Mundie Moms

Monday, February 25, 2013

Book Review: The Trouble With Flirting by Claire LaZebnik



By: Claire LaZebnik
Published By: Harper Teen
To Be Released on: 2/26/13
Source: arc from publisher to review
3.5 /4 Stars: It's A Good Read
Pre-Order it from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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Franny's supposed to be working this summer, not flirting. But you can't blame her when guys like Alex and Harry are around. . . .

Franny Pearson never dreamed she'd be attending the prestigious Mansfield Summer Theater Program. And she's not, exactly. She's working for her aunt, the resident costume designer. But sewing her fingers to the bone does give her an opportunity to spend time with her crush, Alex Braverman. If only he were as taken with the girl hemming his trousers as he is with his new leading lady.

When Harry Cartwright, a notorious flirt, shows more than a friendly interest in Franny, she figures it can't hurt to have a little fun. But as their breezy romance grows more complicated, can Franny keep pretending that Harry is just a carefree fling? And why is Alex suddenly giving her those deep, meaningful looks? In this charming tale of mixed messages and romantic near-misses, one thing is clear: Flirting might be more trouble than Franny ever expected


What's not to love about a modern day retelling of a Jane Austen classic? Claire LaZebnik does a fabulous job at creating a fresh take on a story that's part dramatic, heartbreaking, part romantic, and the other part comical. The humor compliments all the misunderstandings that make up a huge part of this plot. I so do not miss those woes of teenage love. Franny's six week stint helping her Aunt at the Mansfield Summer Theater Program involves dealing with her first crush, a new love, heartbreak, love, and the harsh reality that there is no such thing as a perfect relationship.

Franny for me was a character I started out liking, then grew irritated with, and then ended up liking again. She's a sweet character, who's friendly and nice to everyone, and it was hard not to like her. With her at camp is a cast of crazy fun, very realistic/relatable  characters who all added so much to this story. Franny's heart is torn between two guys, Alex whom she's had a crush on for years, and Harry, the drop dead gorgeous new guy who has a reputation to boot. Alex is her safe haven. They're good friends, though I swear Alex has to know she likes him far more than he acts in return. Harry is the one who makes her life a bit more complex, excites her, and when they're together he treats differently than he does anyone else.

Harry was by far my favorite character out of the entire book, which surprised me, since I started out loving Alex. Unlike Harry, I felt like Alex was more of the relationship kind of guy. Harry reminded me of the type of guy you could be good friends with. He's the harmless flirt you'd always wonder if he was really being sincere when he said sweet things to you, or if he was just flirting. Which is what Franny felt. Harry stole the show with his charm, wit, and those sweet moments he has with Franny. Yes, Harry at first seems like the player type you want to warn your friends to stay away from, which Alex does, but the more Franny got to know Harry, the more I realized Harry isn't just some shallow flirt. I loved that he didn't string girls along, despite the fact he had girls throwing themselves at him. Despite his well known reputation, there's so much more to Harry than we first read about.

I liked the way Claire used realistic/relatable misunderstandings to create the plot line's unpredictable outcome. There are so many things that happen, and take place through out the story, which is excepted given this story's lively cast of lovable characters. I enjoyed the realistic crushes that mold this story's romances. I at first felt like Franny did, when I tried to decipher between the two guys, and what their true intentions are. Alex or Harry. Both guys didn't like each other, as neither felt the other was good enough for her, and I LOVED how I went from feeling one way about the other, and ended up loving the one way more than I first thought I would. I was not excepting to love Harry as much as I did.

One of the things that I enjoyed most about this story was how unpredictable and comical it is. The humor is what kept me turning the pages. There's some great moments between certain characters and one liners that made laugh out loud more than a few times. Above all, I loved that like life, these relationships with all the characters involved played out like you'd except them to in reality, complete with trying to figure out if you follow your heart or your what your mind is telling you. The Trouble With Flirting is one of those fun, chick lity (I don't think that's a real word, but it's one I use), quick afternoon read. This is a book I enjoyed, and one I'd recommend picking up.

1 comment:

  1. I won this from Story Crush and an looking forward to reading it! It sounds like a fun quick read. Great review!!

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