Mini-Review of The Lonely Hearts Club

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

Pages: 320

Pub. Date:  December 29, 2009

Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars 

Goodreads says, "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 nondating ways . . . which is too bad, because there's this certain boy she can't help but like. . . ."

The Lonely Hearts Club is a fun, chick-lit novel.  Penny Lane, the main character, is named after the famous Beatles song....to put it mildly, her parents are Beatles fanatics.  Penny is sick of high school guys mistreating her and she gets fed up.  She starts a club called The Lonely Hearts Club and before she knows it, she has actually has a following of girls who want to join.  Some of the rules of the club include the following:  Stop dating in high school, attend Saturday night meetings, attend all dances together as a group, and be supportive of your friends no matter what.  Because of the popularity of the club, Penny is open to ridicule by not only the boys in her school, but also the ex-jock principal.  Her parents; however, are very supportive of her, which is a nice to see in YA literature.  This book made me laugh out loud as I have sworn off guys one too many times and I would have totally been a member of this club if my high school had one! Lastly, I really liked how Eulberg tied in the Beatles to all of Penny's experiences.  It was very clever and I enjoyed it. I know that others felt that this part got too cheesy, but I thought it was amusing and I liked the various connections that Eulberg made.

One aspect of the novel that I really enjoyed was Elizabeth Eulberg's message.  She is ultimately saying that guys come and go, but friends are forever.  Maintaining a strong friendship with your girlfriends is very important regardless of the guy you are dating.  This is such an important lesson for any high school girl.  It's refreshing to see such an independent female that isn't dropping her friends for a guy, because lately, I've been seeing that a lot in the YA world.  For example, the infamous Edward/Bella relationship, which as recently received a lot of ridicule, because Bella's is extremely codependent.  I think Penny Lane is a character to get excited about and I think it's safe to say that others are excited, too!  Mandalay Pictures has bought the rights to The Lonely Hearts Club; this book would definitely make a fun movie!

Watch an interview with Elizabeth Eulberg:

 

*I got this ARC through Elizabeth Scott's contest.  A big thank you to Elizabeth Scott!