First Impressions - Hardcover

Sachs, Marilyn

3.17

98 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1596431172 ISBN 13: 9781596431171

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 2006

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" I read on. And then it happens. On page 89. Mary is humiliated, and I know I have to step in. There she is, in an ill-fitting, wine-colored gown that doesn't do anything for her mousy complexion, gathering up her music, when I pass by, and spill my glass of punch right on her dress. I turn, and there is Kevin, dressed in a scarlet coat and all the rest of the uniform of a British Soldier, circa 1811. 'What are you doing here?' I ask. 'Well, this is the part I'm up to in the book.'"

The smart middle child in a blue-collar family identifies with Mary, the middle child in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. When Alice enters Mary's world and makes changes in both their lives, she learns that first impressions aren't always right.

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About the Author:

Marilyn Sachs, author of Lost in America, is also the author of more than 40 award-winning books, including A Pocket Full of Seeds, and the National Book Award finalist The Bear's House. She is a lifetime member of the Jane Austen Society and founder of its San Francisco branch.

From Booklist:

Gr. 5-8. First impressions are not always right, Alice discovers as she rereads ride and Prejudice for her school essay, enjoys her first date, and tries to escape her noisy, crowded, scrappy family. Rereading the book changes her life, and especially her view of herself. She used to identify with Mary in the Austen novel, the dull sister everyone ignores, but Alice comes to realize that Mary is a pompous nerd, whereas smart, plain Alice can be an active, lively young woman. Alice occasionally enters the world of the novel, and Austen fans will enjoy the commentary. But what readers will like most is the lighthearted contemporary story about the joy and stress of family, friendship, reading, and love. When Kevin asks Alice out on a date, her glamorous older sister warns her about kissing ("Some boys. . . get spit all over you"), and Alice wonders about birth control in Austen's time. Alice and Kevin look like nerds, but "it's a mistake to judge a person by first impressions." Hazel Rochman
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