Epically Earnest in Rolling with the lgbt

Jan 13, 2022 Eva B. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: queer-leads, retellings-reimaginings-etc, favorite-characters, friendships-are-magic, that-cover-though, arcs, young-adult, slump-cures

Thank you to Kismet Books for the arc! If you're a book lover in Wisconsin, pop over to Verona and check them out!

It's no secret that I am a huge Oscar Wilde fan. "Wow, Eva, I had no idea!" you say, because you are someone whose interactions with me occur online and have not seen the letterboard with "to define is to limit" on it and multiple other similar quotes or the picture of him stuck in a tiny flowerpot once occupied by my cactus that reside in my bedroom, been shown the Lego minifigure I Thank you to Kismet Books for the arc! If you're a book lover in Wisconsin, pop over to Verona and check them out!

It's no secret that I am a huge Oscar Wilde fan. "Wow, Eva, I had no idea!" you say, because you are someone whose interactions with me occur online and have not seen the letterboard with "to define is to limit" on it and multiple other similar quotes or the picture of him stuck in a tiny flowerpot once occupied by my cactus that reside in my bedroom, been shown the Lego minifigure I made of him, or been bombarded with pictures of me dressed as him for Halloween. But yeah, I'm pretty wild for Wilde. However, contrary to what one might expect by my love for Gothic lit and horrible people, The Picture of Dorian Gray is not my favorite of Wilde's works. That title goes to The Importance of Being Earnest. Now I'll be the first to admit that, like my love of the classic musical Gypsy or the 90s movie of Bye Bye Birdie, this is somewhat tied to circumstance. Back in March of 2021 I had a pretty rough nervous breakdown and like the aforementioned musicals, reading The Importance of Being Earnest helped me through it. It skyrocketed to being my favorite non-Shakespeare play, Algernon skyrocketed to my dream roles list, I worked "bunburying" into my vocabulary and frequently drop it into conversations to make people go "hmm", and for the two people who follow me who I talk writing with...iykyk in regards to a certain ex-spy's name and personality lol.

All of that David Copperfield crap aside, I absolutely LOVED this book. It's short, sweet, and doesn't overstay its welcome. If I didn't have to, you know, sleep, I would have read it in one sitting, but I consider "unputdownable" to be a vibe and not something literal. Jane Worthing (Jane Grady? The Goodreads summary says Grady but she's called Jane Worthing the entire book and the arc's back cover calls her Worthing) is an endearing disaster bisexual who gained internet fame as a child by being found stuffed into a Gucci bag on the subway and found by Mickey Worthing, who soon adopted her. But now, Jane's best friend Algie has stolen her spit and gotten a 23&Me type test done without her knowledge...and revealed a biological match. At the same time, chronic heartbreaker Algie has gained the attention of Jane's hopelessly romantic cousin Cecil, and Jane herself has a crush on Algie's cousin Gwen (fans of the original play, fear not and ship away).

The characters were absolutely hilarious and also very sweet! Clear homages to the original but that's a good thing in this case. I didn't remember Gwen or Cecil(y) as well from the original but I loved them in this. The standout was, of course, Algie-- Let it be known that when I talk about my hatred of "diva" characters, Algernon Moncrieff in all his forms is exempt and I love him with my entire heart. The friend and family dynamics were amazing, and as much as I do enjoy a good heavy queer read, it was refreshing to read a book with no homophobia in it and just queer teens being ridiculous and fun. I feel like the characters and humor won't be for everyone, but I can't remember the last time I laughed this much while reading. It's more of a straight-up comedy than a satire (and I'd love to see a retelling of Earnest that focuses more on the satirical elements--or more retellings of Earnest in general).

Despite the overall light tone, Epically Earnest does cover some more serious topics. As a result of an offhand post that Algie made, Jane is re-thrust into the spotlight as an adult and has a myriad of gross sexually harassing comments thrown her way by trolls, and it's something that has left her slightly traumatized. Likewise, the complexities of being adopted and wanting to know more about yourself but feeling like doing so would be ungrateful to your adoptive parents was consistent throughout.

At the end of the day, Epically Earnest is a feel-good story that revels in its humor and is a great read for Pride month or any time you feel a bit sad and in need of a pick me up. ...more

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