Stuck Up and Stupid by Angourie Rice and Kate Rice

Title: Stuck Up and Stupid

Author: Angourie Rice and Kate Rice

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Retelling

Publisher: Walker Books

Published: 1^st November 2023

Format: Paperback

Pages: 384

Price: $22.99

Synopsis: The only thing worse than cleaning up after celebrities was having to watch her own family trying to impress them.

The quiet coastal community of Pippi Beach is rocked when a party of young Hollywood movie stars and influencers arrives for the summer. Like most of the locals, mum Lydia is thrilled but her teenage daughter Lily finds the Hollywood types are superficial and arrogant – especially Dorian Khan, the most famous of them all. She is soon to discover that first impressions can be deceiving …

This hilarious debut turns a much-loved classic into a contemporary hit – written by Angourie Rice, internationally acclaimed actor and host of the literary podcast The Community Library, and her award-winning playwright mother, Kate Rice.

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that as soon as you leave high school, people think you have it all sorted. Lily doesn’t, but to be fair, her mother, Lydia, hasn’t ever really had things sorted either. Lily and her sister Rosie live with their mum in Aunt Jane’s house in Pippi Beach, which in this story is a small beachside village near Sydney, accessible by boat. Life there is quiet but picks up during the summer as people come to their holiday houses that Lydia cleans.

Stuck Up and Stupid starts in the summer after Lily has finished school and isn’t sure what she wants to do with her life, so she’s taking a gap year, with a month in America. As her aunts come in and out of the story – Jane, Lizzie, Kitty and Mary – the first three more than the others, especially as Jane and Lizzie come to Pippi for Christmas, Lily finds herself faced with many choices. But this summer isn’t going to be the same as previous summers, as a big Hollywood star – Dorian Khan and his friends Casey and Cecilia come to Pippi Beach with their friend, Alex King – who I found to be very suspicious at times – too smooth, and a little bit ingenuous. Everyone is excited about their presence – except Lily, who finds Dorian to be very judgemental and stand-offish, who appears to look down on those around him – quite the contrast to jovial, and friendly Casey, who takes an interest in Juliet – but things aren’t so rosy in this delightful Pride and Prejudice retelling.

The adult characters are named after the key characters in Pride and Prejudice, right down to Jane’s husband Charles, and another friend called Charlotte, whilst the young adult characters reflect the main characters in the original novel – Darcy, Jane, Lizzie, the Bingleys, Mr Collins, and George Wickham, and place them in the twenty-first century. There are a few twists that make this stand out from the 1813 novel by Jane Austen, and the references to the original are cleverly incorporated so you don’t need to know Pride and Prejudice, yet knowing it makes reading this retelling a lot of fun. There are little things throughout that are recognisable from the source material yet is a story that is relatable for modern readers. Some of the issues, attitudes, understandings, and relationships people are in have changed, and the feminism is reignited in a contemporary way. Just as Mrs Bennet was more concerned about marriage, Lydia has certain expectations for Lily and comes across as aghast when Lily doesn’t do what society or others expect of her.

Lily is her own person, just as Lizzie was. They both have different ideas about what they want out of life, and clash with those who get upset at them when things don’t go to plan – yet throughout the book, Lily doesn’t have a specific plan, reflecting the reality for many young people – and people of all ages who don’t always know what they want to do. Many of us feel adrift throughout our lives, even as adults. Goals change and we need to find ways to achieve our goals or find a new path. I think a lot of teenagers and adults will relate to Lily. I know I did, because being expected to know what you want to do at eighteen is a lot of pressure. I think this retelling was cleverly done, and one that has much more than the romance – it shows that love is diverse – family, friends, lovers, and I liked the uncertainty throughout the book. Giving life and relationships a sense of realism – that they don’t always last, or aren’t always what you expect is reassuring. It lets people who have had failed relationships of any kind know they are not alone and that their feelings are valid, and this was one of my favourite things about it.

Lily finding out that she could stand up for her beliefs, and learning from her mistakes was also a good thread, because we’ve all had those moments we wish we had never had. Perhaps that’s why books like Pride and Prejudice are so successful – they’re more than a romance. They’re a social commentary, a way to look at society and the divisions based on money or class, and what certain people expect from us – and there was one instance where I was so mad at one character and how they treated Lily. It is an engaging book that like Pride and Prejudice explores human relationships and the inner workings of family and societies, of a range of places and cultures. In this case, it’s the contrast of big cities and small coastal towns, Australia and the USA, Hollywood stars and people who aren’t famous, and what people think they can get if they have the right connections. I liked the modern take on this, as it gives readers something to connect to as it reflects how our modern world works.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and it worked really well as a collaboration. The voice was consistent throughout, and it ensured that the plot was easy to follow between Pippi, Sydney, LA, and Melbourne, with a satisfyingly realistic and relatable ending that readers will gravitate to. A great book for readers in their teens and older – there will be something in this for all ages but especially young adults.