Alright, short and sweet summary, since probably anyone who reads this either A) knows the story of Pride and Prejudice or B) has seen the LBD videos: Lizzie Bennet is a twenty-four year old grad student from California, working on a communications degree with an emphasis in new media. She has a marriage-minded mom, a somewhat removed father, and only two sisters, Jane and Lydia. (Mary shows up as a cousin, while Kitty is an actual cat in this adaptation.)
Lizzie decides to start vlogging her life as part of her senior thesis, but she also writes about the same events (in more detail!) in her diary, a.k.a this novel. Her semester is shaping up to be more of the same old, same old - until Bing Lee buys a house in Netherfield, a nearby subdivision. To Mrs. B's delight, Jane and Bing hit it off right away. Bing's friend William Darcy, however, doesn't charm any of the Bennets quite as much.
As one would expect, the familiar storyline rolls on from there, and the updated events and settings don't detract from the experience at all. In fact, the updates make the story feel more like a big inside joke for people who know the original P&P well: Mr. Collins doesn't propose marriage, but business partnership! Wickham's not a soldier, but a swim coach! It all feels era-appropriate and fun.
The book ends soon after Lizzie and Darcy finally get together, much like the original novel, and this time no one has to marry Scumbag Wickham. Yay modernization!
Confession time: I've never been a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice. I read it back when I was about twelve or thirteen, and just didn't get the hype. I even prefer Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to the original, because the zombie attacks break up the monotony quite nicely, in my opinion.
That's not how I feel about The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet/the LBD videos.
I think the modernization of this story line is what engaged me. I can finally see Lizzie's famous sassiness, Darcy's combination of snobbery and shyness, and understand how their mutual disdain can slowly turn into affection. By putting the major moments - their first meeting, the proposal, Lydia's mindless rabblerousing - into contexts I'm used to seeing, the story became captivating and I finally got the hype. I do think having previous experience with P&P helped me out, too, though, because I could appreciate all the references and draw parallels to the original novel - with Emma Approved, the newest video series these creators have made, I'm going in totally blind, which is fun but also frustrating; I'd like to know what happens!
The only thing about The Secret Diary that I think might confuse some readers is the offhanded references to VidCon/vloggers. While I know what VidCon is and who some of those vloggers are thanks to being a Vlogbrothers fan, someone who picks this book up off the shelf might not, and I'm wondering if that would turn any of them off. Granted, if that's all it takes to make someone put this book down, they must have impossibly high standards for novels, because the rest of this book is flawless.
Overall, The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet is a phenomenal adaptation of a classic story that's sure to hook both diehards and newbies alike. If you haven't watched the videos already, I'd recommend following along with those, too, either as you read or just binging on them once you complete the book. I also recommend filming your reaction to their first kiss, as I was a total embarrassment when it happened and my friends found it incredibly entertaining. Four and a half stars.
Shown above: my reaction to the Dizzie kiss, courtesy of my friend Jen's Twitter. It was a very emotional lunchtime.
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