this was an arc so as always no spoilers! i love the importance of being earnest, it’s one my favorite plays of all time. i wouldn’t call this a retelling, so much as a romcom that uses the same bones and personalities. to me, the importance of being earnest is all about the insane hijinks, something i felt was missing from this story. that being said, it was still an adorable book to read. i love the way it was about a girl becoming more confident and her relationships growing and changing THROUGH her newfound worldview. i also loved the messages about family and what’s really important. overall, super cute.

While it wasn't among my favorites, Epically Earnest holds a special place in my heart for the happy, healthy portrayal of polyamory on the page. Thank you, Molly Horan!

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review,

It was a cute and luckily a fairly quick read, but it felt incomplete. The author sets up multiple paths this story could have taken (a riff on a comedy of errors, the search for a biological family, adherence to the teen comedy, satire of a teen comedy, coming of age) but instead of picking one of these, the story has tiny elements of each that do not form together into a fully fleshed out story. Janey has an epic character set up--as a baby she was found abandoned on a train in a Gucci bag--but this is treated as a simply oddly specific backstory with very little impact on the actual story. Remove all of the partially developed setup plots and you would still have the exact same core story of a girl asking out and getting the girl of her dreams. Even this is a letdown due to there being no stakes, nothing Janey has to fight against or overcome, and we as the reader don't even have much of an opportunity to "see" any chemistry develop between Janey and her crush Gwen due to the way the story unfolds with its commitment to pointless set up paths. It's ultimately an unsatisfying book that desperately needed a strong editor to enforce a single main story flow and allow Janey to have an actual character journey.

Especially Earnest – Molly Horan

3/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Especially Earnest in exchange for an honest review.

Especially Earnest is a sapphic LGBTQ+ retelling of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. It follows our main character Jane, abandoned as an infant and adopted by a man who finds her in a purse, leading to the viral “Bag Baby” video that circulates the internet and follows her for her entire life, her best friend Algie who steals her spit just to do a DNA test to help her find her family, his boyfriend (and Jane’s cousin) Cecil who is head over heels for Algie, and Algie’s cousin Gwen who Jane has been in love with for most of her teen years.

All the characters were very sweet and loveable but had their own quirks and moments that made me slightly dislike them – as with any character or real person. Algie is a ridiculous drama queen that needs to be the centre of attention and has a dramatic flair that makes Jane worry about his relationship with her younger cousin, while Gwen is a private school-rich kid that only really wants to do good in the world and help people.

It did feel though, like the author was trying too hard to make the characters relatable and quirky, the dialogue really didn’t settle very well with me sometimes, it was almost just too much to read at some points. It’s like listening to someone who has twenty topics to get through but only 60 seconds to do it. I definitely think that the pointless dialogue could have been dialed back a little bit.

This book covers the span of less than 3 months, the final days before high school graduation for the trio. The thrill of first loves, finding prom dates with elaborate promposals, discovering new family, and branching out in every aspect of life.

While being lighthearted and adorable, this book really does deal with some more dark and serious tones that were almost a nice break from the cheesy comedy that most of the book is. It includes Algie’s fear of abandonment from his best friend, trolls that over-sexualized Jane via the internet as she grows from being Bag Baby, being adopted and wanting to branch out to possibly find her family but not wanting to hurt her adoptive family.

Especially Earnest is brutally sweet and was a breath of fresh air when it comes to queer novels. There was no homophobia, no coming out as the main plotline. It was just two couples falling in love and being teenagers for their final adventure before graduation. Overall, it was a really good read and I did really enjoy it, I just wish the dialogue was toned down a bit and didn’t feel like a fever dream

This was an interesting read but it felt that it was for a younger crowd. I would definitely recommend for high school age kids.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clarion Books for the e-ARC to read and review. This book was a total home run for me, I greatly enjoyed it and also thought the plot, pace, characters, themes, and storytelling style were all great. I found the Oscar Wilde quotes to be wonderful inclusions, while the actual Importance of Being Earnest references themselves were on the light side. I think if readers had no reference to the story they'd still enjoy this (and maybe just find the characters to have oddly outdated names), while Wilde fans will find a few clever hints and treats - which I personally find to be the best type of inspirations and references. (It's not at all a retelling, it's almost a thought of what would that kind of, well, earnestness, look like in a modern story setting.) I would want this book to be a few chapters longer 1) because I enjoyed it so much but also 2) some of the sillier antics could be upped and some of the many plot lines (there's adoption/identity discovery, 2 romances, a promposal storyline, and more!) could be explored more in depth to be absolutely all-star.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this novel. I have not read The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, so some parts of the plot might have hit harder had I been familiar with that play. But even without that, this was a charming and heartfelt YA contemporary! I loved Janey as the main character, and I thought that her storyline about her adoption and search for her birth family was extremely well-done.
And of course, I enjoyed that this was sapphic. I just wish there was more of this book - at about 208 pages, it's more a novella than a full novel, and I think this could have easily been a five-star read had the story been given more room to develop and breathe.

I am a huge fan of Oscars Wilde, and I really enjoyed the quotes and references to his life and the importance of being earnest. This was a fun reimagining of the play, brought into the modern age with a more modern ending. While I enjoyed the book, I did get tired of reading the living obituaries. They stopped the momentum of the plot. Other than that, I enjoyed the book and think it’s a great read for Oscar Wilde fans.

This is such a fun book! If you cannot tell form the cover, it is a queer YA adaptation of "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde. As the play is one of my favorite comedies, I went in with high expectations, and the book more than met them. Note that is more inspired by the play; it does not retell it. And I rather loved that. It has the inspiration and wit of Wilde's work, but it is also has the feel of a fun YA love story. This is more of a slice of teen life between Spring Break and prom senior year than the country house comedy of errors of the original.

I LOVED Horan's take on Algernon (he is perfect)! And turning Cecily into Cecil worked so well. The story is just as much about friendship and what makes a family as it is about love. It was a joy to read and generally a sweet book. It made me literally laugh out loud repeatedly. If you want something fun to read this summer, this is a great choice.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

Content warning for: adoption, abandoned baby

Epically Earnest is a sapphic story inspired by Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. It's got great romance and characters. There were a few times when it felt like the author was trying too hard to write "real, quirky, modern teens," but overall I really liked the writing style and humour. Lastly, the storyline following family dynamics and bonds was beautifully written and a real stand out of the book. I'd highly recommend Epically Earnest to anyone looking for a queer romcom with a little more depth (specifically, regarding family and aside from just the typical queer coming of age narrative).

Epically EPIC!!! This novel was EVERYTHING and more!! I loved it! The characters were fun, engaging, and unique. I really loved the interpersonal relationships between the characters.

‘epically earnest’ is a queer, gender-bent VERY LOOSELY adapted version of oscar wilde’s play “the importance of being earnest.” the book centres around a girl named jane (originally jack in the play) who is in love with her bff’s cousin gwen and trying to figure out the missing pieces of her life before she was adopted.

as an oscar wilde fan, i did go into this hoping it’d be more like the comedy but found that other than the character’s names, our protagonist being abandoned as a child, and wilde’s heartfelt theme of found families (tho in the play he DOES find his family…) there wasn’t much similar to it? so that left me wanting a little.

i also think the pacing was a little off. the things that felt important and needed more time to explore, didn’t get that. and the other things that didn’t really need that much went into too much detail that felt almost unnecessary???

overall, i enjoyed it. i thought the story was a cute, easy-to-read queer af book and had a nice message about family and belonging. it was a lovely read about queer teenagers just being teenagers tbh so if you’re up for that — and a sexy at cover, then add this to the tbr!

This was just so fun. Low stakes and absolutely charming, this queer YA is based on Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, with all of the heart and wit of the original story. It felt fresh and modern and smart and safe. If you like queer YAs, read this one!!

Thanks to Clarion and NetGalley for this ARC.

CW: adoption, abandoned baby

3.5 stars. Light, angst-free, queer YA retelling of The Importance of Being Earnest with a sapphic twist. The dialogue was fun and comedic, and overall this was a quick enjoyable read. I wanted a bit more buildup and chemistry between Jane and Gwen, but Algie’s antics made up for most of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I know they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but this one is just *chef’s kiss*!

This book is a crossover of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and that subway baby story, which I had to google, but it turns out it’s a real thing that happened.

To be honest, I went in expecting the hidden identity shenanigans of the play, but make it gay. And it was a wonderfully queer, but the shenanigans weren’t really the point of it. It was about family and friendship and how we navigate those relationships. The book absolutely lives up to its title, it is indeed epically earnest. An all around feel good read!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book!
The Importance of Being Earnest was my favorite assigned reading for senior year so obviously I had to read this book. I absolutely loved everything about this - the charm, the characters, the writing style, literally everything! The cover is gorgeous and I would 100% read this again.

Starts w/ a spit-take: a friend stealing spit to 23&Me their adopted friend. Humor perhaps too try-hard w/ a poor economy of words and focus on what equates to queer millennial Facebook speak (instantly dated), but nothing obscenely glaring. The MC’s vivid, awkward bi romance is cute, but her banter with her gay friend/cousin of girl-crush too TV dialogue to come off realistic. Also, the only time she ever cried was when a couple sleazy strangers online commented she’s sexy? That’s extra ridiculous, seems to be misplaced emotion for being lonely.

Terminally online, these teen seem a tad too childish, James Charles pseudo-poz and gushy. Yet their poetic vocab seems more befitting people six years older. This all would seem less annoying in a Netflix series, where you expect the disconnect. Ex. Buying your two-face friend a Broadway Cinderella ball gown for prom? Not unless these are Bill Gates’ kids—or just considering how weird that is to do unasked, as a boy, having to transport, and assuming sizing. Too much far-fetched, jumbled telling vs. showing.

This is a story about family, born and found.  Janey Worthing was adopted by her father when she was one, after he discovered her abandoned in a Gucci bag in a suburban New York train station.  This story was one of the first viral sensations on the Internet, and Janey has long sought to avoid being defined by this one thing.  Now entering her senior year, Janey could not ask for a more loving family and long-time best friend, Algie.  

But her world is thrown upside down when Algie submits her DNA to a company that helps people with their family trees, and discovers Janet’s biological relatives.  So Janey has to decide whether to reach out to her biological family, at the same time she is dealing with her massive crush on Algie's beautiful and seemingly unattainable cousin, Gwen.  As she navigates these challenges, Janey must face what she wants from her family, her friends, and a romantic partner -- and what that means for how she defines herself.

This book was delightful.  The author did an excellent job of portraying the different elements of identity, including how one's exploration of their own identities can often unsettle their closest relationships.  Both Janey and Algie have a strong sense of who the other is at the outset of the story, and they struggle, in different ways, as they see the other growing in unexpected ways.  The book also excels in its examination of family, and all the different forms family can take.  Finally, as a reader, you cannot help but root for the potential romantic relationships at the heart of the story, between Janey and Gwen as well as between Algie and Cecil.

Highly recommended!

Navigating her senior year, and her not so secret crush on her best friend’s cousin, Jane didn’t plan on adding finding her long lost family to her to-do list. She’s always felt loved by her adoptive family, and if she occasionally wonders what happened for her birth parents to abandon her in a NYC subway, so what? One ping on an ancestry site later and Janey has to decide is opening the door to the past worth it.

Loosely based on The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Epically Earnest follows Jane’s journey alongside her best friend Algie, her cousin Cecil (who is hopelessly in love with Algie, despite his playboy ways) and Gwen, the most beautiful girl Jane has ever seen. I loved their friend group, filled with double dates, sneaky setups, and an epic promposal. Overall this book balances on the line between rom com and self-discovery, and pulls it off without ever getting too angsty.

This is super cute and the characters are super lovable but I found it to be underdeveloped. I like the adoption representation, but would have really liked more closure on it. This book really could have used 50 to 100 more pages to finish flushing out some of the details.

The characters have big Casey McQuiston vibes, and I truly could have kept reading about them forever. They were so fun and playful, and also flawed in ways that they realized and worked on.

Despite being set in NYC it didn't really feel that New Yorky. I think you could have told me it was set in any city and I would have believed it.

Overall, this is a cute queer YA rom-com, but it's nothing more than that.