By the Book ~ Julia Sonneborn (Pub. Date February 6, 2018)

Sonneborn, Julia. 2018. By the Book. New York, NY: Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.

I'm a big fan of contemporary retellings of Jane Austen's works and have read some great and not-so-great ones. By the Book is definitely one of the better ones I've read.  I am always so impressed when a debut author creates a novel that feels like they've been writing for years, and that's how I felt about Julia Sonneborn's writing. Plus, she managed to take a novel like Persuasion, and yet create a thoroughly new story, keeping the basics of the plot.  There was a lot of humor, as well, though more overt than Austen's would be; but that goes with the contemporary aspect of this novel. The campus setting was perfect, and it was enjoyable to read about the life of academics (publish or perish, gossip, drama, student behavior etc.).  As the author states in her acknowledgements: "This novel is a love letter to books...and book lovers."  I felt that love as a reader, and look forward to recommending this book to my patrons (and peers) who I know will enjoy it, too!  Plus, the cover of this book is lovely!