Author: Elizabeth Eulberg
Published: January 1st, 2010
Paperback, 290 pages
4 Gold Stars
(summary from Goodreads)
Love is all you need... or is it? Penny's about to find out in this wonderful debut.
Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating. So she vows: no more. It's a personal choice... and, of course, soon everyone wants to know about it. And a few other girls are inspired. A movement is born: The Lonely Hearts Club (named after the band from Sgt. Pepper). Penny is suddenly known for her non dating ways... which is too bad, because there's this certain boy she can't help but like...
This was a quick, fun read that made me want to listen to The Beatles and fall in love all over again. Penny Lane's parents love The Beatles. Songs about love surround her everywhere she goes and that's all fine and dandy until she gets her heart broken and decides to swear off guys. She starts The Lonely Hearts Club, a group for girls who want to put themselves before the terrible population of guys at high school. Before long, most of the girls in school are part of the club, including Penny's old friend Diane, who recently broke up with her long time boyfriend Ryan. Penny loves having a group of girls she can hang out with whenever she wants, Saturday nights are always busy and she's not so lonely anymore, but the more she spends time with Ryan, the more she thinks she's falling for him. But she's the leader of the club, she swore she wouldn't date. But Penny's thinking about breaking her own rules.
I read this book in one sitting. It was so much fun and pulled me right in. Lyrics to Beatles songs were everywhere and I love the Beatles, so I was happy for them. I love how obsessed Penny's family is with the band and it made for a very nice little side story to the main events taking place. The Beatle are clearly a very big part of Penny's life and the author does a fantastic job showing us this. Penny and her three sisters are all named after Beatles songs and Penny and Ryan go to a Beatles tribute band concert (against her parent's wishes because gasp, they aren't the real Beatles!) I loved the references, the song lyrics and everything Beatles related.
It was mushy, girly and exactly what you'd think it'd be, but with a few tricks and treats along the way. The girl power was a nice change from some YA these days and I loved that they all supported each other even when they decided to start dating again. Penny and Diane were my favourite. Diane ditched Penny for Ryan at the beginning of high school and though there was a bit of bad blood, they eventually overcame that and became good friends again. Diane even supported Penny going out with Ryan. All in all, this was a super cute book that will leave you smiling. Don't expect too much more than that, but if you're looking for a cute read with some music mixed in here and there, than I'd definitely recommend picking this one up.
"There was only one thing I could do to ease the pain. I turned to the only four guys who'd never let me down. The only four guys who'd never broken my heart, who'd never disappointed me. John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Any body who has ever clung to a song like a musical life raft will understand. Or put on a song to bring out an emotion or memory. Or had a soundtrack playing in their head to drown out a conversation or a scene."
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