Norah Has a Convoluted Plan to Capture Her Crush's Heart in A Novel Idea

I recently read Scones and Sensibility, an Austen-inspired mid-grade reader that sent me to the online library catalog in search of more books influenced by the late great Jane. That's how I found A Novel Idea, a young adult novel by Aimee Friedman about a reclusive high school junior who starts a book club to beef up her extracurricular activities for her college applications.

I'm not really sure why this book came up when I looked for Jane Austen, since aside from a very offhand reference to Sense and Sensibility, her books didn't come up at all. I kept thinking that the book club would eventually settle on one of her books to read for the month; by the time I realized that wasn't going to happen, I had to keep reading anyway to finish the story. Still, that was a bit of a disappointment.

While our narrator, Norah, drops the occasional reference to real books, she mostly focuses on two fictional authors: Irene O'Dell, who writes cheesy romance novels, and Philippa Askance, a mysterious novelist whose debut made a big splash but who never makes public appearances. Both become very important to Norah between February and May, the time during which she runs her book club. Her fellow members rally around the idea of getting the elusive Philippa to do a reading at the bookstore where the club meets, while Irene O'Dell provides inspiration to Norah as she ponders how to win the affections of her new crush.

The small club only includes six members: Norah; her best friend Audre, an aspiring baker; their flamboyant friend Scott, who always knows the right thing to say to cheer the girls up on an off day; geeky Neil, who is hoping to read some sci-fi; Neil's quiet friend James, who seems to share a lot of common ground with Norah; and prissy Francesca, a gorgeous girl who is only interested in books like The Devil Wears Prada and Gossip Girl. Griffin, the hunky bookstore employee Audre has an ardent crush on, sometimes pops in on the meetings as well.

Despite the sense of connection that seems to develop between them almost the moment they meet, Norah finds it hard to believe that James could actually like her, so she implements a convoluted plan used by the heroine in Irene O'Dell's latest novel to arouse his interest. This plot basically involves making James jealous, and her schemes have great potential for humiliation. Besides, if James is as shy as Norah, which he seems to be, knowing that she has the suitors lining up would be just as likely to drive him away as make him express his own feelings.

James is my favorite character in the book, so I found myself very annoyed with Norah's method of trying to win him over. I'm painfully shy myself, so I completely get where she's coming from when, upon first realizing how much she likes him, she muses, “my crush on him was only going to lead to disaster when he inevitably rejected me.” Even though it seems at first that he might like her, she figures she must be reading too much into small gestures. None of her other crushes have ever gone anywhere; either she flubs up big-time with the guy she likes or, more often, he flat-out isn't interested. It's little wonder she's afraid to pursue James. But pursue she does, in an incredibly awkward, roundabout way that's bound to leave him terribly confused and has the potential for hurt feelings on a wider scale, particularly when she involves Audre's brother and Neil.

I'm not crazy about Norah's narrative voice, either. She's got a snarky, I-hate-the-world vibe to her, rather reminiscent of the main character from the TV show Daria. Some of her language is rather coarse, and it's tiring to hear her dismiss so many people for a variety of reasons. You would think someone who feels on the fringes would be a little more empathetic. Curiously, like the narrator in Scones and Sensibility, she seems to have a special loathing for Lord of the Rings fans. Are romance and fantasy not supposed to mix? I don't know, but that certainly didn't endear her to me. I also found it odd that, for a girl who claims no interest in fashion, she is constantly describing the clothes that people wear, mentioning name brands as she does so. More understandable is her constant dropping of references to indie bands, but this gets a little tiresome after a while, especially since I've never heard of most of them and can't tell if they're real or just inventions of the author.

The side characters are a mixed bag. I love Norah's scatterbrained parents, both of whom are brilliant scientists, but they only show up a couple of times, which is rather disappointing. Philippa is also an intriguing character, and I like the storyline involving her better than the one involving Irene O'Dell. There's very little actual book discussion that occurs, another disappointment, though I do like the way that a shared love of certain books sparks romance between two different couples.

This is a quick and fairly forgettable read. While I did get caught up in the potential romance between Norah and James and wanted it to work out for them, I often wanted to take Norah by the shoulders and give her a good shake. Some of her behavior is very frustrating, and she isn't as likable as Friedman intends her to be. While it's not too bad for a lazy afternoon read, A Novel Idea is not my idea of a great novel.