Ever since I saw a time travel movie when I was a child, I’ve been fascinated by the subject. Rachael Lippincott’s new novel, Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh, does not disappoint. YA readers will delight in the adventures she has created for her two main characters: Audrey Cameron, a hip teen in 2023, and Lucy Sinclair, a prim and obedient adolescent in 1812. The two young women meet when Audrey wakes up 200 years back in time. She is now faced with a very different world from the one she left. Young women wear corsets, layers of clothing, and have little say over what they can do and who they can marry. Falling in love is not a necessity for marriage, especially if the goal is to marry rich. Audrey quickly learns that Lucy is the daughter of a miserable and controlling father, who’s determined to marry her off to a wealthy but odious man. Though Lucy detests the sight of him, she feels she has no say in her future. She has to comply, even though she knows her late mother had wished her a marriage based on love.
Audrey has her own issues. Prior to leaving her home in 2023, she had just met her former boyfriend’s new love interest. He had not only quashed Audrey’s dreams, he had also lied to her. He had told her he had left Pittsburgh. Dealing with heartbreak is one problem. The other has to do with her future. With prom only weeks away, she needs to decide what she’s going to do after she graduates from secondary school. Though she had planned to pursue her passion and enroll in art studies, she finds herself unable to complete her application.
The story, with a “fish out of water” theme, shows both girls’ shock and amusement when they learn about one another’s lives. It’s also a story about finding love in the unlikeliest of places. Both young women have much to learn about their own sexuality and their power to change the direction of their lives. They hadn’t counted on falling in love with someone from the same sex. For Lucy, that’s an “abhorrent” notion. For Audrey, it’s more acceptable, but how can she go back to her home in 2023 and leave a newfound love behind?
There is much to love about this book. The supporting characters include several handsome young men who vie for Audrey’s attention. Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh is a compelling read, one that will keep you turning the page late into the night.
Rachael Lippincott is the coauthor of All This Time, #1 New York Times bestseller Five Feet Apart, and She Gets the Girl and the author of The Lucky List and Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh. She holds a BA in English writing from the University of Pittsburgh. Originally from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, she currently resides in Pennsylvania.
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Canadian Export edition (Aug. 29 2023)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 336 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1665950919
- ISBN-13 : 978-1665950916
