Book Review: The Lonely Hearts Club

ISBN13: 9780545140317

Rating: 

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. . . .

First, I like the cover. It's inspired by a poster by The Beatles but instead of four guys, it was replaced by 4 women. From the cover alone, a reader can tell that the book was inspired by The Beatles. 

Penny Lane Bloom. Since her parents are dedicated fans of beatles, she and her siblings were named after their songs. She thought she was in love with Nate, her childhood sweetheart. Every holiday or break, his family lives with them. So over the years, she has this fascination that someday, they will be together. As a reminder, their framed photo when they played little bride and little groom in a wedding was hanged in her bedroom wall. Unfortunately, the night that she was about to give in to Nate's demands, she found out that he was screwing another girl in their basement. She realized that boys had brought her nothing but trouble and heartache, so she decided to ignore boys and form a club where members can't date throughout high school year. 

And that was how The Lonely Hearts Club was founded.

That was the sole purpose before. To form a club where in the members are not supposed to date throughout high school. But as the members increased, they begin to realize other things about themselves. They began to value their friendship. They discovered that they can still enjoy themselves even without the company of boys. It slowly evolved into a support group. They began to have meetings every Saturday. Members found courage to voice out their problems and their dreams. Members also helped each other with their lessons and somehow, it also became a study group. They supported each other and give valuable pieces of advice for those who are having a problems. Though there were harsh comments about the club Penny founded, it still stood time.

So the club was a success. But then, there's Ryan Bauer who shows a little too much interest towards Lenny Pane. I know deep inside she's going

Ryan Bauer. "He was over six feet tall with a lean build; he had amazing blue eyes; and he was always running his hands through his black, wavy hair." He's really a great guy who always wants to please his parents. He doesn’t want to disappoint anyone so instead of doing what he really wants like going to parties or have some fun like a normal teenager, he does his best to maintain a straight A grade.

I love the occasional flirting between Penny and Ryan. It's rather cute and I can't help but feel giddy. I love the part when the club was raising money for the varsity uniform of their basketball players and he sang Penny Lane in front of everyone not minding his not-so-good voice.

Tracy and Dianne. I also love these two people. At first, I didn’t like Dianne but as the I read the book, Dianne proved herself to be a very genuine person. I came to love her because she wasn't not afraid to embrace change. She wasn't afraid of what people might think of her. She just pursued her dream and persevered. I like her for that. Tracy, on the other hand, is a very loyal friend. She sticked with Penny even though people criticize her. And I loved her when she proposed a new set of rules for the club leaving Penny free to date Ryan.

The New and Improved Rules of The Lonely Hearts Club 

Heretofore are thy official rules for member of "Penny Lane's Lonely Hearts Club." All members must agree to such terms or thy membership shall be struck from thy record. 

1. All members agree to stop dating men (or, referring to the male population at McKinley High, "little boys") for the rest of thy high school existence. Whether or not said members want to dare after high school, they choose to proceed at their own risk. Failure to adhere to this, the most sacred rule, will result in the highest punishment allowed by law -- streaking through the halls at McKinley after lunch. Members are allowed to date, but must never, ever forget that their friends come first and foremost. 
2. Members are not allowed to date jerks, tools, liars, scum of the earth, or basically anybody who doesn't treat them well. 
3. Members are required to attend all the club meetings on Saturday nights. No member shall wuss out on attending due to a date with a boy. Exceptions are still for family emergencies and bad hair days only. 
4. Members will attend all couple events together as a group, including, but not limited to, Homecoming, Prom, parties, and other couply events, despite possibly being labeled as freaks and getting jealous looks from guys who wish we were their hot dates, but instead have to settle for some lame wannabe. Members may choose to bring a boy with them, but said male attends event at his own risk. 
5. Members must first and foremost be supportive of their friends, no matter what choices they make. What matters most is for us to stick together. 
6. And most of all, under no circumstances, shall anybody take what is said in the Club and use it against someone, You all know what I'm referring to. 

Overall all, it was good. But there was one thing I didn't fully appreciate about this book. The book has The Beatles all over the book but I'm not really a fan of the group. So yeah, I find it difficult to connect sometimes. Yes, I listen and love some and love of their songs but that's just it. I'm not an overly obsessed fanatic like Penny's parents. That's why I only gave it a four. I cannot connect to "The Beatles" stuff that are all over the book. 

If you want to try other books which have the same concept as this one, try Shut Out by Kody Keplinger or The Unofficial Zack Warren Fan Club by J.C. Isabella.