Austenland

by Shannon Hale

Genre: Realistic fiction
Age group: Maybe 13+? It didn't seem remarkably inappropriate but you need to be above a certain age to understand some of the things. I'd say you should be 13+ to truly understand everything, but really this book is geared towards adults.

Ever since she watched the BBC TV version of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Hayes' obsession with Colin Firth playing Mr. Darcy is legendary. She is kind of embarrassed by it, but in her eyes, no other man could ever compare to Colin. Then, her great-aunt passes away, and leaves Jane a vacation in her will. But it's not an ordinary vacation to the Bahamas—Jane is going to Pembrook Park, where the time is not the twenty-first century, but 1816, and Jane Hayes can be transported to the time of Jane Austen. Jane decides to give it a go, and soon she is surrounded by handsome gentlemen, cute gardeners, and fine ladies. At first Jane knows it's only a game, and none of it is actually real. The people starting to pay attention to the other visitors are just paid actors. But as Jane gets more and more involved in Pembrook Park and its inhabitants, the line between reality and pretense get blurred, and she isn't really sure of things anymore.

I just read Pride and Prejudice, and I think that reading that helped a lot with understanding this, though having not read any other Jane Austen, you could probably be okay if you haven't read any Jane Austen at all.
This book was funny. This book was unpredictable. This book was quite intriguing. It's kind of hard for me to explain why I liked it... The protagonist, Jane, was very likable. She is relatable and the way she handles the situations she is put into is very interesting because it's not always what others might do, especially others in this book. Also, there were plenty of plot twists or things that happen that add to the interest/suspense level of the book. The characters become believable as you get to know them, and you feel Jane's confusion when she is trying to discern the actors from the characters they are playing. Not everyone is exactly what you think they are. A great follow-up to any Austen novel.