I'm a sucker for a Jane Austen retelling, and thoroughly enjoyed this one. The retelling aspects, from boarding school and college links to the reimagining of Wickham, were fun to see play out in modern day, teen ways. Setting it from Georgiana's view and centered on her story was an interesting and fresh take that makes me intrigued by the other ways the character could be handled in retellings, while also simply making it amusing to see only brief glimpses of Darcy and Lizzie. Instead, I enjoyed seeing how Darcy's personality might manifest with his sister, and vice versa.

The author did a good job of portraying Georgie's narrow mindset, tunnel vision, and a very teenage view of how to fix things, even as that makes her come across as annoying some of the time. I was also surprised but pleased to see how much the book focused on examining the privilege of the Darcys and making Georgie deal with it, instead of it being a passive fact about them. The ending - especially Georgie's growth and her resolution with her brother - feels a bit rushed, but I was still glad for Georgie. Overall, a charming, funny take on Pride & Prejudice that feels properly rethought for YA.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Amanda Quain's "Accomplished" is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice with Georgiana Darcy as the main character. Austen fans will recognize the updated story, but you do not need to have read or be familiar with the original to enjoy this book. This has marching band, brooding boys, humor and some darker themes to it too. Fun, solid retelling,

I love the modern day version of "Pride and Prejudice," all the major parts of the story are told in a very contemporary way and Georgie (Georgiana) has a life other then practicing on a pianoforte. The only thing is that the modern world that Georgiana is living in has given her a little rough ride so far. I like that Wickham is just as awful in this rendition as the original but this one include social media and term papers and double crossing Georgiana, which twists the relationship with Fitz and makes their relationship stressful, not bubbly like Pride.

Over all the main characters that I like in the original are in the story, and their characteristics have been updated so that they could be people you know. I also like the addition of Avery and Emily they made the story more realistic, in terms of a high school life. It was great to see how Georgie accomplished what she set out to do, and stood up for what she believes. plus she found a love interest that like her for who she is and was kind of turn off from all the opulent that Georgie lived in. It makes the relationship kind of cute and romantic.

I want to thank St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this great take on "Pride and Prejudice."

ARC provided via NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for honest review.

A modern Pride & Prejudice through the lens of Georgiana “Georgie” Darcy.

*No spoilers but specific scenes are mentioned*

Set in present day New York State at the illustrious Pemberley Academy, Georgie Darcy is trying to move on from the mistakes she made the previous year involving one notorious bad boy Wickham. She had reluctantly been given a second chance by the administration by way of overbearing brother Fitzwilliam Darcy. He is everything she knows she will never be, so why try to live up to his exceedingly high expectations? Because it’s all she has left.

Georgie must prove to her brother, and herself that she can make a life for herself and prove she is worthy of friendships, good grades, and maybe even love.

There is rarely an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice that doesn’t in some way hit the same marks as the original. It’s the feeling of approval that one seeks from Mr. Darcy and the feigned interest he portrays until he reveals his true feelings. In this version it’s different. We don’t see him falling for a girl through the eyes of the girl, we see the side that is rarely seen, his relationship with his sister and how much she means to him. Fitz Darcy is still the major player in this book but it is Georgie that is calling all the punches. He still has his usual dry humour charm and yes Lizzie Bennett is still highly featured in this book but the focus is entirely on Georgie and how she wants to be in control of her own life.

Georgie is headstrong and she is determined. One thing she is not is afraid. She is not afraid to ask for help from the right people at the right time. It may make sense for the right person to be her older brother, but in finding herself and her voice she realizes that she has other people in her life that she can depend on, ask for help.

Overall this book is a quick read. The action isn’t too intense but it built up in a way that is interesting. We get to see almost all of the key players from the original along with some plot lines similar in structure to the original plot. There are definite leaps taken with this adaptation but it feels close in nature to the essence of the original. In an AU where it’s modern times and Georgie plays trombone in a private high school’s marching band.

But we need to talk about one in particular. Charles Bingley. Or shall we say Charlie Bingley. I’m every adaptation he is a standout character. Since the release of “The Lizzie Bennett Diaries” he has ingrained himself as a fun loving goofball of a character and that is exactly how he is written in this book. His bubbly personality is contagious. Like in this quote between Georgie and Avery talking about meeting him at a frat party:
“I don’t have to be him when I grow up, do I? I don’t think I could handle the pressure.” “No one else could.” I shook my head. “That was a once in a lifetime person right there, my friend.”
He truly is a once in a lifetime character…

My other favourite scene in the book takes place when Georgie calls Fitz for help super late at night. He offers to pick her up and these glorious lines of dialogue happen:
“Would it make you feel better if you dressed in all-black and I didn’t fully stop the car to pick you up?” I laughed. “Yes, please.” Tears welled up in my eyes, though I couldn’t have said why. “Thanks. Just call me when I should come outside.” “You got it, Beanpole.”

Then they go to Target and wonder why a store like that exists… Rich people sometimes…

As an avid Janeite and a high school teacher, I was really excited to see how this book would work with Georgiana Darcy's story in a modern teen setting. I have to admit that it fell short of my expectations. I found the writing to be very clunky (some more grammar checks are definitely necessary), but beyond that there was far too little description in some places and far more than was needed in others. The way that Quain described characters' races in the first third of the book made me feel downright uncomfortable. The plot also felt unbalanced: there was way too much setup at the beginning and it wrapped up a bit too quickly at the end. I'm also unsure as to what the ultimate message is that Georgie learns. I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable, and the ones who I could have grown to love weren't given nearly as much development or 'screen time' as I would have liked. I think the premise of this book is excellent, but I think its execution was clumsy.

I’m a sucker for bringing Jane Austen’s character into present day, so this book was right up my alley. I may have accidentally finished it in one night. 🙈 Great characterization and setting. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

While reading, I felt it was similar in tone and mood to “A Study in Charlotte.” I enjoyed it but didn’t love it. I didn’t love the plot of this book and wanted to know more about the main “Mr. Darcy” and Lizzie. I found the main character a bit annoying & narcissistic.

I love any Pride and Prejudice retelling but this was one of the more unique ones I’ve come across because of the focus on Georgiana / Georgie. This book is firmly in the YA category but the themes of redemption, self realization, family, community, etc. we’re strong and we’ll written. I enjoyed the modern setting with all the beloved characters firmly in place. Her involvement in band brings the entire book up a level and the inclusion of her fandom love, with Tumblr references included, are extremely well done, which is hard to do well.

Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel.

Accomplished: A Georgie Darcy Story by Amanda Quain is a fun modern day tale of Georgiana Darcy, the sister of Fitzwiliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Bringing the story into the present day, it's like a Rosencrantz and Guilderstern Are Dead story where Georgie becomes the main character and the other characters in Pride and Prejudice are the secondary ones.

Georgie is a high school student who has to follow in the large steps of her brother, Fitzwilliam Darcy, at Pemberley Academy. Not used to being on her own, she comes back for her next year in high school after a big scandal involving her childhood friend, Wickham. Will she be able to overcome the prejudices of her classmates and redeem herself?

It was an interesting take on a story that I know well, spun to be in the modern age.

I loved this twist on Georgiana from Pride and Prejudice. Such a sweet YA story and I loved all the Austen easter eggs. Recommend!

Accomplished: A Georgie Darcy Novel by Amanda Quain is a YA modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice focusing on Georgianna Darcy. I love P&P and have always been fascinated by the Georgianna character because she is much discussed by other characters and her entanglement with Wickham is a major plot point, but her story happens primarily off the page. So I was very interested to read this retelling of P&P focusing on her.

Georgie Darcy is 16 years old and attends the prestigious Pemberely Academy. She is extremely privileged, has an overbearing and protective older brother Fitzwilliam “Fitz” Darcy, and a desire to redeem herself. The book begins with her return to Pemberely after a removal the previous year due to her toxic relationship with Wickham and some reckless decisions. He is attractive to Georgie because he pays attention to her and emotionally manipulates her throughout the story.

It is a P&P retelling, but Fitz Darcy and Lizzie Bennet’s relationship happens mostly off the page and through observations by Georgie. It was sweet to see Georgie’s desire to bring Fitz and Lizzie together, but I thought her attempts to bring Fitz and Lizzie together was a bit unrealistic.

I ultimately enjoyed this book because Georgie has agency and develops over the course of the book. Georgie is well written as a teenager making impulsive and questionable decisions but she matures over the course of the book and learns to check her privilege and motivations. She also has a nice moment when she stands up to Wickham. Wickham, is, as ever, truly terrible. In the original P&P, Wickham's actions always read to me as the actions of a petulant teenager, so it works so well in this book. Georgie’s mending of her friendship with Avery was well written and I enjoyed every scene between them. Georgie’s obsession with a Bridgerton-esque show ‘Sage Hall’ and her fanfic was a nice subplot and I wish this had been developed more. It percolates on the periphery of the narrative but I would have enjoyed more of it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Contemporary Austen set at a prestigious boarding school in upstate New York – what could go wrong? This book, apparently.

Accomplished is a modern-day retelling of Pride and Prejudice from the perspective of Mr. Darcy’s sister, Georgiana. In the original 1813 novel, she’s only a side character who is praised for her many feminine talents and pitied for her sour dalliance with Mr. Wickham. The Georgiana of the regency era is graceful and elegant, if somewhat naive as all girls her age are.

But the Georgie of 2021? A ridiculous, blazing mess.

When we meet Georgie, she’s entering her junior year at Pemberley Academy, returning for the first time after a scandal that has left her regarded in sour spirits by the rest of the student body. After having disappointed her brother and blemishing the Darcy family name, she devises a plan to prove herself both to Pemberley and her family and soon realized she’s bitten off more than she can chew.

I understand what this book meant to do by making its main character as blundering as it did, truly. It’s the whole “no one is perfect when you peel back their layers!” shtick. I can get past that, but I can not get past the atrocious amount of secondhand embarrassment this character put me through. There’s only so many times that a character has to be humiliated in order to be relatable. After that, it’s just hard to stomach.

What kept me reading despite these distracting flaws was the subplot of Pride and Prejudice’s original romance. Georgie decides to set her older brother up with Lizzie, an outspoken, argumentative girl at his university he frequently clashes with. There’s also mention of Lizzie’s sister Jane being romantically involved with Darcy’s friend Bingley, but the most significant Austenian reference to Georgie’s narrative is the persistent presence of Wickham, reinvented as the ex who led Georgie on so he could sell drugs out of her room at their prestigious boarding school.

All in all: the characters are boring, the references are weak, and the plot is lacking. If a YA contemporary with a boarding school atmosphere releasing in 2022 with a spunky heroine who actually learns her lesson is what you’re looking for, I’d recommend This May End Badly by Samantha Markum.

I barely finished this book. I’m relieved to see that many people enjoyed it but personally I just couldn’t stand the main character and it ruined the whole book for me. I felt no connection with her and didn’t understand any of her motives. I still recommend reading this if your a pride and prejudice fan it just simply wasn’t for me. The plot itself was mostly well done in my opinion.

I absolutely loved this take on Pride and Prejudice! I snorted with genuine laughter, flared with indignation on part of Georgie, and cheered for her blossoming strength. I can't wait to purchase this book for my library and recommend it to my patrons!

I'm always game for books that pay tribute to Austen, and I appreciated that Accomplished gave us a new point of view with its play on Pride and Prejudice. Rather than focus on Lizzie and Darcy, we get to spend time with Darcy's younger sister, who plays a pivotal role in the source material while having little actual page time. Quain puts her front and center, with a witty and accessible narrative voice. I especially loved that being in the marching band was one of Georgiana's "accomplishments," a fun twist on her musical talents in the Austen.

I suspect reader interest on this one will somewhat depend on how tied readers are to the source material, since Accomplished deviates broadly from Austen's plot, characters, social satire, and narrative style. Georgiana isn't the sweet innocent, charmed by a handsome rogue who loves being loved. She's petulant and narcissistic and she makes a LOT of questionable choices that create most of the conflict in the novel. And Wickham lacks any redemptive qualities at all, piling on more villainy every time we meet him. Those looking to spend time with the characters they love from the Austen might be disappointed. But for those up for new characters in a new setting, with some unique Easter-eggy nods to the Austen, this could be a perfect fit. There's lots of banter, a fun thread about an Austen-esque fanfic, a complicated brother/sister relationship, and a female friendship I was cheering for when it finally blossomed.

This is an amazing book that I am so grateful to have had been able to read as well as have been reached out to read it. This isn't the usual type of books I read which is why I was exited to reach outside of my comfort zone, it was so worth it and I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did.

This was such a fun re-imagining of Georgianna Darcy's life (as a modern teen)! I am always wary of Austen adaptations that try to fully reinterpret a classic like Pride and Prejudice, but Quain here has taken the witty pithiness of Austen's free indirect discourse and given us a contemporary Georgie who goes through some of the same concerns as her classic counterpart but yet is a character all her own. No spoilers, but I also thought that the ending of the novel was particularly clever!

This is an incredible adaptation to pair with reading the original Pride and Prejudice in a classroom. It’s an opportunity to analyse the story by giving Darcy a more rounded character through the eyes of his sister who doesn’t get a fronting role in the main book. I was so thrilled with the premise that I devoured it. Georgie is such a heartbreakingly real character. I felt her pain of being bullied and ostracised and mistrusted by people she felt were close. So much that it brought me to tears. Her character arc was nuanced and age appropriate. Even Darcy’s reactions to Georgie were age appropriate. I also loved how aware this book was of the Darcy privilege and appreciated that there was some acknowledgment of financial and racial privilege that led to their status. Excellent book to start some stellar debate on Jane Austen’s works.

This would be a 3.5 star for me. While I loved some aspects of the book including the banter between Georgie and Avery I couldn't say I loved the book. Can't quite put my finger on it. Was it because the story seemed split between so many different stories and didn't really focus on just one? I think so. It would change directions so quickly it took away from the pleasure of reading.

I think I received a different book that the people who giving this one four or five stars. I would much rather have read their version then the one I ended up skipping 40% of.

This book is a mess and not in a good way. Georgie is a completely unsympathetic character. She keeps saying that she's going to stop doing things, and then keeps on doing them anyhow. She doesn't want to be treated differently because she's rich, but she keeps doing things that only rich people can do. She magically transfers from non-AP classes to all AP classes, which as a teacher, I know doesn't happen without parental consent.

I was about 10% in, and I was already done with her shit. I just honestly didn't care. I think this book would have been better without the characters from Pride and Prejudice because then I wouldn't have gone in with high expectations. I would have expected another YA drama fest and, honestly, probably wouldn't have asked for the ARC.

I ended up skipping the middle of the book because I was tired of being whined at by a child, and it turns out, I missed nothing! The author provided a nice recap for the chunk of the book I skipped. Which, realistically, is not a good thing.