This was a sweet, funny, and exceptionally smart YA romance. It's great for fans of the classics who also realize how ridiculous some of those "morals" are when applied to modern life. It's also a wonderful story about supportive friendships amongst teen girls. I laughed and swooned so much throughout reading and look forward to more from Sellet!

This was such a cute read!!! It spoke to my little bookish heart...and made me laugh- something I needed now!
I like at the end of the book it had a list of the books mentioned...

The perfect YA rom-com for Jane Austen nerd's!

As a devotee of classic novels, Mary Porter-Malcolm knows all about Mistakes That Have Been Made, especially by impressionable young women. So when a girl at her new high school nearly succumbs to the wiles of a notorious cad, Mary starts compiling the Scoundrel Survival Guide, a rundown of literary types to be avoided at all costs.

Unfortunately, Mary is better at dishing out advice than taking it—and the number one bad boy on her list is terribly debonair. As her best intentions go up in flames, Mary discovers life doesn’t follow the same rules as fiction. If she wants a happy ending IRL, she’ll have to write it herself.

Okay, so this was super cute. I loved Mary's obsession with classics/period dramas. The references and puns had me DYING. I also liked her big family, and the journey in which she learns how to navigate true friendship. It was actually kind of scary how much she reminded me of ME at that age - fifteen, unbearably naive, lonely, and completely unversed in love.

(Not much has changed, actually.)

However, her own naivety made me struggle as a reader. I wished she would have stuck up for herself more, and stuck up for the people she cared about more. Don't get me wrong - I remember what it's like to be fifteen and afraid, but even at that age, I possessed sass in spades. Although, there were few instances in which she defends herself and others, I found the moments that really mattered, she did nothing. That seemed to be an element of Mary's character that I found lacking.

Now...Alex Ritter. He was amazing! I understand the importance of writing a coming-of-age tale that doesn't involve just romance, but family, and friends, etc., However, I feel this story would have been so much more impactful, if the romance between Mary and Alex had been the focus. Instead what we got was random moments (totally memorable moments that I was fangirling over, don't get me wrong), where Alex simply popped up out of nowhere. We never really got to know him. SOME of him, grant it, but not all of him. What we did get though, had me fanning myself. I also loved how the novel shed light on what attracts us. Someone could be a total Casanova and out of our league in our book, and yet your friend could think the complete opposite. That was a nice touch to Alex's character.

Overall, I enjoyed this!

DNF @ 5%. I try to read at least 25% before I give up on a book, but I couldn't even make it through two chapters of this book. It was just trying way too hard. The main character was insufferable. I will say I'm also a lot older than the target audience for this book, so a younger, quirkier crowd may enjoy this much more.

This was a charming contemporary YA read that I think will appeal to the slightly younger portion of the teen set. Mary being 15-turning-16 in the course of the book helped make her naivety believable (along with her sheltered academia-based upbringing) rather than grating or annoying. The plot point of applying classic novel archetypes to modern day high schoolers was fun and felt fresh, although I did struggle to believe that Mary's new friends could have possibly found that approach as absorbing as they did. All in all, the romance plot was cute even if I wanted Alex to have gotten a little more page time so we could get to know him better once Mary's Vronsky goggles were off, and I liked how much of a focus was on her relationship with her new friends and with her family.

RATING: 3/5 STARS

I think this book will appeal to younger MG/YA readers. The story felt juvenile, a little too black-and-white for my taste so unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I did like the writing style, though. Additionally, the heroine was sweet and likable, and I enjoyed the references to classic novels.

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.**

Title By the Book

Author Amanda Sellet

Description from Amazon

Mary Porter-Malcolm has prepared for high school in the one way she knows how: an extensive review of classic literature to help navigate the friendships, romantic liaisons, and overall drama she has come to expect from such an “esteemed” institution. When some new friends seem in danger of falling for the same tricks employed since the days of Austen and Tolstoy, Mary swoops in to create the Scoundrel Survival Guide, using archetypes of literature’s debonair bad boys to signal red flags. But despite her best efforts, she soon finds herself unable to listen to her own good advice and falling for a supposed cad—the same one she warned her friends away from. Without a convenient rain-swept moor to flee to, Mary is forced to admit that real life doesn’t follow the same rules as fiction and that if she wants a happy ending, she’s going to have to write it herself.

Release Date May 12, 2020

Initial Thoughts

I was super excited to have been approved for this book on NetGalley. I’ve been seeing ARCs floating around on Instagram for a while now and really wanted to get my hands on a copy. I love Jane Austen and this book gave me major Jane Austen feels.

Some Things I Liked

References to classic literature. I love a well read character and Mary Porter-Malcolm was probably one of the best read sixteen year olds I’ve ever read about. I loved all of her references to Moby Dick, Emerson, Jane Austen, and more throughout the story. She makes me want to read more of the classics.
Jane Austen vibes. I absolutely adored the fact that Mary felt like a perfect mash up of Emma (of Emma) and Elizabeth (of Pride and Prejudice). Mary’s family felt like the Bennetts while her antics with matchmaking reminded me of Emma.
Sixteen Candles vibes. I also loved that this story reminded me of the classic Molly Ringwald movie. I was missing a certain character at Mary’s birthday party that would have really completed the Sixteen Candles atmosphere (but the feelings were there nonetheless).

Series Value

I loved Mary’s story and I think there is a lot of potential for spin-off stories especially among the other Porter-Malcolm children. I’d love to read more about any of Mary’s siblings or her friends.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book. Once again, this was one that I was approved for on NetGalley and immediately started reading (despite the numerous older titles that I should have read first). Totally worth it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter – if you liked a main character who was obsessed with books, definitely try this April 2020 release. The romance was a bit more dramatic in What I Like About You, but it had similar feelings.
Tweet Cute by Emma Lord – if you like cute rom-coms with a sort of enemies to lovers vibe, try this book by Emma Lord.
Finding Mr. Better-Than-You by Shani Petroff – if you liked the idea of taking inspiration from the classics, you will love this book. It’s all about taking inspiration from classic rom-com movies.

I loved every second of reading this book, honestly couldn't put it down. This was just the kind of entertaining read I needed.

I really enjoyed this title, and I think it belongs with the likes of Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before series. The literary references were not too hard to grasp onto, and I felt the author did an amazing job in breaking down their themes and connections to contemporary references. I love the relationship that Mary, the protagonist, has with her friends, and I'm so glad they did not end up being mean girls. Overall, I think By the Book is a charming read.

By The Book is a regular YA romcom, but with the fun of literary references to satiate us nerds. A very fun read, I had the best of times. Great characters and story.

Mary has always compared her life to the literary classics she adores. From Jane Austen to Charlotte Bronte and Tolstoy, she can always find comfort and answers between the pages of a book. After a particularly bad first day of public school where her only friend jilts her for being too literary, Mary finds herself giving the popular girls some literary examples of men who they should try to avoid in real life. One things leads to another and not only does she have a new group of friends but they start their own “Scoundrel Survival Guide” to help avoid the mistakes heroins make in books when choosing their leading man.

I loved everything about this book. It was so over dramatic but in the best of ways. Mary is this well read girl who knows all the classics and therefore knows some classic jerks. She was pulling out all these references and I was just astounded. I was actually googling her references to find out what books she was even talking about. It was so funny that her and her friends could just find these same traits in the guys they went to school with.

Mary herself was really endearing. She wanted people to like her but wasn’t willing to compromise on who she was or what she loved to get them to like her. That being said she was very use to seeing things as black and white, like the characters in her books, which kind of comes back to bite her in the butt later. I think she learns some important lessons though, like not to judge a book by its cover and that there’s more to someone than meets the eye.

The girl group dynamic was my favorite part about this book. You’ve got Arden the read headed outgoing bombshell, Lydia the type A always has your back might bite you lawyer, and Terry the wannabe forensic pathologist who always has the perfect crime one liners. They each brought something to the friendship and I found myself laughing quite a bit at things they said and just how serious they took these literary references that Mary was dishing out no questions asked. Her friends took her seriously and never mocked her for her knowledge or passions.

There was a tiny bit of romance. Our main guy Alex Ritter, aka Vronsky, gets a tough judgement at the beginning of the book by Mary. We get this meet cute and some great interactions between him and Mary. He was able to keep up with her pretty well in the wits department which surprised not only Mary, but me as well. I like a boy with some substance who isn’t afraid to be smart. I would have liked some more moments between him and Mary overall, but we still knew him pretty well.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced classic literature packed book I highly recommend By the Book. It’s full of friendship, family dynamic, some literary downfalls, and a great main characters who learns from her mistakes.

By the Book is charming, funny, and totally relatable--I wish this book was around when I was in high school! When Mary finds out that she will be going to a public high school for the first time, she's understandably nervous. When her long-time friend inexplicably ditches her, Mary finds a new friend-group of "it girls" (who are oddly receptive to her frequent summaries of classic literature). While Mary teaches them about the classics, her new friends help school her on the ins and outs of dating. There are also so many wonderful scenes with Mary's large, academic family, who seem to be inspired by the characters of Little Women--the dialogue in the book is so witty! Read this book to find out if Mary finds true love outside the pages of a book--highly recommended for book nerds of all ages! Thanks so much to Netgalley and HMH for the librarian preview.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

I knew I would enjoy this book as soon as I heard about it last year, but my god, I was not expecting to love it as much as I did. I couldn't put it down as soon as I had started, and it's my favourite book of 2020 so far this year! Mary is in love with books, but especially classics. She is definitely of the What Would Lizzy Bennet Do? camp, and uses what she has learnt in her reading to help guide her future, especially when it comes to love. Mary has been coddled slightly in her upbringing, being the daughter of two professors, and been in a sort of university-come-school education programme that has now been cancelled. At 15, she has to go to public school, and that's when she starts to make friends, especially with Arden, Terry, and Lydia, and uses what she knows of Alex Ritter, who everyone at school loves, and she thinks he's a Whickham like character, to help guide the girls use the books. As they grow closer, Mary loses some of her naivete, and might just learn that Alex isn't as bad as she initially thought he was.

This book was so friendship based. We start of with Mary knowing only Anjuli, a girl who went to the same school programme as she had, who basically drops her as soon as they start at school, and treat her horrendously, and then she meets the girls at her favourite bookstore/cafe, and Arden, Terry, and Lydia are like her family. They have such an amazing relationship with each other, and there isn't really any drama, that could've happened. Yeah, some angst appears later in the book, but not because of bitchiness or anything.

Mary also has a fantastic hate-to-love relationship with Alex. She knows of Alex because of his appearances in her elder sisters Shakespearean company, and first impressions tell her that he is a player, and thinks himself above everyone else. As they get thrown in more and more situations together, she thinks she may have been mistaken in her first impression (does this remind us of a certain Austen heroine, perhaps?) but her initial vehemence towards him, especially when she was speaking with the girls, makes her worry that she's not doing the right thing. Their chemistry together is fantastic though, and I was rooting for them from the first few encounters together. Their growth and characterisations was unlike what I've seen before, and as this is Amanda's debut, I'm dying to see what she releases next - it'll definitely be on my wishlist!

The best part of this book is the Dear Diary enteries at the start of every chapter. They are hilarious and feel genuine.
Unfortunately the rest of the novel fell super short for me. I was really looking forward to this one as I love anything to do with books and interpretation and such.
This just felt like a teen girl who was so lost in the past and delusional about how life works that you feel sorry for her.
I think I cringed more than enjoyed this book.

Very well versed take on YA romance wherein the heroine sees everything except what it right in front of her face.

The daughter of two college professors and the fourth of five children, Mary Porter-Malcolm loves books. Particularly books written in the 19th century. Jane Austen, the Brontes, Gaskell, the works. Mary is contently in her comfort zone... Until her on-campus school gets shut down. Until she starts attending public school. Until her best friend dumps her and humiliates her on the first day of school.

But then when she willingly gets out of her comfort zone to prevent another girl from going out with a playboy, Mary finds herself making three new friends. Together, they embark on a journey of meeting teenage milestones (ranging in everything from going to parties, attending sport games, and going to formal dances), and creating a blog about how to avoid Scoundrels based off of Mary's beloved books. Mary just wishes playboy would stop hanging around her and getting on her nerves. But is he really as bad as she first thought? And what does that mean for herself and her friends?

Adorably swoony and bookish, Mary and her friends (mystery loving Terry, fantasy reader and future judge Lydia, and obsessive organizer Arden) are a delight. Any girl (or guy) would love to have a friend group like this. This is much more of a book about epic friendships and handling problems within friendship relationships than it being a romance book, the romance is also wonderful and ties the story all together in a neat little bow. Then there's Mary's wonderful parents (why is it so hard to write good parents in YA novels? I adore Mary's parents!) and her array of siblings--the Shakespeare obsessed twins Van and Addie, sporty Cam, and obnoxious little brother Jasper--who further add a layer of liveliness, drama (literally and figuratively) and snark. Add in a whole bunch of bookish puns and literary references, and you've got a book so full of life you feel like everything and everyone should be palpable.

"By The Book" was such a fun read! The book reads like a 19th century novel but set in the present which lends itself wonderfully to the theme and main characters narration. Mary was a very honest and relatable character who I fell in love with. Her sibling interactions while a little flowery were so authentic that you could tell Sellet comes from a large family. I also noticed that the way Mary is makes her read like she is on the spectrum. I don't know if this was intentional but I'm delighted by the fact that others may relate to her in the way of having a special interest like she does.

The ending was a little clipped and I wish I had gotten a little more of the friends all together plus Alex, I think that would have been so fun to see. The friends dynamics were fun but I wanted to hear more about Terry as well! I felt during the story she was cast aside a little.

The best part of the story was the coming to terms with making mistakes and being brave enough to say you're wrong and apologize. It sets a great example for readers of all ages that is important in all relationships (family, friends, romantic.)

Hope to grab a copy for myself and my library!

This is a modern-day twist on Little Woman with numerous references to other romance books like Anna Karenina , Wuthering Heights and others. Since I have read many of the books and movies referenced, I enjoyed the book. However, for someone not familiar with the literary references I would think this book would seem sort of silly and hard to follow.
For instance, her friends accept her and her ideas of courtship with excitement and reverence. Hard to swallow in this day and age.
All in all, a fun read. And it might make some readers pick up the classics.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for this review copy!
This was adorable! It was a little slow to get started, but I ended up loving our literary heroine and her new friends and how she tried--and failed--to govern her social life by the rules of Victorian novels. Too cute.

I'm not typically one for romances but I really ended up loving this one! I think Amanda Sellet did an awesome job making this book charming and nerdy (but in a very fun bookish way). The voice of the main character sounded very authentic to me and I really loved all of the literary references even though I'm not super well-read in the classic romance genre. This would be such a fun read to devour during Valentine's Day. I would recommend to teen girls (maybe more suitable for the younger end) as a first step into the romance genre.