Enthusiasm (Hardcover)

by Polly Shulman (Author) "There is little more likely to exasperate a person of sense than finding herself tied by affection and habit to an Enthusiast..." (more)
Key Phrases: chocolate turkey, trophy room, Grandison Parr, Jane Austen, Chris Stevens (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–Best friends Julia and Ashleigh, both avid Jane Austen fans, are looking for a little romance, but Julias approach is much more conservative than Ashleighs. Ashleighs latest craze involves crashing the fall dance at the local boys prep school in search of men and, perhaps, her Mr. Darcy. Julia, whos not sure about this idea, reluctantly goes with her. There they are befriended by two boys, one of whom happens to be the Mysterious Stranger Julia had previously spotted in the mall. The four teens establish a friendship, and, for the first time, Julia feels the crush of friendship guilt: she longs to get to know the Mysterious Stranger, but Ashleigh has proclaimed feelings for him first. This frustration is exacerbated when the girls receive parts in the boys school play and the four see one another almost every day. Julia begins to receive small gifts and love notes, but cannot allow herself to believe they could be from the boy she wishes had sent them. Add to that another suitor for Julia and she is completely confused about love in the 10th grade. She has a cool head on her shoulders, however, and pulls through without melodrama and experiences her satisfying first (and second) kiss. A charming romantic comedy.–Karen Hoth, Marathon Middle/High School, FL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 7-10. "There is little more likely to exasperate a person of sense than finding herself tied by affection and habit to an Enthusiast. I speak from bitter experience." So begins the wry, engaging narrative in which Julie relates the trials and rewards of her firm friendship with Ashleigh, an enthusiast. Since elementary school, Ashleigh has taken up one craze after another, from military strategy to ballet, from Harriet the Spy to King Arthur, and dragged her best friend along for companionship. But when Ashleigh begins sophomore year speaking Jane Austen's prose and crashing an exclusive prep school's cotillion to dance the Founder's Quadrille, she commits a double fault: she takes ownership of Julie's favorite book, Pride and Prejudice, and she sets her determined sights on the boy Julie secretly adores. Shulman captures the agony and the irony of Julie's struggles to find her own way as she navigates the conventions of a culture that, for all its twenty-first-century trappings, still leaves young women hoping that the young men of their dreams will recognize and return their unspoken affections. While familiarity with Austen's world through her books or, more likely, the movie renditions will deepen readers' appreciation for Shulman's impressive first novel, it is by no means a prerequisite to enjoying this involving and often amusing narrative of friendship, courtship, and (of course) true love. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 212 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (February 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399243895
• ISBN-13: 978-0399243899
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #730,975 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthusiasm Turned Me Into an Enthusiast, November 16, 2005

By	Mary Dickens (San Fransisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Polly Shulman's Enthusiasm is an absolutely fabulous book. It is so wonderfully written; it is surprising that this is her first book. Shulman ties in classic literature (such as Pride and Prejudice and Romeo and Juliet) with great skill and in a way that does them justice. It is the little details of the plot that make it so you just cannot put it down. Shulman ties them all together in a very Dickensian manner; they are all relevant in the end which makes the moment of realization extremely enjoyable.
Perhaps one of the things I liked the most about the book was the fact that the young females of the book were quite intelligent and sensible. I have found that in most literature for this age group, the author is compelled to make protagonist a total fool that doesn't know what is what, merely to create drama. Shulman does not have to stoop to that low to make the book interesting. She keeps the story upbeat without sacrificing reality.
This book will have you jumping with excitement and delight.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Healthy Dose of Enthusiasm, March 19, 2006

By	Little Willow (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

What can you do when your best friend is the most enthusiastic, passionate person you know?

Shake your head, laugh, and run right alongside her as she scurries from one new passion to another.

Ashleigh is an utterly exhuberant sophomore who grabs onto a new interest every few weeks and throws herself into it head-first. Julie, her best friend and next-door neighbor since childhood, has supported and weathered through all of Ashleigh's phases. She is six inches taller and much quieter than her friend, preferring a good book to an escapade.

One day, Ashleigh finally reads one of Julie's favorite books, Pride and Prejudice. Suddenly, Ashleigh decides that life would be grand if it were more like Austen's works. She dons long skirts, uses Victorian phrases, and plans to crash a formal dance at an all-boys school. She talks Julie into coming along with her, though they do not have tickets nor formal invitations.

As luck would have it, a Mysterious Stranger - the cute boy Julie has seen in town half a dozen times but never really spoken to - happens to be there. His name is Parr, and he is quite the gentleman. By the end of the night, Ashleigh is smitten with Parr. Ever the selfless one, Julie doesn't tell her best friend that she likes Parr too. When Ashleigh and Julie get involved in a contemporary musical version of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Parr's school, things get even more complicated - and funny, and fun.

Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman is, in a word, adorable. This is a sweet story about friendship, families, and following your heart. The characters are good kids, and you'll root for them. The story is good, clean fun, with a touch of its own slang (ie "ig" or "igsome" for someone or something the girls don't find appealing). It is G-rated, so younger teens may read it, and it has plenty of literary references to the works of Austen and Shakespeare, so adults will enjoy it.

I particularly enjoyed the fact that the story is told through the voice of the loyal sidekick. Julie is a fiercely loyal friend and daughter who juggles her schoolwork, her friend's whims, and her divorced parents' new lives, all with a good spirit - something which is rare in modern fiction. She has a great inner monologue, related through the first person narration. For example, every time she thinks of a witty retort but holds her tongue instead of vocalizing the snark, she banks a dollar in her mind.

I am a very enthusiastic person myself, so I related to that aspect of Ashleigh's personality. I do not go through phases like she does, however. Luckily, Ashleigh never completely forgets the things she liked; though she moves on to her Next Big Thing with gusto, she might later incorporate an earlier hobby into it later.

Last but not least, in spite of the fact that one should never judge a book by its cover, this particular cover deserves some kudos. Ashleigh is shown in the vintage dress she wears to that fateful dance, jumping in the air, holding a copy of Pride and Prejudice in her hand. Slyly, the paperback pictured is the Penguin Classics edition; Enthusiasm novel is published by Penguin Putnam's teen imprint.

Whether you are an adult or a teenager, whether you are a Julie or an Ashleigh, Enthusiasm will steal your heart and make you smile.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful and elegantly written, March 16, 2006

By	Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Julie's best friend Ashleigh is an enthusiast who jumps from one craze to the next, immersing herself and those around her into her latest obsession. One summer it was reptiles, another year it was King Arthur. Julie has always followed Ashleigh's crazes, but when Ashleigh reads PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and is determined to model their lives after the novels of Jane Austen, Julie isn't sure she wants to encourage her best friend in her latest enthusiasm. Not only does Ashleigh refuse to wear anything but long skirts and ballet slippers, she insists they must find love interests by crashing the fall formal dance at a nearby private boys school.

Ashleigh's enthusiasm leads the two girls from one hilarious adventure to another. Convincingly narrated by Julie, ENTHUSIASM takes PRIDE AND PREJUDICE as only one of its literary themes. It is modeled less after any specific Austen book or Shakespearean plot than it is the classic themes of mixed identities, secret crushes, and keen social observation.

The book is deliciously light without being trite, and (biggest surprise of all) it actually had some decent poetry in it, including one fabulous acrostic poem around which much of the narrative centers. Touches of poetry appear throughout, including a hilarious first conversation between Julie and her love interest, modeled on the sonnet dialogue that accompanies first meetings in Shakespeare's ROMEO & JULIET.

In many ways the book shares more parallels with Austen's SENSE AND SENSIBILITY than it does PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Julie plays the pragmatic Eleanor Dashwood to Ashleigh's more emotional Marianne. Like Eleanor Dashwood, Julie hides her true feelings for fear of hurting a friend. Her love interest is more like Mr. Ferrars than Mr. Darcy --- he's gentle and slightly awkward, and could never be accused of acting like a snob. There is, however, an obnoxious Mr. Collins-type suitor, which definitely is an appreciable touch.

The only underdeveloped part of the story comes on Julie's 16th birthday (December 17th, Ms. Austen's birthday as well), which is overshadowed by her stepmother's grief upon miscarrying a baby whose birthday would have been the same day. Counting the months, Julie realizes that the baby was conceived long before her parents' divorce and that her father had never intended to reconcile the way he had promised Julie and her mother.

There is also a very awkward and strange moment in a neighbor's greenhouse where she is found crying by a friend's appealing, older brother. They end up kissing and are interrupted by her friend. Neither situation is resolved, but in some ways they make the book more appealing. Messy edges and unexplained situations add a touch of realism to what is otherwise an idealistic romance. Both incidents are a peek beyond the literary romantic haze to the adult world in which courtly love plays no role, and bodies have interests that hearts may not share.

But the harsh, gritty realism often portrayed in young adult novels has very little to do with the many delights of ENTHUSIASM. This is an elegantly written and entirely entertaining book with a fresh and unjaded look at friendship and young love, as likely to appeal to older Austen enthusiasts as it is to young readers experiencing love for the first time.

--- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood