Being Mary Bennet, by J.C. Peterson, follows Marnie Barnes, a senior in boarding school who desperately wants to win the Hunt Prize, a prestigious competition at her school. When her roommate calls her Mary Bennet in an argument, she decides to try and reinvent herself.

I’m a sucker for all things Pride and Prejudice, so I was thrilled to get my hands on the eARC for this book!

I don’t quite know how to describe this book. It’s not quite a Pride and Prejudice retelling, but it’s also not not a Pride and Prejudice retelling. It’s a family of five sisters (Joss, Lindy, Marnie, Kat, and Lola, as opposed to the original Jane, Lizzie, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia), and they, the parents, and the Darcy and Bingley-adjacent characters all have similar personalities to those which they’re based on in P&P. Additionally, another central character, who Marnie is infatuated with, is (I believe) supposed to be the Mr. Collins-equivalent character, with his fiancé, Lindy’s best friend, being the Charlotte Lucas counterpart, although this character (Hayes) was personality-wise more similar to Wickham. There was very little overlap in plot, but honestly all but 3-4 characters came straight out of Pride and Prejudice, which is why I’m hesitant over whether or not to call it a retelling. Mostly I’m just confused about how Marnie loves Pride & Prejudice in-universe and never saw the connections between her family and the characters in that until it was pointed out to her; I feel like it ought to have been more subtle.

I really loved Marnie’s character development over the course of the novel. She learns to accept herself and begins to see those around her for who they really are, rather than just her preconceived notions (in many ways mirroring Lizzie’s development in Pride & Prejudice). It was definitely the most well-written aspect of the story. She was also so fun to read about; how could I not love a character who also adores Anne of Green Gables?

Marnie’s relationships were also enjoyable to read about. Her friendship with her roommate, Adhira, is so fun, with the latter being easily one of my favorite characters in the book. Her love interest, Whit, is really cute, and their interactions are all adorable (he calls her Anne-girl during a discussion about Anne of Green Gables when they meet, and I just about swooned at that). 

I also really liked Marnie’s relationships with her sisters, though I wish they’d been more developed. Lindy’s relationship to her definitely gets explored the most, which makes sense given that she’s the Lizzie Bennet-equivalent and everybody (including me) loves her, and I did really enjoy those scenes, but I wish that Lola (the Lydia-adjacent character) had been fleshed out more. Lola had a lot of character depth that was hinted at at the start but that didn’t really seem to go anywhere. Meanwhile, Joss and Kat were barely present.

Hayes creeped me out. Marnie’s been infatuated with him ever since he “saved her life” when she was younger (a debatable designation), and is convinced that they’re meant to be together, despite him being in his late twenties while she’s only 18. The worst part is that it isn’t entirely one-sided, despite him being engaged and having known her since she was a child. He’s just so creepy and horrible; the entire plotline honestly felt unnecessary, and is the sole reason why I’m taking a star off of my rating of the book.

Overall, I did thoroughly enjoy this book. The characters are all exceptionally well-written, and it’s just such a fun spin on Pride & Prejudice. Although there was one storyline that I could definitely have done without, the rest of it was really wonderful, and I’d definitely recommend it to any fan of P&P, or just any lover of YA contemporary. It’s got well-written family dynamics, wonderful friendships, and an adorable romance; what more could one ask for? 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Do you read many retellings of classics? What’s your favorite?