Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies's Reviews > The Lonely Hearts Club
The Lonely Hearts Club (The Lonely Hearts Club, #1)
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Because Penny Lane's vow to GIVE UP ALL THE BOYSES lasts all of 5 minutes. Yay. Bravo. Much endurance. Very patience. Such stoicism. Wow.
Not.
This book was terrible. I don't think Elizabeth Eulberg's YA comtemporary books are for me at all, because this is the third such I've read with disastrous consequences.
1. The heroine shows all the signs of being a contemporary Mary Sue including having a special name ("Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes"- The Beatles). She is beautiful without knowing it. ALL THE BOYSES FALL FOR HER. Etc.
2. The portrayal of teenaged females as completely shallow character whose lives revolve around that of their boyfriends and crushes
3. A theme of BOYS ARE NOT EVERYTHING that completely, utterly fails
4. An extremely juvenile way of viewing a group of people, in this case, boys, as EBIL EBIL EBIL creatures. It's so fucking 3rd grade.
And now that she's newly single, Penny is starting to see how HORRIBLE EVIL BAD boys are. I mean, they ruin everything they touch. They turn perfectly good, smart girls into mindless, devoted idiots, slave to their selfish EBIL EBIL EBIL needs. From the hipsters to the musicians to the jocks.
And it's not just the boys that are the problem, it's the girls, too. The girls at her school are so fucking shallow.
Word gets out, and the girls at school think this is a fab, fab (not to be confused with the Fab Four Beatles, with whom Penny's parents are obsessed) idea. Before she knows it, Penny is famous, and practically all the girls at her school are joining it. Giving up boys! Enjoying time with each other! What could be a better idea!
Well, for one, Penny's starting to notice her best friend Diane's ex, Ryan. Diane and Ryan are THE couple. A jock, a cheerleader. Super popular, they've been dating since 7th grade. That's a long fucking time in grade school years, and they've just broken up.
And now Penny's got her eyes on Ryan. So much for her vow of chastity, or, whatever. They go on a date. Or, well, not a date, because SHE'S NOT WEARING A FUCKING BLACK TOP
The Premise:
And it just fails in the premise. Not only does it has a very silly, juvenile attitude of Boys Have Cooties, the purpose of the book, that of making life more about girlfriends and yourself, just completely gets glossed over because Penny still cares so much about what guys think.
Penny Lane is Making Me Scratch My Eyes Out: No, that's not the lyrics to the actual Penny Lane song, but it should be, because that's how Penny Lane makes me feel. She is a fucking Mary Sue, y'all.
She is beautiful without knowing it. Her beautiful cheerleader friends are all jealous of her and she doesn't know it.
She thinks she looks freakish but Penny's also got a great sense of style, without knowing it.
All the boys fall in love with Penny. There's Ryan, of course, there's also ex-asshole Nate, and beloved asshole jock Todd. Naturally, she spurns them all. Except Ryan. RYYYYYYYYYYAN.
Overall: Cute premise. Utter failure.
by
Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies's review
bookshelves: ya, ya-contemporary, romance, revenge, mary-sue, high-school, boring-main-character
May 03, 2014
bookshelves: ya, ya-contemporary, romance, revenge, mary-sue, high-school, boring-main-character
"Oh, really?" Rosanna rolled her eyes dramatically, "How convenient that you decide to change the rules after you go on a date with the hottest guy in school! Maybe it shouldn't be called the Lonely Hearts Club -- maybe you should call it the Rules Will Change When Convenient For Penny Club!"In the ancient Greek comedy, Lysistrata, fed up with all the warmongering, the women of Greece to withhold sex in a revolt to try to end the Peloponnesian War. If those intrepid women's mission to give up romance and love had lasted as short as the one waged by the main character within this book, the war might still be happening right now.
Because Penny Lane's vow to GIVE UP ALL THE BOYSES lasts all of 5 minutes. Yay. Bravo. Much endurance. Very patience. Such stoicism. Wow.
Not.
This book was terrible. I don't think Elizabeth Eulberg's YA comtemporary books are for me at all, because this is the third such I've read with disastrous consequences.
1. The heroine shows all the signs of being a contemporary Mary Sue including having a special name ("Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes"- The Beatles). She is beautiful without knowing it. ALL THE BOYSES FALL FOR HER. Etc.
2. The portrayal of teenaged females as completely shallow character whose lives revolve around that of their boyfriends and crushes
3. A theme of BOYS ARE NOT EVERYTHING that completely, utterly fails
4. An extremely juvenile way of viewing a group of people, in this case, boys, as EBIL EBIL EBIL creatures. It's so fucking 3rd grade.
He was a guy. A guy guy. As far as I was concerned, he probably had the dead bodies of small children and puppies hidden in his locker.The Summary:
"Are you even kidding me? Every time you're around Ryan, you flirt up a storm."Penny Lane is done with boys. D. O. N. E. So she says. Her boyfriend Nate just dumped her because she won't put out.
Yeah, well, that was the old Penny. New Penny was done flirting. I'd be happy if I never had to speak to any guys for the rest of the year.
And now that she's newly single, Penny is starting to see how HORRIBLE EVIL BAD boys are. I mean, they ruin everything they touch. They turn perfectly good, smart girls into mindless, devoted idiots, slave to their selfish EBIL EBIL EBIL needs. From the hipsters to the musicians to the jocks.
I couldn't help but wonder why it was that a guy could find two good girls to date at the same time, when we girls couldn't even find one decent guy.Anything with a penis = trouble.
And it's not just the boys that are the problem, it's the girls, too. The girls at her school are so fucking shallow.
"The guys in the Elite Eight aren't the problem," Morgan said. "Those girls are so shallow and have zero -- and I mean zero -- things to discuss outside of their boyfriends."So, fed up with boys, Penny decides to form the Lonely Hearts Club.
I would stop torturing myself by dating loser guys. I would enjoy the benefits of being single. I would, for once, focus on me. Junior year would be my year. It would be all about me, Penny Lane Bloom, sole member and founder of The Lonely Hearts Club.Famous last words.
Word gets out, and the girls at school think this is a fab, fab (not to be confused with the Fab Four Beatles, with whom Penny's parents are obsessed) idea. Before she knows it, Penny is famous, and practically all the girls at her school are joining it. Giving up boys! Enjoying time with each other! What could be a better idea!
Well, for one, Penny's starting to notice her best friend Diane's ex, Ryan. Diane and Ryan are THE couple. A jock, a cheerleader. Super popular, they've been dating since 7th grade. That's a long fucking time in grade school years, and they've just broken up.
And now Penny's got her eyes on Ryan. So much for her vow of chastity, or, whatever. They go on a date. Or, well, not a date, because SHE'S NOT WEARING A FUCKING BLACK TOP
Rita and I had joked that guys always wore that on a first date while girls always wore jeans and a black top. Since I wasn't wearing a black top, this was clearly not a date.Except Ryan sees it as a date.
"First date?"And then, well, maybe it's time to relax the rules.
I held my breath.
He smiled. "Yes, and what chance do you think I'd have with a second date if I made her pay?"
"I started this club because I was sick of guys. But as the Club has grown, I've noticed that it's more about focusing on ourselves, and that we're really good at that. So now I think maybe our focus shouldn't be on never dating a guy, but on keeping true to your friends. if one of us wants to go --"Are you fucking serious?
The Premise:
All members agree to stop dating men (or, if referring to the male population at McKinley High, "little boys") for the rest of thy high school existence.Those be the rules of the Lonely Hearts Club. It's a pretty neat little club, because although it's not true for everyone, relationships tend to bring out the worst of us sometimes.
"And then when we do find someone we think is special, we forget about our friends." I tried not to look at Diane. "Or we change something about ourselves to please a guy instead of doing what makes us happy or what we know is right. Why do we do this? Why do we even bother?"But this book vilifies relationships so much. It portrays all the girls within the book as desperate for boys, dependent on boys, and despite the fact that this book is about staying away from boys, it almost fails the Bechdel Test because almost ALL THE FUCKING CONVERSATIONS ARE ABOUT BOYS.
And it just fails in the premise. Not only does it has a very silly, juvenile attitude of Boys Have Cooties, the purpose of the book, that of making life more about girlfriends and yourself, just completely gets glossed over because Penny still cares so much about what guys think.
I spent more time than necessary hanging up the coats. the entire time I sensed Nate's eyes on my back. And I enjoyed it.And not only that, the founder of the club completely goes against the club's rules.
I am on a date with Ryan Bauer.And NOT ONLY THAT, she ends up taking her little crush...way too far -_-
My stomach did a somersault and I tried to catch my breath. Crap, I'm on a date with Ryan Bauer. I'm not supposed to be on a date! Not only that, I'd declared in front of the entire Lonely Hearts Club that I wasn't going on a date.
I blushed. I needed to take it down a notch before I started making decisions about our china pattern.For fuck's sakes...
Penny Lane is Making Me Scratch My Eyes Out: No, that's not the lyrics to the actual Penny Lane song, but it should be, because that's how Penny Lane makes me feel. She is a fucking Mary Sue, y'all.
She is beautiful without knowing it. Her beautiful cheerleader friends are all jealous of her and she doesn't know it.
"I've always been a little bit jealous of you."Because she can eat eeeeeeeeverything. So many times in the book, her friends are all jealous of Penny Lane's body and how effortless it takes her to maintain it. All the other girls in the book are on a rabbit-food-starvation-camp diet except for her. And she has no idea.
"Excuse me?" How could Miss Perfect, blond-hair, blue-eyes model Diane Monroe be jealous of me?
"Seriously, Penny --I mean, seriously! Look at you! Do you have any idea how hard I have to work to look like this? I mean, look at what I'm eating, for the love of carbs!" Diane motioned toward her garden salad with fat-free dressing and then looked over at my turkey sandwich with cheddar cheese and mayonnaise and potato chips.
She thinks she looks freakish but Penny's also got a great sense of style, without knowing it.
"AND you have the coolest style. I choose what I'm going to wear based on what magazines tell me. I look the same as everybody else. But you have your own funky style that nobody else could pull off You always have."Every girl in the book adores her with the exception of a few. They don't fucking mind if Penny date their ex-boyfriend. Fucking gag me please.
In other words, I was a freak because I preferred All Stars over stilettos.
"You and Ryan are Diane's closest friends. She wants you both to be happy!"Such generosity! So unbelievable!
All the boys fall in love with Penny. There's Ryan, of course, there's also ex-asshole Nate, and beloved asshole jock Todd. Naturally, she spurns them all. Except Ryan. RYYYYYYYYYYAN.
Overall: Cute premise. Utter failure.
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Reading Progress
May 3, 2014
– Shelved as:
to-read
May 3, 2014
– Shelved
Started Reading
June 15, 2014
– Shelved as:
ya
June 15, 2014
– Shelved as:
ya-contemporary
June 15, 2014
– Shelved as:
revenge
June 15, 2014
– Shelved as:
romance
June 15, 2014
– Shelved as:
mary-sue
June 15, 2014
– Shelved as:
high-school
June 15, 2014
– Shelved as:
boring-main-character
June 15, 2014
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-37 of 37 (37 new)
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nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite)
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Jun 15, 2014 07:15PM
Oh boy, I been putting this off for a while, a long while. Now I might just stay away. This sounded cute. And the cover is kind of cute but familiar.
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Khanh (Kittens, Rainbows, and Sunshine) wrote: "The Beatles :P"
Ah okay, I was wondering where that originated.
Another cover had the same walking stance in that Dead Like Me movie. :)
Ah okay, I was wondering where that originated.
Another cover had the same walking stance in that Dead Like Me movie. :)
Nidah (SleepDreamWrite) wrote: "Khanh (Kittens, Rainbows, and Sunshine) wrote: "The Beatles :P"
Ah okay, I was wondering where that originated.
Another cover had the same walking stance in that Dead Like Me movie. :)"
The album is Abbey Road. I was confused about that forever, and when I found out I felt like an idiot. -__
Ah okay, I was wondering where that originated.
Another cover had the same walking stance in that Dead Like Me movie. :)"
The album is Abbey Road. I was confused about that forever, and when I found out I felt like an idiot. -__
Why is it that so many YA girls have NO self-control? I have seen some pretty hot guys, but not a single one would ever make me date him if he was my best friend's ex! It really is not that hard to resist a hot guy. YA Mary Sues make it seem utterly IMPOSSIBLE. And a club for girls who decide to give up guys is kind of weird, but I feel like it could have been awesome, like an epic tale of budding friendship and support between girls who probably don't know each other extremely well. That would have been cool! God, the YA genre could be so much better if authors would get this idea of how teenage girls act out of their minds T_T
What YA authors think teenage girls talk about: boys boys boys boys boys
What teenage girls actually talk about: Hey do you think I should get olives on the pizza
What YA authors think teenage girls fight about: boys boys boys boys boys
What teenage girls actually fight about: YOU WOKE ME FROM MY NAP AND YOU ATE THE LAST GODDAMN SNICKERS BAR?
At least that's how I'm like. Maybe I'm just lonely ;_;
What teenage girls actually talk about: Hey do you think I should get olives on the pizza
What YA authors think teenage girls fight about: boys boys boys boys boys
What teenage girls actually fight about: YOU WOKE ME FROM MY NAP AND YOU ATE THE LAST GODDAMN SNICKERS BAR?
At least that's how I'm like. Maybe I'm just lonely ;_;
Could you maybe read and review "Take A bow " by her , cause that's the only title of hers I'm interested in .
When you have free time on your hands and if you have it in your possession .
Lovely review, Khanh
When you have free time on your hands and if you have it in your possession .
Lovely review, Khanh
Savina wrote: "What YA authors think teenage girls talk about: boys boys boys boys boys
What teenage girls actually talk about: Hey do you think I should get olives on the pizza
What YA authors think teenage gi..."
That's real life right there
What teenage girls actually talk about: Hey do you think I should get olives on the pizza
What YA authors think teenage gi..."
That's real life right there
Rogier wrote: "Could you maybe read and review "Take A bow " by her , cause that's the only title of hers I'm interested in .
When you have free time on your hands and if you have it in your possession .
Lovely..."
I kind of want her to read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Just when she has time, y'know.
When you have free time on your hands and if you have it in your possession .
Lovely..."
I kind of want her to read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Just when she has time, y'know.
Barbara ♥~Lindt Ninja~♥ (Careerist Gangster™) wrote: "Rogier wrote: "Could you maybe read and review "Take A bow " by her , cause that's the only title of hers I'm interested in .
When you have free time on your hands and if you have it in your posse..."
That's fine by me, Barbara .
The tv show 's trailer looks so cool
When you have free time on your hands and if you have it in your posse..."
That's fine by me, Barbara .
The tv show 's trailer looks so cool
Great review Khanh.
So did this book have a point, or was it just the characters running around like chickens with their heads cut off? Was there no redeeming message or character growth in this one at all?
So did this book have a point, or was it just the characters running around like chickens with their heads cut off? Was there no redeeming message or character growth in this one at all?
Nope, no point, unless you consider the MC thinking "boys don't have cooties and aren't baby killers after all and they're SO worth dating" a point.
Khanh (Kittens, Rainbows, and Sunshine) wrote: "Nope, no point, unless you consider the MC thinking "boys don't have cooties and aren't baby killers after all and they're SO worth dating" a point."
Well, its not nothing, I guess...
Well, its not nothing, I guess...
It's not the turkey, it's the cheese and the mayo and the bread. The point is that Penny can eat all that and her friends are restricted to rabbit food.
The part about Lysistrata reminded me of another book where it is mentioned and is the main idea of the book, give up on boys to make them stop fighting (in the other book). Shut Out by Kody Keplinger. At least the girl in that book did keep herself in check until she got that "peace". -_- Eh... it's so sad. Another author lost the battle between creativity and cliches.
Wow. When I first read the book summary, I thought it sounded interesting, however, seeing that this whole "protest" on guys doesn't even last that long, I won't be checking it out. Especially since the main character's a Mary Sue, there's nothing I hate more in fiction than a Mary Sue... This review was great. :)
Although I agreed with many of the points made in this review (insinuating teenage girls solely care about boys, and the fact that Penny is essentially "hot but doesn't know it"- which I hate seeing portrayed as ideal, like it's a good thing not to think you're attractive), I think the whole point of the book is that the premise of the club is flawed. Of course the "swearing off boys" only lasts so long... The club bases it on the fact that all boys are evil, which is ridiculous. Tyson is used to show that it's an inaccurate assumption- he directly tells Penny that not all boys are bad. I believe that is what the authour is trying to show- that Penny shouldn't generalize based on some bad experiences, and that she shouldn't assume that Ryan is evil, particularly since she has only had evidence to the contrary. For Diane, she learned not to let her life be taken over by a relationship. I wish there was more resolve for Tracy, but other than that, I believe the message was that the club was flawed. If Penny had ended up "swearing off" boys, it would've strengthened her inaccurate assumption that boys are evil. Penny didn't need to learn not to "lose" herself in a relationship, that lesson was for Diane, who did not have a love interest, for that reason.
I love your reviews so much. Our tastes overlap quite a lot, and I know when you pop up in the review feed of a book I'm looking into, I'll get a good sense of it. You've saved me from many a bad book and also cracked me up. Keep at it, because you are awesome and I appreciate your reviews so very very much.
Everyone is commenting about her giving up on boys doesn’t last that long. That’s the point. She had her heart broke once and didn’t like it and didn’t want it to happen again. Going through her experience and viewing that of those around her she made a quick decision without ever considering that not all people fit that same mold and that is the lesson she learns.