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Debutantes. Fiction.
Sisters. Fiction.
Twins. Fiction.
Soccer. Fiction.
Dating (Social customs). Fiction.
Dallas (Tex.). Fiction.
A junior at S.M.U., Megan is a Division I soccer player with World Cup dreams. Shocked when she learns of her selection as a Dallas debutante, she is furious with her mother, who arranged it. Unwanted shopping sprees and remedial "Etiquette and Deportment" classes are followed by lavish themed parties and arranged escorts with eligible young men. Not even her personal stylist can conceal Megan's soccer-related black eye before her first formal event two hours after the game. Still, playing along with the "show dog" debutante process for family reasons, she becomes increasingly involved and is ultimately changed by the experience. Throughout the novel, the Dyers weave elements of characters, scenes, and dialogue from Pride and Prejudice, including an enigmatic, Darcy-like love interest and a conniving, Wickham-like cad. While the amusing scene in which an embarrassed Megan makes her first condom purchase may have no nineteenth-century equivalent, elements such as misjudging people, dealing with social disasters, and falling in love are common to both eras. A wryly amusing first-person narrative.
Horn BookCollege athlete Megan dreams of playing Olympic soccer, not being a stupid Texas Bluebonnet debutante with her twin, Julia. But it means so much to their mother, and it might even save her parents' marriage--if she isn't thrown out. As Megan navigates millionaires' parties and crams into gowns and torturous underwear, she finds love and her own definition of poise in this breezy comedy.
Kirkus ReviewsCollege soccer defines 20-year-old Megan's life, until her mom forces her to participate in an exclusive debutante season.Megan immediately makes the debutantes' pedigrees clear, noting that, "even in 2016 a Bluebonnet debut in Dallas still meant white girls of privilege and wealth." And while her family's cattle ranch is bleeding money, Megan's trust fund ensures that she's largely able to keep up with the ridiculous expenditures on stylists, custom designer attire, and lavish parties. Megan's rough edges (such as her inability to flirt) are eventually smoothed as she learns the importance of becoming socially acceptable through the use of plastic "chicken cutlet things" to increase her bust size and shapewear to alter her silhouette and by learning to properly serve tea. As in any good ugly-duckling metamorphosis story, brash Megan manages to catch the eye of just the right man. Unfortunately, as the romance plotline plays out, any notions of female empowerment that Megan's transformation supposedly represents are thoroughly undermined. The novel does introduce real issues of domestic violence and sexual abuse but then largely marginalizes them in favor of focusing on the challenges of being a rich debutante.Ultimately, though a season undoubtedly presents conflicts for its participants, Megan's are unlikely to resonate with most modern readers. (Fiction. 14-18)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)In this contemporary retelling of
Gr 9 Up-Megan McKnight's got her eye on the Olympics. She's more comfortable on a soccer field than executing a "Texas Dip" for the Dallas elite as a Bluebonnet debutante. But with her family's ranch in jeopardy and her parents' marriage in similar straits, Megan reluctantly agrees to debut with her twin sister, Julia. What follows is a Southern-flavored Pride and Prejudice , with the Texas upper crust and one Manhattan socialite substituting for the English gentry. Plenty of familiar characters and plot points abound. The strongest literary revamp is Hank, the charming but ultimately caddish manipulator, and, of course, Megan, who jumps off the page, sticking to her guns when it's important while also evolving. Sadly, Andrew (the Darcy) is close but not quite a match for the heroine. With extravagant parties, a car chase, family scandal, and even a brawl, the Dyers keep things interesting. Megan learns what she's capable of (for good or ill) and what it means to misjudge others. Occasional swearing and sexual situations happen off-page. The dialogue ranges from wonderfully cheeky to occasionally overdramatic, with a few forced lines from the source material peppered throughout.
Voice of Youth AdvocatesElizabeth Bennett is reincarnated once again in The Season. This time she is known as Megan McKnight who is an Olympic-hopeful, college soccer star. There are only two daughters in this retelling of Pride and Prejudice, Megan and her sister Julia. The fraternal twins must deal with the strictures of Dallas high society by way of a debutante ball. It is there that they encounter their Darcy and Bingley, and the accompanying scandals. Julia and Zach/Bingley are the couple who have an immediate connection, but unlike Austen's Lydia, it is Julia/Jane who is involved in a scandalous relationship with a former boyfriend. Megan meets her Darcy in billionaire Andrew Gage. Andrew is a more likable character in this book, not a rich snob, just a bit socially awkward.The Season is a fun read in which the reader learns the importance of The Texas Dip as opposed to queso dip. It offers little criticism of class structure; instead the book emphasizes the importance of maintaining an open attitude toward the etiquette and decorum of high society events, as well as respecting an individual's freedom of choice. An important theme explored is the problem of domestic abuse. There are sex, drug, and alcohol references.Debbie Kirchhoff.
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"Sorry about that," I interjected. "Soccer practice went late."
"Soccer practice does not concern me, Miss McKnight. What does concern me is your tardy and"--here she gestured to my gaping, sweat-stained dress--"tawdry appearance, which clearly demonstrate your lack of regard for myself and the other young women selected."
"I've already apologized," I said, feeling my cheeks flush. "I promise it won't happen again, and I'm sure given the opportunity I can learn to curtsy just as well as the other girls."
Ann's nostrils flared and she tensed. She now looked less like a ballerina and more like a Siberian tiger eager for lunch. Her change so shocked me I nearly took a step back.
"Curtsy, Miss McKnight," she said icily, "derives from the word courtesy, a word and concept clearly foreign to you." Dang. "A proper curtsy is neither frivolous nor submissive--it is a posture of respect. Respect--there's another word gathering dust on the shelf of your vocabulary."
"Ms. Foster, I--"
"I see in you, Miss McKnight," Ann went on, "nothing more than the selfish, self-absorbed child so common today. You have no thoughts beyond your own comfort, and what intellect you do possess you employ solely in cheap sport. This is not a game, Miss McKnight, not to myself nor to the people who attend, and I have no intention of working to change your obvious disdain for the institutions I represent and have little hope you will manage it yourself. Therefore, I think it best if you voluntarily withdraw."
I was so derailed by this tart and targeted barrage that a good twenty seconds must have passed before I managed to speak. She waited patiently while I wobbled like a punch-drunk fighter, in danger of going down for the count.
"I think you've misjudged me," I managed.
"I highly doubt it."
My heart thumped against my chest, and my cheeks were red as cherries. Withdraw? We hadn't even started . . .
"I don't want to withdraw," I began, cautiously. "This is important to my parents, and I am not, and never have been, a quitter. I'll do whatever I have to do to prove myself."
"Moxie," she stated flatly, "while admirable, will not suffice, Miss McKnight."
The Miss McKnight thing was starting to grate.
"It is abundantly clear that you cannot walk properly," she continued, "so it would naturally follow that you are unable to dance--and I do not mean Zumba."
"My Mom has already signed me and my sister up for dance lessons."
"I wish it were that simple. You will need to learn to stand up straight, dress appropriately, and behave with some clear sense of modesty and decorum. You're miles from a satisfactory Texas Dip, and frankly, given the time allowed and the list of requirements, I doubt you're up to it."
Suddenly I was not just insulted, but mad.
"You'd be surprised, Miss Foster," I stated with reckless confidence, "what I can accomplish in a short amount of time."
She looked me over again, still dubious. Why was I even fighting this? I had my chance right here to be gone. I could tell Mom that Ann felt I wasn't up to it, that she knew, like I did, that I just wasn't debutante material. But I thought of Dad begging me to do it, and while I wasn't sure why, it was clear he needed me to stay.
"Please, ma'am," I said, softening my tone and smiling at her with all the Texas charm I could muster, "I realize today did not start well, but I would very much appreciate you allowing me the opportunity to prove that I belong."
She weighed my "ma'am" and the sentence that followed for a moment, unsure if they were mocking or sincere.
"Miss McKnight, you have a month," she said. "Surprise me."
Excerpted from The Season by Jonah Lisa Dyer, Stephen Dyer
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
“A fun, modern take on Pride and Prejudice.”—Jojo Moyes, bestselling author of Me Before You
Film rights optioned by Warner Brothers!
Megan McKnight is a soccer star with Olympic dreams, a history major, an expert at the three Rs of Texas (readin’, ridin’, and ropin’), and she’s not a girly girl. So when her Southern belle mother secretly enters her as a debutante for the year's deb season in their hometown of Dallas, she’s furious—and has no idea what she’s in for.
Megan’s attitude gets her on probation with the mother hen of the debs, and she has only a month to prove she can ballroom dance, display impeccable manners, and curtsey like a proper Texas lady or she’ll get the boot and disgrace her family. The perk of being a debutante, of course, is going to parties, and it’s at one of these lavish affairs where Megan gets swept off her feet by the debonair and down-to-earth Hank Waterhouse. If only she didn’t have to contend with a backstabbing blonde and her handsome but surly billionaire boyfriend.
Will Megan be able to juggle her soccer dreams and Texas society? Because the season has just begun, and the drama is just getting started.