This book was unfortunately very simple with characters that were fairly confusing and lacking in depth. I was unable to make it through more than a handful of chapters.

By the Book by Amanda Sellet is a charming modern story for classic book lovers, and the YA book is sure to be enjoyed by teen and adult readers alike. 
Mary Porter-Malcolm lives her life by the book, always looking to classic literature to find answers about life. While this is something many bookworms can relate to, she finds that her books don't all translate well to public high school, and when she finds herself after a career at a smaller school. She's got a lot to learn if she's going to make it through high school in one piece. and with the new group of friends she sets out to learn about normal teenage experiences while introducing the girls to the lessons she's learned from her beloved books. 
Some things, though, you just have to experience for yourself. 
The book is filled with quirky characters, myriad literary references, and plenty of moments that will make you laugh. 
Many thanks to HMH Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the advance copy

Mary is suddenly faced with a new school, an old friend who seems to be outgrowing her, new friends who may or may not accept her for who she really is, and a new and unwelcome attraction for just the wrong kind of boy. Good thing she's read all the right books. Those 19th C authors knew a thing or two about navigating love and friendship. 
At least she hopes so. 
Throw in a loud, well-read family of over-achievers, a truly brutal trivia night, a group of envy-worthy new friends, and some non-preachy personal growth, and you'll love this funny, warm, relatable book that feels real yet is still gentle with all of us bookworms.

Hand this book to YA-loving English Majors (or teens who plan to become English Majors)!  A fun mix of contemporary romance and literacy allusions.

This was such a sweet, fun, bookish read. Thank you to @netgalley for the ARC for review. I don’t read many YA books with younger protagonists, but this BY THE BOOK (not to be confused with the previous adult book I recently read with the same title! 😉) was one of those. As such, it focused a lot on friendship and family dynamics, thought it did have a dash of romance as well. It was a light 5-star read for me.  I don’t think published synopses of the book (such as on GoodReads) do the friendship storyline justice; it really is at the heart of the novel!

a thank you to net galley and the publisher for the arc. 

I got 80% done with this and didn't care about finishing it. Yes i like the main characters but there is some disconnect. I think that there could have been more backstory with Mary and the guy she likes to make me care more about them and even more story with the new girl friends and Mary hanging out to feel like they are connected and more then just lunch buddies. I did finish the book but i took a few weeks to go back and finish the end of it. I'm sure that those who love the Jane Austen references and such will still read it, but it isn't a book I would say "you HAVE to read this" about to any teen.

I enjoyed all of the literary references and tried to guess which book was being described.  Each of the cast had their own personality and no one seemed too flat.  I think that Mary and I would have been best friends in high school.  I really related to her.

This was super cute. I will definitely pick up another book by this author. I loved the literary references. I really enjoyed the friendship arc and wanted to be friends with this group. I also adored the love interest.

While YA contemporary romances are not my jam. I was drawn to By the Book by it's premise and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It was delightful and I adored Mary's obsession with period dramas. She had a naiveté that was endearing and I could see parts of myself at that age in her. Mary's friends are a refreshing addition to this book which already had my heart with Mary and Alex's romance (slow burning).

A charming delightful young adult with a Jane Austen flavor. I'm a sucker for anything Jane Austen. Sometimes I'm happy with the books and sometimes I have to let the books go without finishing. This book was a clear winner.

I wish I got more into this. The cover is gorgeous and drew me in right away. I think it was just a bit too young YA for my tastes. I did love the classic references but it seemed a bit much when they’re so young. It just didn’t mesh well in my head. 
I did love the relationships between the girls and her romance with Alex. Overall a solid 3. Just wasn’t my total cup of tea.

A great combination of the classics and cotemporary. Mary is a literary-fiend who has yet to go to a normal school. When she finds herself, friendless in a public school she connects to girls the best way she knows how, through classic literature. Her and her friends set off on a quest to uncover the scoundrels of their school by relating them to the the men of classic literature. 

It was a great balance of naivety and intellect with fun and romance. It is such a great pace with ups and downs to keep you on your toes.

A lovely YA romance, especially for the bookish at heart. The protagonist is a sweet, naive teen girl - much like many of the heroines in her beloved 19th century novels, and she finds herself trying to navigate new friendships and new romances in a new school. It is peppered throughout with literary references and includes an appendix listing them all, in case there are any that the reader can't quite place. The friendships are endearing, the romance is high school dreamy, and the de facto recommended reading list is superb.

Original Review posted 5/28/2020 on Forever Young Adult: http://foreveryoungadult.com/2020/05/28/by-the-book/

BOOK REPORT for By the Book by Amanda Sellet

Cover Story: Cute As A Button
BFF Charm: Platinum
Swoonworthy Scale: 9
Talky Talk: Unputdownable
Bonus Factors: Kickass Parents (And Family), Trivia Night, Female Friendships
Relationship Status: Engaged

Cover Story: Cute As A Button

This cover is absolutely adorable! I love it. The cartoon dude has vague early 2000s Justin Timberlake noodle hair, which…I was not picturing as I read the book, but I can look past that.

The Deal:

Mary Porter-Malcom feels greatly out of her depth when she has to go to regular public high school at the start of sophomore year. Her only friend from her private Montessori school has outright rejected her for being too hopeless and old-fashioned, so she’s having a rough day when she encounters three classmates discussing the hottest—and most flirty—senior boy in school, Alex Ritter. Mary warns them of his fickle ways using relevant examples of bad romantic leads from her favorite classic literature novels, of which she can be considered somewhat of a connoisseur. The other girls welcome Mary into their group and use her vast knowledge of literary tropes to create a running list of fictional male archetypes to avoid when looking for dates.

But even though Mary knows intellectually what to want and what to avoid in a potential boyfriend, she keeps running into Alex in different social settings, and their conversations leave her feeling more confused than certain. Is she capable of taking her own advice before she turns out to be just like every other tragic heroine who ruins her life for love? 

BFF Charm: Platinum 

If Mary strolled into my high school, I’d instantly offer to be her BFF. Granted, as two introverts, we would probably keep having near-misses and never end up talking until the last week of school, but the intent would be there. I’ll let Anton, the costumer for Mary’s older sisters’ play, give us a brief overview of her personality: “You give me life, Mary! So much sass behind that sweet face.” Mary turns sixteen in the novel, so I was worried she was going to read a little young, but the girl is an old soul raised by two Lit professors who march to the beat of their own drum. I knew by Chapter Two that I would find her slightly-out-of-touch observations of the world adorable:

And then a girl with the locker next to mine asked if I had gum. Which I didn’t, but it was exciting to think that I looked like the kind of person who might.

She’s a great mix of naïveté and book-smarts paired with the aforementioned sass (she can’t help herself from stating her thoughts, but unlike some blunter, more...sarcastic YA protagonists—who I do adore, don’t get me wrong—Mary tries to be honest but tactful). 

Swoonworthy Scale: 9

Mary had a run-in with Alex Ritter a few years back when he flirted with her at her sisters’ play and then pretended not to know her later, so she’s certain she knows what kind of person he is. Mary makes it pretty clear to Alex that she doesn’t think he’s good boyfriend material for anyone, which, paired with her unusual turn-of-phrase (and the fact that she’s adorable), of course intrigues him.

I adore a “good girl is attracted to a charming rogue despite herself” trope, and this book took that storyline and ran away with my heart. A cute shy or tongue-tied literary guy can still give me butterflies, but a literary love interest who is confident, friendly, and witty to boot? I’m a puddle. (No one will ever accuse my husband of being a wallflower, so this holds doubly true for me IRL.) Their chemistry and slow-burn attraction was *chef’s kiss*

Talky Talk: Unputdownable 

I sat on this review for a little while because gushing about a book I fell in love with is sometimes so much harder than pinpointing what I disliked in a middling book. But you need to know: By the Book is DELIGHTFUL. It’s everything I wanted in a contemporary that can feel like the real world while still capturing that feel-good “movie magic” sepia-toned kind of "real" life.

I opened my tablet on a lazy, beautiful Saturday morning in my newly christened “reading hammock” (see below for context) and could not stop until I’d read it all. I loved the wholesomeness, the excellent romantic chemistry, well-written secondary characters, and Sellet’s breezy style. Mary’s obsession with the classics and the nods to so many famous stories made it a winner for an English nerd like me. Can someone please tell Netflix this is their next teen rom-com hit?

Bonus Factor: Kickass Parents (And Family) 

I loved whenever we spent time with Mary's parents and her four siblings. They go to smart-people trivia together! They have what the family refers to as a “reading hammock” in the backyard! As an only child with pretty chill parents, any glimpse into a more chaotic but positive home life is always endlessly fascinating, and the Porter-Malcolms are such a loveable bunch. Two of my favorite scenes that used Mary’s family to excellent effect were her hot mess birthday dinner and when Mary talked to both her parents about her romantic concerns (at least, once her father determined her questions weren’t about S-E-X):

Mom patted my hand. “We’ve been meaning to have the Talk with you, but to be honest we assumed we’d have more time. Or that you’d ask one of your sisters,” she added hopefully.
“It’s not about that. I mean, it is, but it’s not.” Could I even form a sentence anymore? I closed my eyes to stop another gush of tears.
Dad bustled into the room, setting a steaming mug on the coffee table in front of me before handing one to Mom. “What did I miss?”
“It is and also isn’t about the kiss,” Mom recapped.

Aren’t they the cutest??

Bonus Factor: Trivia Night

Speaking of family outings, I love me some trivia! I would kill to be a fly on the wall of trivia night at Mung’s (a place that looks exactly like it sounds and serves free water with a touch of apple cider vinegar). Team names vary from Let’s Get Lit! (the Porter-Malcolms') to Oh, the Humanities! and Bougie Nights.

Bonus Factor: Female Friendships 

I’d be remiss if I did not throw a shout-out to Mary’s group of new friends she meets in a very cute and unusual way. I loved their little foursome and how important friendship was to the entire story.

Relationship Status: Engaged

It feels right, Book. We had a lovely courtship and I feel pretty confident in announcing our love to the world. Let's make it official!

I have never known A high schooler to be as well read as this young woman but I guess it’s possible. Aside from that, this was a fun and realistic portrayal of high school relationships and romances.  Plenty of miscommunication  and high drama  to go around.

This book definitely has all the potential in the world. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good fit for me. Mary is just starting her first year in a new public school. We follow her as she makes new friends, loses old ones, and makes all the classic literature references. If you’ve read and loved the classics, this one is for you. Due to not reading that many classics, a lot of the references went over my head. I also had a hard time connecting with the characters. I chose to DNF at around 20%.

While this wasn’t my favorite contemporary YA book, there is a lot to love in this sweet, honest book.  I loved the younger age of a YA protagonist who is 15/16, the beautiful and funny ways the author nods to classic literature, and the weight that friendship places in the book, not just romance.  I would have loved some additional diversity on the pages, and at times, it was super dense and confusing to read with so many different characters and a lot of narration just in the main character’s head, but I still really enjoyed reading this and will definitely share with some of the young people I work with.

Cute YA romance for people who love books about books!

While the premise is a tad unrealistic (a group of friends are focused on getting Mary, the new kid in school, the quintessential high school experiences-- including dating-- while asking her for all the advice she has learned from reading 19th century romances), the story is fun and sweet. 

I am not sure there are a ton of younger high school students who would catch all the references (Jan Eyre, Wuthering Heights, An American Tragedy, Pamela (UGH), and so on), I do think there are some bookish girls who could relate and enjoy the tale.

I love the premise of By The Book. Mary is starting her sophomore year of high school at a new school. Having come from a very small and non traditional school - everything about the public high school is new to her. However she has a reference point - all the classic literature she reads and loves. She can recognize when the charming player is really a Vronsky in disguise.

Mary quickly makes friends who appreciate her ability to see parallels to literature in their classmates. I appreciate how bookish Mary is and love seeing her figure out her new environment.

However I think this is a case of picking up the book at the wrong time. It just isn’t really connecting for me and I’m choosing to stop reading at 27%. 

Thank you to the publisher for the advance reading copy.

I’m just obsessed with how cute of an idea this book is! I am just in love with the story and was just so amused with it. I mean, it’s got all of my favorite things rolled into one: classics, bad boys, and just overall reminding me of Jane Austen. I mean, if this wasn’t me as a teenager then I don’t know what was! I feel like I’m being rambly, but I’m just so in love with this one!

Ok, so I rarely see classics being given so much love in contemporaries and I am so here for the representation in this book! As a classic and period piece fan myself I was just so giddy seeing that in this book! I don’t know, I just really related to Mary. I’m telling you, she was so melodramatic in her own way. I also really liked the touch of adding a diary entry to the beginning of each chapter. It just gave us an additional look into Mary’s psyche.

This story just really made me reminiscent of growing up. I was just able to thoroughly enjoy the story because I was able to relate to it so much. Plus I adored all of the amazing friendships in the story! I don’t know, it was just a happy story, and I’ve been seeking things out like that lately. I really recommend this to all of the book nerds out there, especially those who are into classics!