Review: The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

Release Date: January 1, 2010
Publisher: Point
Rating: YA 14+
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, High-School Fiction
Pages: 290

Love is all you need... or is it? Penny's about to find out in this wonderful debut.

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. . . .

Penny Lane, named after her parent's favorite band; The Beatles, is sick and tired of boys. That is, except the four responsible for her namesake; Paul, Ringo, John, and George. She's had it with the foul, hairy, stupid, disgusting, testosterone-filled creatures who, she's sure, are good for nothing but heartbreak. And so, The Lonely Hearts Club is formed, by Penny Lane, the one and only founder and member. Penny swears off boys until the end of high school, and she's perfectly fine with her decision... until more and more girls come flocking to the club, also fed up with boys, well, being boys. 

Soon, the club which started out as a way for Penny to start mending her broken heart spirals out of her control, making her question the whole idea to begin with. And add a  cute, gorgeous, but strictly off-limits boy to the mix, and you've got yourself a hullaballoo of cupid's madness!

Girls all over the world, at some time or the other, have to deal with the pain and anguish of the heartbreak that so often comes with love. Penny comes up with an interesting and ambitious method to stop the heartache- by cutting out the factor responsible in almost all of her misery; boys. However, things rarely go as planned, and this amusing and delicious delicacy of laughs, tears and love is the result of one girls plan gone very, very wrong.

I loved this book on so many different levels. The characters are all so well-written, and all so lovable and adorable in their own ways, especially Penny. I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the ups and downs of teenage life and love, and I really grew to empathize with her character! Ryan was pretty darn cute too... he was so much more than a jock with a glossy exterior, and I can completely understand why he was such a distraction and obstacle in Penny's way to self-discovery through no boys! I especially appreciated how much depth there was to what could have easily been a fluffy, mindless romance novel; it's not often you come across a gem such as this book which is funny and entertaining yet still very realistic and significant.

The Lonely Hearts Club is the unlikely and one-of-a-kind self-empowering sweet romantic comedy which has without doubt captured my heart. Light-hearted and sugary with an undercurrent of profundity and remarkable insight into the world of teenage girls, this truly is a delightful story for the ages.

If you like this, try:

Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

The Karma Club by Jessica Brody

A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker