The Lonely Hearts Club Review

I just barely finished The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg this morning, so I'm going to write this review while all my thoughts are still clear in my head...let's face it...they don't stay that way for long these days!



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. . .
Taken from GoodReads.

The Lonely Hearts Club follows the story of Penny Lane Bloom (yes, she is named for a Beatles song, as are her two sisters, Rita and Lucy) as she gets her heart ripped out and stomped on by the boy of her dreams, Nate, right before the start of her Junior year in high school. Determined to never let it happen again, Penny swears off dating...and boys...at least until she is done with high school. So, she starts a club called The Lonely Hearts Club (and yes, this is also a Beatles reference). While her friend Tracy thinks the idea is foolish and resorts to her list of possible hookups for the year, Penny is surprised not so surprised to find out there are more girls who want to join her club. There's only one problem - Penny might just be falling for someone, and she is leading a club that says she can't.

Ok, I heard excellent things about this book, so I went in with an open mind. Elizabeth Eulberg who, by the way, is Stephanie Meyer's publicist, undoubtedly has talent. Her writing is short, clean, and easy to follow at a nice pace. That said, I have to admit if I heard the phrase "what to the evs" one more time, I was going to shred this book. I also had a bit of a problem with just how scream-y and squeal-y these girls were. It seemed like every single action warranted a scream of sorts.

Perhaps it just didn't ring true for me because this was nothing like my high school experience, but I also found it hard to believe that the popular girl (Diane) who ignored Penny for years because of a boyfriend suddenly went back to her begging for forgiveness. In all honesty, I've never seen that happen...teenage girls find it very hard to let the guard down around other teenage girls. Also, a ton of characters were introduced right off the bat, and it was a tad distracting to follow until you actually got into the story.

It was a fluffy read, plain and simple. It's not deep, no worlds were created to lose yourself in, and frankly, it's not a completely original idea. I think it's meant to inspire girls to strike out on their own, rather than depend on boys, but I felt it fell a bit flat. I give this book a 3 out of 5, and I'd recommend it to those who enjoy books like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.