the storyline was simple, which made it easy to consume; however, this also made the reading experience quite ordinary. I cannot say that I will remember the plot a few months from now. I will say the cover is very memorable.


Thanks to NetGalley and Clarion Books for providing me with an ARC of this book! All opinions are my own.