Totally sweet, literary goodness. Loved all the references and Mary's enthusiasm -- and how her new friends accepted her love of books and embraced who she was instead of trying to change her into something she isn't. The romance was excellent and I look forward to recommending it to my patrons when we return to the library!

Amanda Sellet’s By the Book is such a cute, literary lover’s dream.

Mary Porter-Malcolm is a scholar of the classics and she knows all about the mistakes made by impressionable young women. When Mary starts at a new school, she overhears one of the popular girl friend groups talking about Alex, a notorious bad boy, and quickly steps in, offering advice on how to avoid making a huge mistake with him. Together, the girls all bond and start to create the Scoundrel Survival Guide, a resource listing all the literary types that should be highly avoided. From there, the friendship grows between all the girls, and Mary soon realizes that maybe Alex has been misjudged and there’s more to him that she originally thought.

I loved so many aspects of this novel. The friend group is wonderful and supportive, and definitely the kind that young girls should be reading about. They always built each other up and were accepting and understanding of each other. When any kind of conflict arose, it was dealt with in a mature manner and talked thorough. Mary’s constant literary references were also really great. And the sweet, sweet, Alex also made the story very enjoyable. He is definitely misconstrued by Mary and once she gets to know him and learns that he’s basically a big dork, their romance begins.

Overall, this is a great, fast paced read, perfect for book lovers!

*Thank you to HMH Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. *

Rating 2.75 DNF at 45%

I was excited to read "By the Book" written by Amanda Sellet but unfortunately it didn't meet my expectations. I was into it in the beginning but then I slowly found myself becoming uninterested in the story. I didn't seem to care what happened to the main character. This story felt predictable and while I liked the addition of the classics it felt forced at a certain point, trying to throw in as many as possible. I found the side characters to blah and how they became friends to be unrealistic. When I have time I would like to go back and finish this story but it will be low on my tbr list.

Should you read "By the Book"?
If you want a book about a girl being introduced to the world that is high school then this book is for you. If you want something with high stakes and an awesome world then it is not for you.

DNF at 25%. Let me just start by saying that I am NOT the intended audience for this book. Originally the concept of this book intrigued me. It's about Mary, a sophomore, who uses her extensive knowledge of classic literature to help navigate the tricky friendships, relationships, and overall drama of her new public high school.

So here's the thing... I am not a fan of classics, and this book references literally ALL OF THEM. However, I think if you are actually a fan of classic 19th-century literature, then you may find this story enjoyable. I honestly don't think I'm smart enough for this book. So much of what our main character said went right over my head and I just kept thinking, "What kind of 15 year old actually talks like this?"

In short, I know this book is going to be so many people's favorite, but sadly it's not for me. However, I will definitely be buying & recommending it for my students to read next year. I think a lot of them would enjoy this.

This book starts off with Mary attending a public high school for the first time. Mary is a huge fan of reading classical romances, and is not very good with social interactions. That is until she meets a group of girls who ask for relationship advice, due to the fact she’s read so many romance novels. The four of them are inspired to make a Scoundrel Survival Guide, so all girls can have the high school experience. The scoundrel at their school is Alex, who Mary try’s to keep away from the girls. Yet, these two end up becoming a lot closer than Mary would’ve ever thought. Are the two of them really just friends?

This book is really cute and perfect for fans of Jane Austen. This book deals with teenage struggles, a little romance, and the love of literature. There is a lot of references to classical literature in this book. I feel that may be why I didn’t enjoy it as much, since I didn’t know the backstory the whole time. If you’re a literature fan, then this would be the perfect fit for you! This book is really sweet, cute and a lot of fun. I loved seeing the character growth throughout it also!

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The literary references make me heart sing. It’s such a sweet story about friendship and romance. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to know what happens to the characters after it ends. It leaves you wanting to know how the relationships turn out. It leaves you wanting a sequel.

In By the Book Mary Porter-Malcolm, a lover of 19th century literature, has transferred to public school after her charter school closes. When her best friend jilts her the first day at Millville High, Mary is forlorn. However, she is soon befriended by Arden, Lydia and Terry, a group of girls who value her literature inspired advice. She warns them against cads like Alex Ritter, whom she knows from her twin sisters' Shakespearean theater group, and they begin compiling a "Scoundrel Survival Guide." But as she works to find suitable matches for her friends and they for her, Mary finds herself succumbing to Alex's charms. As Mary's meddling leads to an emotional fallout and she struggles to make amends, she asks herself, "What would Jane Austen do?" The many classic works referenced in the book are explained in a clever Works Cited afterward to the Scoundrel Survival Guide. The classic connections are icing on the cake in this witty romantic comedy.

Let me first say that By the Book made me realize how sorely lacking my classic reading has been. There were a ton of references that I didn’t get and a few of them so I felt very lacking. Despite feeling ashamed of my lack of classic knowledge I really enjoyed this book.

I loved the friendship between the four girls. They were so different and seemly so inept in certain aspects of their lives. But they had each other and they really respected each other.

Mary’s family was also great. Very unique and I really liked that dynamic. I loved that this book celebrated uniqueness.

The romance part of this book was cute, though predictable. I did enjoy the interaction between Mary and Alex. They had some good banter. I also liked that Mary who was so smart couldn’t see what was right in front of her.

This is a cute YA romance, custom made for book lovers.

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Thank you to the publisher for the free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Really clever and a memorable, unique main character. This was a nice change of pace from a typical YA contemporary romance. I loved the word choice and inner monologue of Mary. If you read a lot of this genre, this book will help break up some of the monotony.

If you ever felt more comfortable between the pages of a Jane Austen novel than in high school, then "By The Book" by Amanda Sellet is the novel for you. The young bookish heroine, Mary, feels the same way, especially upon entering public high school in her sophomore year. However, her novel ways give her an edge, as Mary joins a friend-group using her knowledge of book archetypes to diagnose the teenage boys around them. But will Mary's worldview ruin her high school experience and chance at falling in love? I highly recommend reading "By the Book" if you enjoy reading something with various references to classic novels adapted to modern circumstances. It is a great, attention-grabbing read that you will not want to put down.

I would like to thank NetGalley for providing me this E-Arc!

By the Book follows Mary, who is a classic novel lover, and her journey in discovering that maybe life doesn't follow the same rules as fiction. And so, Mary creates the Scoundrel Survival Guide with her friends, a rundown of literary types to be avoided at all costs.But it seems some people or rather a boy, might be an exception to this guide.

This book is perfect for those of you looking for a lighthearted read! I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I was hooked from the beginning and although my interest faded towards the middle, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I admire Mary's personality and how she wasn't afraid to be different. Her friendship with the girls was amazing, definitely a realistic approach to what High School really is like. Although at times I struggled to believe she was fifteen considering her wide range of vocabulary which sometimes felt out of place.

I loved all of the literature references, there are some classics which I have yet to read and this book has definitely encouraged me to pick them up from my shelf!

Alex and Mary had such sweet, swoon worthy moments! I love both of their personalities and how fresh they were compared to most YA rom-coms. I wish there was more moments of them however, the majority of the book is spent with Mary having no realisation that Alex might have feelings for her..

Overall, I would rate this 3 stars! The plot is the good kind of predictable and I loved the family and friendship relationships portrayed in this book.

When I first saw this book, I KNEW I needed to add it to my TBR. Any book about books is normally my jam. But sometimes I run to one where I don’t feel that I’m the actual audience.

I thought this was going to be a contemporary book about a girl who finds that books aren’t as helpful in real life as she thought. That may very well be the case, but I didn’t make it very far into it to find out. I made it only about 12%.

If you’re a fan of classics, you will like this. You’ll get all the references and you’ll like the way Mary talks, like she’s from the 19th century. But to someone like me, someone who doesn’t like the classics, I didn’t care for it. I felt more like it was trying to hard.

Like I said, I barely started reading it when I decided it wasn’t for me. It really reads like a classic, so be forewarned, if you don’t like that, this may not be the book for you. BUT if you are a fan of things like this, go for it because you will love it.

Other than that, there wasn’t really anything wrong with the book. I just wasn’t the audience. If you like things like this, go for it and let me know what you think.Just because it didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you.

Thanks HMH Books for Young Readers for the eARC from Netgalley and Edelweiss.

Follow the guide. Mary Porter-Malcolm enters unfamiliar territory as she is forced to switch her education to the local high school. However, Mary is quickly swept into a group of friends as she gives some advise about how to stay away from scoundrels. Mary informs her friends about her passion for literature as they write a guidebook for avoiding heartbreak. Literary figures are used to help the girls avoid any potential danger when it comes to the heart.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty solid read. I love how literature is used throughout the story. I do wish this would have turned in to a book club scenario, but it was still good for what it was. Mary uses literary figures from famous classics as a guide of sorts of how to avoid situations of potential heartbreak. We see complexity rise as Mary begins to see how the guide is not fully concrete. Mary sees the signs of potential in some partners, but that “spark” is missing. Mary must seek out advice of her own through the scoundrel who started it all.

I enjoyed reading about all of these characters. I appreciated the dynamic of the friend group. I I thought that all of the friends were fairly supportive throughout the novel. I genuinely feel like this was a great representation of true friendship and support.

I liked Mary as our main character, but I also thought she seemed a little off at times. I feel like she could have been a little more fleshed out with dialogue during some of the more crucial times; some of her more important scenes felt a little rushed. Mary is truly bookish and I adored seeing that. I loved Mary’s friends and how we get to see more of them as the plot progresses. I also liked Alex quite a bit. The banter between Mary and Alex definitely added a bit more humor to the story.

I have to say how this book provides good family representation. Mary’s family is not perfect, but they are always there for each other when they need it. I found her family to be very interesting and an added enjoyment. I was surprised to see family have a more crucial role in this book. I find that family representation is extremely lacking in most YA books. Mary’s parents were not absent or missing in the novel. I was pleasantly surprised to see such great parental involvement.

The characters were great and the plot was well done. It was a pretty solid read for me. I would recommend this for literary romance lovers as well as fans of Kasie West and Emma Mills. This is a book I can see myself putting in my classroom.

There was a lot to like about this book. I love Mary. I enjoyed her dramatic inner dialogue and how she describes people she meets and places she goes. Her friends are great. I love that they stand up for each other and trust each other. Mary and her friends all seem pretty young and naive, but also brilliant and smart - it lent well to the quirky nature of the story. The love interest seemed like the most real character, so I loved all of the scenes with him.

Overall this is a cute and easy read. I think people who have a love of books will enjoy it. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this early!

First of all I’d like to thank Netgalley for the ARC of this!
When I first saw the cover I was excited cause it was pretty, but when I read the description I was hooked. A character who tries to navigate school and romance by using tips from classic novels? I’m in! My reading experience of this was actually pretty good. I liked the characters and enjoyed the hijinks the main character got herself into. Overall I think this would be a fun read for people into classics who also like contemporary.

Mary Porter Malcolm's life just got upended. The private school she has gone to for years is closing and she is having to join her siblings at public school. Day one starts off bad when the only person she knows tells her they are no longer friends. In an accidental move, she helps a group of girls with their boy problems by applying her vast knowledge by way of classic literature. And so begins her dive into high school life and how not everything is as it seems.
I loved the family dynamics at play in this book. So many times the family is pushed to the side when dealing with a teenage main character, but not here. Overall great book!

I was desperate to read this book the minute I saw it. I'm a sucker for bookish heroines so it seemed like this story had my name written all over it. Undoubtedly, Mary's love for books was her most admirable trait for me. She seemed to have an encyclopedic knowledge of classic literature characters, which is rare for someone her age. Though it's not beyond the realm of possibility, considering the fact that both of her parents are professors. She grew up going to a non-traditional school on her parents' campus where she was surrounded by academics. She'd always felt at home there, but her life is about to be turned upside down when her parents inform her that she'll be starting a new school for her sophomore year. At Melville High, she'll only know two people, but at least she has that to cling to. Until she doesn't. She gets "dumped" by her friends-publicly no less. To say she's off to a rocky start is an understatement.

Mary sees herself as rather unremarkable, without any talents or interesting qualities that would find her a clique to fit in with. She doesn't let it discourage her, and she isn't too hard on herself for having to figure herself out a little bit.

Everything turns around for Mary when she impresses a trio of girls who allow her into their fold. A chance meeting convinces them she would be a valuable new member of their group when she gives them inside information on Alex, whom she labels the most dastardly of roguish rakes. (i.e: a player) Her new calling is found: using her book smarts on classic lit characters and applying what she learned to real people. Unfortunately, people are rarely what they appear on the surface, and placing simple labels on people is doomed for failure.

The book is close to 400 pages, and I think condensing the page count would have been ideal. We see Mary enjoying life in the "popular world" and relishing new experiences. Going to a big party, cruising the mall, and socializing while on the hunt for the perfect dates for the winter formal. More focus was put on this rather than developing the romance arc. During this time, she struggles to maintain the pretense that she's a worldly girl with all of the answers. Her new friends are so impressed with her ability to peg people at a glance, but what would they do if they knew she wasn't always so confident? Who better to help her pick out potential "suitors" for her friends than Alex the serial dater?

Alex was a pretty sweet guy, and I realized almost immediately, completely misunderstood. He wasn't the bad boy looking to score every girl in sight, and had a habit of showing up in places where Mary was going to be. Anyone with the smallest amount of experience with the opposite sex would see that he was trying to flirt with her, but fifteen-year-old Mary has zero street smarts. As the book dragged on, I kept waiting for the realization to hit her, and see some sort of internal dialogue as she sorts it all out. We get nearly three quarters into the book before there's any hint of romance between them.

I feel like there was a wasted opportunity here. I was honestly anticipating some sort of inner struggle as she fought her feelings for the person she warned her friends away from. She would realize her growing feelings and be backed into a corner, unable to show him how she feels. He continued to flirt, it continued to fly right over her head up until the point we went for it and kissed her. Which totally shocked and confused her. Then she screws up big time, both with Alex and her friends. Finally we get some introspection going on at this point, but the resolution on both fronts was pretty rushed and easy in my opinion.

This is a light coming of age story that doesn't fall on the high end of the YA spectrum, as it explores pretty simple themes. By the Book wasn't without charm, however it did fall short of an exhilarating teen romance. I enjoyed Mary's large and opinionated family, most especially her siblings who were well drawn and distinctive from each other. The heroine's group of friends were sweet, and not at all the cliche mean girl popular group which was refreshing. I just never quite reached the excitement for Alex and Mary I was hoping for. However, if you're a huge classic literature buff, there's quite a lot to enjoy and this could very well be the perfect book for you.

This was quite an enjoyable book. I really loved the plotline and the writing-style. Especially the writing-style! It was an elaborate story, with amazing word choices, and I thought that was really a plus.

However, I didn't really connect with any of the characters save Alex. That was a big issue for me throughout the book.

All in all it was still really enjoyable, and I ended up giving it three stars.

As a fellow lover of 19th century novels, I related super hard to Mary and I loved the way Sellet incorporated those stories into this one. From the blurb, I expected more of a romance but while that was definitely part of it, I got a wonderful story of female friendship, which is always welcome. I also appreciated that Mary was younger than most YA protagonists these days (15 going on 16). I feel like that's an age group that's under-represented in YA right now so that was a bonus. A truly delightful novel about books and love and friendship, but also about discovering who you are and where you fit in the world. Totally charming.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club, Netgalley, and HMH Books for Young Readers for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

So…. yeah I totally dug this one! I love books where the main character is a huge bookworm and then somehow brings what they learn from their books into the “real world”. Here’s another main character that I fell in love with and found super quirky for some reason. Well, I mean the reason I fell in love with our main character Mary was because I was so into her literature prowess and how she ended up taking all these bad boy tropes from our favorite books in the world to make this Scoundrel Survival Guide for her fellow women in high school. If I had her guide even right now, who knows? I may have been able to avoid some of these less than seemly characters in my life. But alas, fact is stranger than fiction.

I also love that no matter what kind of preparation Mary had from all the books she read, it still didn’t help her when it came to “IRL”. There’s always that one person that will just… do things to you even when you know you are supposed to resist that type at all costs. It just happens sometimes, and this is what happened here.

I may not be a classic novel stan, but I also appreciate my literary girls going back to the classics to judge what makes a good romantic partner or not. Sometimes you just have to go to the past and figure out if our definition of good partners has changed or not. Who knows? But sometimes you can compare what you read in a classic novel to what you read now and see that some of the tropes haven’t changed very much, some of the characters haven’t changed very much except the time period. That’s a pretty broad statement but could also be considered true.