by Claire LaZebnik

HarperTeen, $9.99, 295 pages

In Epic Fail, Claire LaZebnik loosely models her book after Jane Austen’s classic, Pride and Prejudice. Seventeen-year-old Elise moves to Los Angeles from Amherst, Massachusetts. Not only does she have to move during her junior year, but her mother is the principal of her new school, Coral Tree Prep.

Elise immediately feels out of place at Coral Tree. Her classmates wear designer clothes and have movie star parents. She wears a “this is what a feminist looks like” t-shirt and her dad’s the math teacher. Luckily, Elise has Juliana, her beautiful older sister, to help her navigate their new school.

As they begin to learn the ropes, they discover that every girl in school is crushing on Derick Edwards, but Elise can’t be more repulsed by him and his behavior towards the charming Weber Grant, her date to the semi-formal. When Elise and Juliana’s rebellious freshman sister, Layla finds herself in b-i-g trouble, however, the true nature of these young men is revealed. ||I recommend Epic Fail to younger high school girls who are looking for an easy, short read in between classes or on the way to soccer practice. However, for an exceptional read, check out the real thing by Jane Austen!
Emily Davis