by Sayantani Dasgupta
Scholastic Inc., 2022. 336 pages. Young Adult Fiction
It is a truth universally acknowledged that there are two
types of people in the hypercompetitive world of high school forensics
competitions: speakers and debaters. Nobody knows this better than Leela Bose,
a life-long speech competitor. When she meets Firoze Darcy, an incorrigible
debater, Leela has no choice but to try and tolerate him. His elitist private
school is included in the state league she's competing in and their paths will
inevitably cross. But why simply tolerate Firoze when Leela can one-up him? She
decides to switch into the debate category of the competition to prove that
women are just as capable as men. But the situation is more complicated than
Leela anticipated, and her participation in the tournament reveals that she
might have tragically misjudged the debaters in the forensics league --
including Firoze Darcy. Leela will have to confront her assumptions, not only
about other people, but about herself, if she's to have any hope of deciphering
her complicated feelings for Darcy or succeeding in the forensics competition.
At first, I thought that this was the average YA Jane Austen
knockoff, but I soon learned that I was very wrong. Yes, there are characters who
have names starting with L, Leela for Lizzy and J, Jai (who is male) for Jane, but
the diverse cast is full of great characters that breathe a lot of fun and life into
the story. Leela is Bengali Hindu and Darcy comes from a Pakistani Muslim
mother and White British father. Dasgupta uses the canvas of a debate
tournament to discuss class distinctions, colorism, racism, feminism and a lot
of other issues. There were a few times were the original Austen dialogue was
used that didn’t quite fit with the teen characters, but overall it was a
delight!
If you liked Debating
Darcy, you might like:
by Tirza Price
Harper Teen, 2020. 360 pages. Young Adult Fiction
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young woman
who desires a law career must be in want of a case. So, when sixteen-year-old
Lizzie Bennet hears about a scandalous society murder, she sees an opportunity
to prove herself as a solicitor by solving the case and ensuring justice is
served. Except the man accused of the crime already has a lawyer on his side:
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the stern young heir to the prestigious Pemberley
Associates law firm. Lizzie is determined to solve the murder before Darcy can
so that she can show the world that a woman can be just as good as a man. (The
fact that Darcy is an infuriating snob doesn’t help.) But there’s still a
killer on the loose, and as the case gets more complicated, Lizzie and Darcy
may have to start working together to avoid becoming the next victims
themselves.
Mr. Malcolm’s List
by Suzanne Allain
Jove, 2020. 244 pages. Fiction
Move over, Mr. Darcy, there's a new man in town . . . It is
a truth universally acknowledged that an arrogant bachelor insistent on a wife
who meets the strictest of requirements-deserves his comeuppance. The Honorable
Mr. Jeremy Malcolm is searching for a wife, but not just any wife. He's
determined to elude the fortune hunters and find a near-perfect woman, one who
will meet the qualifications of his well-crafted list. But after years of
searching, he's beginning to despair of ever finding this paragon. And then
Selina Dalton arrives in town . . . Selina, a vicar's daughter of limited means
and a stranger to high society, is thrilled when her friend Julia invites her
to London. Until she learns it's part of a plot to exact revenge on Mr.
Malcolm. Selina is reluctant to participate in Julia's scheme, especially after
meeting the irresistible Mr. Malcolm, who seems very different from the
arrogant scoundrel of Julia's description. But when Mr. Malcolm begins judging
Selina against his unattainable standards, Selina decides that she has some
qualifications of her own. And if he is to meet them he must reveal the real
man behind . . . Mr. Malcolm's List.
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