Title: The Lonely Hearts Club
Author: Elizabeth Eulberg [website] [twitter]
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Point
Source: ARC Exchange at KidlitCon 09
Parental Warning: mild references to sex & innuendo

“Anybody who has ever clung to a song like a musical lifer raft will understand.  Or put on a song to bring out an emotion or a memory.  Or had a soundtrack playing in their head to drown out a conversation or a scene.”

Summary:
Penny has loved Nate since before boys were important.  Growing up with the boy of her dreams visiting every summer, getting to spend every waking hour with him for months on end, encouraged her to dream of a future where they’d always be together.  Now that they’re teenagers and the expectation of sex is thrown into the mix Penny quickly learns that the stuff childhood dreams are made of isn’t quite as shiny and perfect as she’d anticipated.

Unexpectedly humiliated and then dumped Penny struggles with how to get over Nate.  Having always thought they were soul mates and that they would be together forever she finds it difficult to get past the hurt and betrayal he has caused at the demise of their relationship.  That is until one day the perfect idea drops in her lap.  Embracing her parents love of all things Beatles she forms The Lonely Hearts Club.

Swearing off all boys and embracing friendship as the main source of relationship satisfaction Penny welcomes new members in increasing numbers.  Suddenly adored by the female population and despised by every dateless teenage boy she finds herself in a myriad of predicaments; not the least of which is how one can effectively fall in love with a boy when she’s in a group tasked with not dating them.

Opinion:
I loved this book on so many different levels.

First, let me say that Eulberg did a fantastic job of weaving the music of the Beatles into the very foundation of this story.  From the names of the Bloom children to the flower power way of life her parents led all elements of the infusion were sheer perfection.  I mean, seriously, how can a Beatles lover not like a book whose chapter titles are song names/lyrics?

Now, let me move on to the biggest reason why I loved this book.  I thought the lesson it has to teach young girls was filled with positivity.  It didn’t preach being spiteful or mean-spirited.  The concept of The Lonely Hearts Club was productive and the fact that it was built on the concept of creating, sustaining and building friendships made it a lovely way for a young girl to work through the devastating heart-break of losing first love.  Particularly given the fact that she works her way through it all to realize that this love was one-sided and perhaps thought (on her part) to be more than it really was.

Speaking of friendships, I adored the multitudes of relationships Penny and her friends crafted.  From the quirky territorial best friend, to the former BFF who dumped her for a boy friend then sought refuge in the club, to the girls who joined the just to be part of what was building to be the popular crowd, the characters were both realistic and enjoyable to read.  Add to that the dumb, possessive, big man on campus jock-type that thought every girl wanted him and the sweet natured friend who happens to be a boy and you have the perfect recipe for age-appropriate teenaged angst.

Though Penny’s parents were flighty in the stereotypical hippie-type way I found them to be equally supportive given their lack of information about Penny’s situation with Nate.  They trusted her judgement, backed-her up when she was faced with adversity at school and were loving, helpful and caring individuals.  I’ll add that they also added in a healthy dose of humor to the overall story.

I strongly encourage those young and old to read this book.  It was good fun and filled with valuable life lessons about individuality, hoard mentality, love, and friendship.