Get Hooked on Books: The Season by Sarah MacLean

Publisher – Orchard Books

Release Date – December 2009

Pages – 352 pages

Series – None – yet ; )

Genre - Historical Fiction

Summary -

Alex is not your average lady, and when I say lady I don’t mean in a “hey lady” sense, rather I mean her mom is the duchess of Worthington. Lady Alexandra lives in London in the 1800s. Alex is a smart, beautiful young woman entering her first season. The season is a time of social events and being proper, but Alex enjoys surprising her potential suitors with actual intelligence! She, just like many other girls of the time, has a mother driven to find her a man suitable for marriage. Alex, however, does not like the prospect of living with a dull, yet high ranking, man for the rest her life. She spends her days discussing politics with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, and dreaming up ways to avoid the social events of the season. Not long after her first ball begins Alex takes note of a particularly handsome young man who, to her horror, turns out to be her close friend, the Earl of Blackmoor. Blackmoor is one of the youngest earls for his father recently died by supposed horse accident. In avoiding marriage Alex decides to investigate the former Earl of Blackmoor’s death and in doing so is brought closer to marriage with her close friend and new interest, the current Earl of Blackmoor!

Character development-

This book does a great job of letting you get to know their characters! It’s as if I’ve known these people since I was an itty bitty tot! I know Alex as the strong-willed, witty person that she is. After reading the first chapter I had figured out that Alex was not the type of girl to take no for an answer and that she truly did not care for prestigious titles and social gatherings. I am the type of person who likes to judge things, hence the ratings, and I judge how well I know a character based on whether I can describe them in 1 word. I sure can -

Alex – strong-willed

Duke of Worthington (Alex’s dad) – capable

Duchess of Worthington (Alex’s mom) – fretful

Vivi (Alex’s friend)– romantic

Ella (Alex’s friend) – writer

Blackmoor (Alex’s friend and interest) - mysterious

Penelope (Alex’s polar opposite and enemy) – pretentious

MacLean develops her characters at the beginning of the novel and throughout the story! As you devour this gossip filled book you learn more about every character before the novel even started! I LOVE that kinda mysterious, “You know me, now you don’t, but this time you know the whole me, or do you?” thing.

Language usage –

MacLean does a fantastic job of making this book seem as though it belongs in the 1800s. She uses old English whenever possible. I was constantly astonished at the words I didn’t understand. The rich vocabulary made me feel like a genius. I would go around and talk as if I was in the book. “I suppose I should attend school this morning seeing as it is in my best interest, correct?” The hole in her word web is her variance. I swear if I read the phrase “The _______ in question” one more time I will scream! The author constantly reuses phrases in trying to sound old fashioned and I just… don’t even.. can’t… OH MY GOD! I am pretty sure I almost threw the book across the room more than once because of this! As an added frustration she did this with more than one phrase. This one may just be me, but good lord it drove me crazy!

Idea –

When I picked this book up of the library shelf I was fascinated by the idea. It is kind of a historical fiction mystery. The back of the book alone made me feel as though I was in some sort of old feminine James Bond movie. MacLean incorporates the idea of a murder into a story of dances and social protocol, what??? This book takes many twists and turns, and while sometimes there is a little too much foreshadowing many times there is just enough to keep you guessing. I did not entirely like the idea of this book. Throughout the book Alex starts to fall for Blackmoor, but I would have preferred that she stayed true to her opposition to marriage. Personally I have nothing against marriage, but I feel as though she and the book could have been stronger if it was a story of a girl who wasn’t going to give in for anything. The author, who I can tell just by reading the book is married, obviously has strong opinions on the matter and voices them through her story. Alex is seventeen! She would be a much better character had she been faithful to her hate. I would have liked to see her cause a few heartbreaks and stun even more people with her intelligence. Overall, though, the idea was unique and interesting.

Overall –

The book, while educational, was also fascinating. Personally, I can’t think of a better way to learn. Improvements could have been made, but they were pretty minor. The book was like a delicious vanilla cake with carrot frosting. This book maybe could have earned that extra star had it made its frosting more exciting! The Season is suspenseful, unique, and simply entertaining. This book was fun to read, definitely better than homework, and it has all the ear markings of a book to be remembered.

What I thought

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although, it is a kind of Jane Austen knock-off. Part of me just wanted to turn pop in the 6 hour version of Pride and Prejiduice and kick this book to the curb. The book would have been less like Jane Austen’s had it not used so much romance and, really, the romance didn’t add to the story. I loved the mystery and how Alex formed her own opinions. She could be a true leader in the modern world. It was nice to read a book with a real happy ending. I haven’t read one of those good ol’ everything goes the heroine’s way in a while. This book was not average, which is why I liked it.

Difficulty –

This book used advanced language in some places, but I believe that the average 7^th grader could understand. Following the book and its patterns would also be left up to the mind of anyone 7^th grade or higher. The book could be challenging depending on how well you read.

Length -

My copy is 336 pages long. It is in a small font and is single spaced. It took me 4 days to read it, so not too long. I dare you to beat me!

Who should read it -

This book, while it is good, is not one I would recommend to boys. If they could get past the romance, dress fittings, and obvious feminine roots of the story they would love it too, but as it is I recommend this book to girls of any age. It isn’t geared towards any age in particular. It’s just a fun book!

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