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Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink (Pilgrims #1)

by Stephanie Kate Strohm (Goodreads Author)

3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 · rating details · 244 ratings · 92 reviews

Libby Kelting had always felt herself born out of time. No wonder thehistorical romance-reading, Jane Austen-adaptation-watching, all-around history nerd jumped at the chance to intern at Camden Harbor, Maine’s Oldest Living History Museum. But at Camden Harbor Libby’s just plain out of place, no matter how cute she looks in a corset. Her cat-loving coworker wants her dead...more

Paperback, 204 pages

Published May 8th 2012 by Graphia

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2012 Debut Authors (Young Adult & Middle Grade)

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Oct 29, 2012 Giselle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, own, contemporary

Libby, history nerd and fashion expert, doesn't know what she's getting into when she goes off to a summer internship at a living history museum. She expects to get her chance to live in her very own Jane Austin novel. Instead, she's thrown from a bitchy roommate, to an extremely irritating boat mate.

As a bubbly, outgoing girl, Libby is a fun protagonist that is great for such a light read. However, I felt quite irritated by her choices and lack of common sense in this novel. Especially when it...more Libby, history nerd and fashion expert, doesn't know what she's getting into when she goes off to a summer internship at a living history museum. She expects to get her chance to live in her very own Jane Austin novel. Instead, she's thrown from a bitchy roommate, to an extremely irritating boat mate.

As a bubbly, outgoing girl, Libby is a fun protagonist that is great for such a light read. However, I felt quite irritated by her choices and lack of common sense in this novel. Especially when it came to boys. Sure she's extremely smart when it comes to historical facts, and she's a doll with the kids, but she couldn't spot a jerk if it had a big red t-shirt that said "I Sleep With Girls For Fun". Cam is THE t-shirt. He's such an obvious sleaze that you can smell him from a mile away, but Libby is blind to it all. The guy pukes on her, and afterwards she's thinking about how nice and perfect he is. It also didn't help that I never understood her infatuation with him in the first place. Sure she has this elaborate dream of finding her very own Mr. Darcy (or whoever), but they barely speak two words before they start making out. There's no chemistry here. No anticipation or build up. Garrett though - the irritating boat mate - him, I liked. He's got a great personality; his wit and annoying behavior makes him so adorable I just kept wishing Libby would wake up and stop judging him on his nerd t-shirts. Dude! Nerds are the new black!

Buoyant, dramatic, winner of the bestest friend award - Dev, Libby's gay best friend, stole the show in this book. His melodramatic meltdowns had me cracking up. He's not present very often, but when he is he's the life of the party. His parts were definitely my favorites of this whole story. He's the friend everyone wants!

The whole plot is basically a little bit of this and that. We've got ghost sightings, a catty ex-roommate, interesting history facts, and lots of romance. Regardless of Libby's naivety, I still enjoyed the story. There's not a lot more I can say as it's a very short book and I want to avoid spoilers. All in all, it's a light, refreshing read with amusing antics and a satisfying ending. I would especially recommend it to historical romance fanatics. Though the content can get a bit mature (language, slutty costumes etc) where I would hesitate to recommend it to the younger YA readers.

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For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

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Jul 02, 2012 Mimi Valentine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished-copy-for-review, authors-i-want-to-meet, pure-awesomeness, reviewed

I've read a lot of cute, smile-inducing, and totally fun books in my time — but Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink is undoubtedly one of the CUTEST on my list!

I have this epic love for Libby. She's a hopeless romantic, a lover of fictional characters, a super-fashionable teenager, and a total history girl... In short, she's a whole lot like most of us! She's bubbly and sweet and ridiculous and fun. Some of the things she says and does are so adorable that you just want to jump in the book and hug her!

Bu...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Karin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-lit, history, internships, funny, mystery, borrowed-from-the-library, friendship, relationships, camp, summer-camp, summer, summer-job, teenagers, fashion, best-friends, ghost-hunters, ghosts-and-spirits, realistic, young-adult-fiction, romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 22, 2013 Karina Halle rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I'm writing under deadline, I seriously have no time to read. Still, I figured this time around, 30 minutes before bedtime couldn't hurt to clear my head, particularly if it's a light and fluffy book.

Well, this book is certainly as light and fluffy as it looks. And it's funny too, a lot funnier than I thought. And clever. And all sorts of good stuff.

The main character Libby reminded me a bit of myself back when I was a "fashionista" and had a fashion blog (it's all true and you can actually...more When I'm writing under deadline, I seriously have no time to read. Still, I figured this time around, 30 minutes before bedtime couldn't hurt to clear my head, particularly if it's a light and fluffy book.

Well, this book is certainly as light and fluffy as it looks. And it's funny too, a lot funnier than I thought. And clever. And all sorts of good stuff.

The main character Libby reminded me a bit of myself back when I was a "fashionista" and had a fashion blog (it's all true and you can actually find it, if you're resourceful enough). She's a history buff who loves clothes, shoes and dreaming of romance. OK so I'm definitely NOT a dreaming of romance kind of gal, but my point is, Libby is a easy-going, funny girl who thinks many of the things I do. So,she's totally relatable. Strohm's breezy writing style carries off the personality Libby with ease and makes her very likeable (even when she's being a total moron).

I hate doing summaries of books in my reviews because you can garner that from the book jacket, but in a nutshell, Libby spends her summer in Maine at one of those historical reanactment museum/lands where she works a day-camp counselor. This means spending all day in costume and teaching an ADORABLE group of little girls to sew, bake and be pilgrims. Seriously, these Jonas-loving kids were the best, each with their own distinct personality.

There's also a romance with a douchebag that you know is going to be bad news (even if Libby can't seem to wrap her head around it). Is there romance outside of that, however? Perhaps with her geeky, Cylon-loving roomate Garrick? My lips are sealed.

Of course, even for fluff, the book isn't perfect. Her rivalry with Ashling seems a bit over the top and I didn't care for the way it was resolved in the end. The romance at the end was a little short-lived for my liking (Not enough romance even for me? Jeez). Some of the side characters were forgotten a little too easily (except Dev, her bestie...loved him).

Is this book going to change your life? No. Are you going to rave about it for days and read over again? Highly doubt it. But if you're looking for something fun, funny with a bit of realistic romance thrown in (and a ghost...don't ask), READ IT! There's no angst, no OTT drama, just something sweet, fizzy and pink :)

Yes, I think I just compared this book to cream soda...(less)

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Jul 21, 2012 Kate McMurry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-comedy, ya-chick-lit, young-adult-chick-lit, young-adult-comedy

Cute, teen, chick lit novel

Seventeen-year-old Libby Kelting is offered a thrilling opportunity to combine her two greatest passions, fashion and history, as a summer intern at Camden Harbor, a living-history museum in Maine. Her primary responsibility is running a day camp for little girls where, dressed in period clothing, she teaches her eager little charges cooking and sewing as they were done in 1791. Unfortunately for Libby, though, there are some drawbacks to her great summer job: She isn'...more

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Apr 24, 2012 Rachel Harris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite-love-interest-hotties, favorites, made-me-laugh, wish-i-wrote-it, fun-summer-reads

Truth: When reading e-books, I love highlighting certain turns of phrase, word choices, swoony moments, and things that are just fresh and cool and I admire.

Second Truth: I found myself highlighting more sections in PILGRIMS DON’T WEAR PINK then I remember doing in any other book in a very long time.

This story renewed my faith in the need and immense value in young adult literature that is light and pleasurable and just plain out fun. Don’t get me wrong, PILGRIMS DON’T WEAR PINK has serious mome...more Truth: When reading e-books, I love highlighting certain turns of phrase, word choices, swoony moments, and things that are just fresh and cool and I admire.

Second Truth: I found myself highlighting more sections in PILGRIMS DON’T WEAR PINK then I remember doing in any other book in a very long time.

This story renewed my faith in the need and immense value in young adult literature that is light and pleasurable and just plain out fun. Don’t get me wrong, PILGRIMS DON’T WEAR PINK has serious moments. Several of the characters learn lessons and grow, and you end up learning a ton of random and awesome sauce historical factoids along the way. But you do it all while laughing out loud (a lot), smiling like a freaking goon, and wishing you could have a best friend like Dev who can not only can toss out one-liners like tissue paper, but whip up a beyond gorgeous dress at the spur of the moment.

There is so much to love about this book I almost don’t know where to start. And I so don’t want to keep anyone from having the experience I did, where every turn of the page (or click of the Kindle button) revealed something unexpected, shocking, or completely sigh-worthy.

Let’s discuss the dudes. So we have two excellent specimens, Cam and Garrett. Don’t worry; this isn’t a triangle like you would think. And what I really love about these guys is that while obviously one is a better choice for Libby, Stephanie Strohm doesn’t take the easy, obvious choices I expected. Neither guy was absolutely perfect—kinda like real life—and both made some mistakes. Okay, one guy’s mistakes were a lot worst, but still, it felt authentic. They both had endearing qualities, too, and both delivered lines that had me highlighting, sighing, and rereading repeatedly.

Libby. Oh my word, do I love this girl. She is funny, sweet, knows her way around the kitchen, and is a history nerd. My kind of chica. She is beautiful but that doesn’t define her. She is a fashionista, but not annoyingly so—it truly was just another one of her character traits, not there to be a gimmick or take over the story. Her Scooby Doo references, love and loyalty to her best friend, cute way with the band of eight-year-olds she is in charge of for the summer, and love affair with Austen all add up to a spunky heroine who feels like a girl you could totally meet inside any high school you walk into. She’s real, and I think any teenager—heck, any woman—who picks this book up will find themselves within the pages.

The band of eight-year-olds was a hoot…Ms. Strohm must have a children or be an awesome aunt because she totally nailed it (this coming from a mother to a six and seven year old). And no review would be complete without a huge shout out for Dev, my absolute favorite character in the entire story. With his Kelly Clarkson happy places, fierceness in the face of a sewing machine, and lines like, “No self-respecting fairy leaves a party before four” when referencing the Cinderella story, what’s not to like??

In many ways, Stephanie Strohm has created a modern day fairy tale…but it is so much more. In the end, the guy Libby chooses is “better than Mr. Darcy, Rhett Butler, and Henry Tilney combined. Because he was real.” She embraces the feminine desire to romanticize our romantic heroes and search for them in our everyday world, but shows us how to find true, real happiness. I picked PILGRIMS DON’T WEAR PINK on a whim, not really knowing what to expect, and walked away with what may be my favorite read so far in 2012. It surprised me, elevated me to another place for a few hours, and left me believing in the power of love, friendship, and a really good dress. I totally recommend it.
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Feb 12, 2012 Dawn Vanniman rated it 5 of 5 stars

I received this book for review from www.netgalley.com.

Libby gets a chance to work a summer internship at Maine's oldest living history museum and jumps at it. Her best friend, Dev, is appalled and wants her to intern with him in New York at Teen Mode (a fashion magazine).

This is not, honestly, the kind of book I generally pick up. But - it sounded cute and involved history. I'm so glad I picked it!

Libby is a total fashionista whose also a serious history buff. She also bakes, crafts, reads and...more

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Nov 30, 2011 Rachael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Libby Kelting is a self-proclaimed fashionista with a flair for the historical. She’s the kind of girl who loves Jane Austen novels and swoons for Mr. Darcy—but always looks good doing it. She’s never really found a way to combine her dual passions until she becomes an intern at Camden Harbor, Maine’s Oldest Living History Museum. As the Education and Interpretation Intern, it’s Libby’s job to help run the Girls of Long Ago Camp, where she basically gets to cook and make crafts all day with youn...more Libby Kelting is a self-proclaimed fashionista with a flair for the historical. She’s the kind of girl who loves Jane Austen novels and swoons for Mr. Darcy—but always looks good doing it. She’s never really found a way to combine her dual passions until she becomes an intern at Camden Harbor, Maine’s Oldest Living History Museum. As the Education and Interpretation Intern, it’s Libby’s job to help run the Girls of Long Ago Camp, where she basically gets to cook and make crafts all day with younger girls as if they were really in 1791. The only thing that makes this even better is that Libby gets to do all this in period dress. But Camden Harbor isn’t turning out to be the glamorous historical adventure Libby dreamed it to be. Not only is she not allowed to use her cell phone, but her fellow Interpretation Intern has it out for her, her roommate is a nerdy smart-alecky obnoxious local reporter, and her chivalrous Mr. Darcy might not be so perfect after all. Oh, and apparently there’s a ghost at Camden Harbor. It seems that this summer is going to be full of surprises.

Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink is a quick and cute summery read. Protagonist Libby is certainly an amusing character to read about. She’s a quirky girl in the sense that she likes both fashion and history, and this combination made for some interesting digressions about the Greek Revival in architecture, when certain articles of clothing went in or out of style in history, and major historical events. However, despite Libby’s vast knowledge of some more interesting aspects of history, she seemed a little dumb otherwise. For example, one of Libby’s small problems is that her uniform short is longer than her longest pair of khaki shorts, making others think she is wearing no pants; instead of getting creative and maybe tucking her shirt into her shorts, Libby just carries on as she has, convinced that this is yet another thing making her summer experience worse. It was little things like this that made me progressively irritated and unsympathetic to Libby’s character. It doesn’t help that the plot is mostly predictable, especially with regards to Libby’s romantic life. Even though the execution of this story could have been much improved, Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink is still a fast, fun read.

Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink may be enjoyed by fans of Past Perfect by Leila Sales and Breakfast at Bloomingdale’s by Kristen Kemp.

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Apr 22, 2012 Kathy Martin rated it 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this contemporary romance. I liked Libby and thought she made a realistic, history-loving teen. Spending her summer in Camden Harbor as an intern at a Living History Museum has lots of surprises for her. She has a horrible roommate who is determined to spend the whole summer in character and is jealous of Libby almost from the second they meet. She is flattered when she is hit-on by the very cute Cam who is the very image of all of the romantic heroes from her reading.

She is considera...more

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Aug 31, 2011 Sandra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley

Libby's best friend Dev may not understand why Libby wants to spend her summer interning at a living history museum, but Libby does: she loves history and she wants to immerse herself in it. But she'll soon learn that immersing herself in history and teaching a summer camp for girls at the same time, isn't exactly what she expected. Especially when Cam walks into town and starts to sweep her off her feet...

I loved this book from the get-go! I love history and living history museums, so that aspe...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Jenia. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-da-challenge, contemporary, historical, mysteries, adventure, romance, humor, ya, realistic, realistic-fiction-challenge-2012, books-read-in-2012

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. There are almost no words for me, to describe how much I loved Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink. I knew that I was going love this book right from minute I read the summary, once I realized that it’s about history and I was always into historical fiction novels. I have ended up loving this book even more then I thought I would. The history, the mystery, the drama and even the romance is what made it almost impossible to put it down. I wanted to see what would happen with characters, especially with Libb...more There are almost no words for me, to describe how much I loved Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink. I knew that I was going love this book right from minute I read the summary, once I realized that it’s about history and I was always into historical fiction novels. I have ended up loving this book even more then I thought I would. The history, the mystery, the drama and even the romance is what made it almost impossible to put it down. I wanted to see what would happen with characters, especially with Libby, who she would end up with, if she enjoys her job. But when I reached the end, I wished for 2nd book to be out already, so I can see what’s next for Libby and Garrett. I will be checking out rest of her books once they come out.

GOODREADS SUMMARY

Libby Kelting had always felt herself born out of time. No wonder the historical romance-reading, Jane Austen-adaptation-watching, all-around history nerd jumped at the chance to intern at Camden Harbor, Maine’s Oldest Living History Museum.

But at Camden Harbor Libby’s just plain out of place, no matter how cute she looks in a corset. Her cat-loving coworker wants her dead, the too-smart-for-his-own-good local reporter keeps pushing her buttons, her gorgeous sailor may be more shipwreck than dreamboat — plus Camden Harbor’s haunted. Over the course of one unforgettable summer, Libby learns that boys, like ghosts, aren’t always what they seem.

Title and the cover is actually what captured my attention first. I originally came across the book while surfing the library for a book to read. Title was what captured my attention. Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink, somehow I had feeling that there was going be something humorous in the book and of course it captures my attention, right away. It made me curious enough to pick the novel up and wonder what the book is about. It’s an unique title for the book, something that I never came across and totally something that would capture reader’s attention. Stephanie has an imagination, an unique title, that I can tell already. After reading the book, I can see that both the title and cover fits the storyline pretty well. By looking at picture, it makes reader wonder what girl is up, at least that was a feeling that I got from it. In a way, it looks mysterious and that’s what I love about it.

The storyline, the plot was pretty unique. I had read quite few historical fiction novels through the years, but thought I heard some about ghost haunting, there were none that involved a History Museum, Camp. I found that quite unique. To me, it just seemed more original. Fact that there was bit of mystery added to it, about the ghost, made even more fascinated for me to read. I wanted to see if it turns out to be actual ghost or fake. If it was fake, I was also curious who could possibly be haunting the boat. I found myself pretty observed with the book, each page kept me on edge of my seat, made me wonder what’s going happen next.

Garrett & Cam : There was something about Garrett that I liked from start but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Despite him calling her Kitty, I kind of had feeling that he liked her from start, and maybe because he liked her, he treated her way he did so she wouldn’t suspect anything. Especially way he acted anytime she mentioned Cam, or he was around. He acted, jealous. I thought that Libby would actually pick up on that. When he kissed her and she pushed him away, I wanted talk some sense to her, tell her that Cam is bad guy, to forget him. So of course I was happy when she ended up with him, like I wanted her to. Now Cam, I liked him at first, I thought that he seemed like such nice guy, because of way he was around her, around the girls in Camp. But then I started have a feeling, bad feeling that something was off about him. He deserved to be punched him. I felt like punching him half of time.

Now Libby, I loved her from start. Mostly her attitude but most of her, the dedication that she had to camp, to history. I could tell right from start how much she loved history, just way she was describing her summer job to her best friend. Also the bond she created with girls at camp and it was then I knew that she would probably would be amazing teacher and a mother, just the way that she was with all of those girls. Though she could be stubborn most of time, she was strong. It takes a lot to punch a guy who almost takes advantage of you. I actually found myself smiling when she punched him. Now I am curious what next adventures she come across.

This was an amazing debut. If I didn’t know before reading book that it’s her first book, I would never guessed it her first actual book. Her writing captures the reader, makes reader actually see everything happing, like they are there. This book and author is worth checking out.
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Sep 09, 2012 Sinziana rated it 5 of 5 stars

After reading a bad book writing a review comes easily, after reading a good book it is the same thing, but let me tell you hat writing a review for an extraordinary one it is not that easy.

When I first started reading Pilgrims don’t wear pink by Stephanie Kate Strohm I did not know what to think. I was expecting the common young-adult good book. I was expecting a book easy to read and…I guess that’s about it. I was terribly wrong.

Pilgrims don’t wear pink by Stephanie Kate Strohm is the book you...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Avery rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: cute-boy, wants-the-sequel

Admittedly I was a bit hesitant to read this book, I thought that it would be far too fluffy for my tastes- while I love fluff and romance, sometimes there can be too much of it. However, after finishing it I am kicking myself for having waited too long to do so, overall I really quite liked it, much more than I had anticipated.

It becomes evident that Stephanie did a lot of research for writing this book. While at times it did appear that she wanted you to know that fact, being heavy-handed with...more

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May 13, 2012 Dana rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a fast and entertaining read. While I enjoyed the premise there were times I felt that the story was kind of ridiculous (for example if you were a summer intern going into your senior year of high school there is no way that the place where you are working would have you share a room, much less a tiny bunk on a boat, with a boy--especially one that is a high school graduate already.) I am sure this will be popular with our romance-loving teens and it has the classic teen drama of fallin...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Juliane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-books-i-read, all-about-jane-austen, favorites, funny, love-stories, recommendable, ♥, netgalley

German Review: http://buechertruhe.blogspot.com/2011...
Deutsche Rezension: http://buechertruhe.blogspot.com/2011...

The Story
Libby is a fan of the past. She loves Jane Austen, Shakespeare and historical romances. In summer, she decides to work in a camp which is under the slogan of the 18th Century. Libby is shocked at first: an unfriendly roommate, uncomfortable clothes and a spirit that spits in the camp.

But it all has evolved quite differently than she first thought: She gets to know Cam, a yo...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Sydney rated it 5 of 5 stars

Most of the books I read are under the paranormal genre so when A friend recommended this book I didn't really think I'd get into it so when I did, I was very surprised. I really really really enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected. It is perhaps one of the cutest books I've read I a long while.

I could relate to Libby's personality throughout the book. I love love love vistiting living museums, the kind of place Camden Harbor is. What Libby's job is is something I would looooooove to do i...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Brooke Shirts rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, ya-fiction

Light, fluffy YA romantic comedy. I loved the premise -- Legally Blonde-meets-Colonial Williamsburg -- but some of the plot points stretch credulity (what summer internship would require a 17-year-old girl to be roommates with a young man on a tall-masted ship? How likely would a nonprofit museum provide free unlimited beer to minors at a work party?). The storyline will be familiar to any fan of Hollywood romcoms (there's even the requisite Sassy Gay Friend) but readers who pick this up probabl...more

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Oct 25, 2011 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, favorites, rainy-day-reads, teen-ya, for-review, net-galley

At First Sight: Libby is going to spend her summer as an inter in Camden Harbor, a colonial, historical villa/museum - much to her best friend Dev's consternation, as he is going to his own dream internship in New York, working for a fashion magazine for teens.

Much as Libby loves clothes and thinks herself as quite stylish, she's happy to be at Camden Harbor, Maine, where everything seems to have come straight out her most romantic fantasies about the past - including a bunch of hot guys runnin...more At First Sight: Libby is going to spend her summer as an inter in Camden Harbor, a colonial, historical villa/museum - much to her best friend Dev's consternation, as he is going to his own dream internship in New York, working for a fashion magazine for teens.

Much as Libby loves clothes and thinks herself as quite stylish, she's happy to be at Camden Harbor, Maine, where everything seems to have come straight out her most romantic fantasies about the past - including a bunch of hot guys running around dressed in 18th century garb! - even if her job is basically that of a glorified camp counselor and one of her roommates is a nightmare.

But soon she has caught the eye of Cam, the hottest guy around - whom can quote Shakespeare and brings her flowers - and she also has a troupe of adorable eight year-olds that she's teaching to bake, 18th Century style.

But then, rookie reporter Garrett shows up, and unwittingly offers a way for Libby to leave the intern house, she finds herself living in close quarters with Garret - inside a boat - and not having too bad a time of it. Sure, Garret can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, and he love sci-fi a bit too much; but he can also very, very sweet when he wants to... and he kisses like they are in a movie!

Second Glance: I wasn't expecting much of Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink, I admit but I was so happily, pleasantly surprised with it. Libby was a great narrator - sweet and fun, a history buff who also likes romance novels and BBC dramas; she makes mistakes but owns up tot hem too. She is a little naive a very strong, girly, awesome girl.

There is a bit of a love triangle and I rarely enjoy that, but I liked how this triangle was written. Both guys - Cam and Garrett - can be both charming and annoying when they want to, and right at the beginning it's hard to pick one or the other (though I was quickly swayed as the story progressed).

Oh and Libby's best friend Deb was AWESOME! I want a book on him. And I loved how their relationship is written. Right off the bat I knew these two were best friends, I could feel it. And I loved him when he finally showed up.

Now, I did have a couple of hang ups with the book, as I said it could be naive at times; and I had a hard time believing that No One had a problem with Libby (who is 16 or 17) living unsupervised in close quarters with Garrett (who is 18). Even though they behaved very well, I don't think the 'grown ups' around them would have just been OK with it. Also, I wish the secondary characters had been a bit more developed, and to have Libby's campers more, they were way cute.

Bottom Line: Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink is basically made of awesome sauce. I had one small hang up with it - it can be a little naive - but otherwise this is definitely one of my favorite books I've read this year! It comes out March 12, 2012.

Favorite Quote: I have to say that this book is so quotable, there were so many scenes and one liners that I loved but were kind of spoilerish, so I went for:

"Love is the force that makes you choose and decide" -
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Oct 08, 2011 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-releases

From Books and Threads.

Oh this book! It’s probably not a shock by now that I love history, and as a previous interpreter at living history museums, I so totally had to leap at the chance to read the ARC of this book.

First things first, Libby is a fun main character - so longing for a Jane Austen-ified version of the past that she has a hard time both seeing history for all its dirty parts and also living in the present. She’s more than a little grossed out by the reality of cooking over the open...more From Books and Threads.

Oh this book! It’s probably not a shock by now that I love history, and as a previous interpreter at living history museums, I so totally had to leap at the chance to read the ARC of this book.

First things first, Libby is a fun main character - so longing for a Jane Austen-ified version of the past that she has a hard time both seeing history for all its dirty parts and also living in the present. She’s more than a little grossed out by the reality of cooking over the open fire (and using lard!), but she dives headfirst into her role as Education and Interpretation Intern (or “just a camp counselor” as the hilariously bitchy fellow intern Ashling points out). Her utter excitement at getting to live in the 18th century and spend a summer teaching little girls about colonial crafts and cooking is slowly tempered by the realisation that nowhere - not even the oldest living history museum in Maine - is perfect. Instead of living in a historical romance, Camden Harbor (and maybe even the past itself) is full of other people’s opinions, dirt, politics, and the need for more money. And maybe, just maybe, there’s a ghost of a ship Captain.

Libby's a little too perfect at times almost the epitome of an accomplished eighteenth century girl - she can sing excellently, cook amazingly, sew, read, and be ever-patient with her group of demanding (but adorable) preteen campers. However I really enjoyed watching her slowly grow over the course of the summer from a girl who escapes into the romance of history to someone who starts to realise that nothing is perfect and sometimes that even is better.

Her crush is one of the ‘Squaddies,’ the boys who do the demonstrations on the museum’s ships. Cameron’s basically made for any historical romance loving girl - he quotes Shakespeare, brings flowers, and looks really, really good in a pair of breeches. He’s also pretty much a complete ass, and it frustratingly takes Libby all summer to figure this out. I would have liked her to catch onto his lady-killing ways earlier - she seems to miss every obvious clue, and the fact that she doesn’t makes her seem stupider than she really is.

There’s a bit of a ghost story as the plot unfolds which forces Libby to spend much of the summer sharing bunks on one of the ships with boy reporter, Garrett - he who wears Stargate t-shirts and flabbergasts Libby by paying absolutely no attention to fashion and who won my heart by reading Northanger Abbey after Libby said it was her favourite Austen. It’s a slightly contrived plot point, but it’s hard to argue with something that allows one to read about the fo’c’sle (definition: living quarters consisting of a superstructure in the bow of a merchant ship where the crew is housed) over and over. Best word ever.

Libby’s best friend from home, Dev, makes appearances both by phone and in person during the course of the novel, and while I enjoyed his character, it would have been nice if the character was slightly less of a stereotypically sassy gay best friend. I love seeing LGTBQ representation in YA lit, but we need to move on from the stereotypes into real characterizations. In contrast, the other interns at Camden Harbor have much more well-rounded characters, and while they admittedly have more 'screen time,' given how well Libby knows Dev, I think he could have been developed beyond the stereotype without much trouble.

In tone (other than a small scene with teen drinking), Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink reads more like a middle grade novel than young adult - Libby’s journey is one of self-discovery and the romance, while present, is mostly very sweet. The history details and realities of a living history museum are consistently right on the mark. Much more so than I’d ever expected and that part especially brought me great glee.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants a charmingly light read about sweet summer romance and self-discovery. If one’s not terribly interested in history, I’d still recommend it - the history details, as I said, are accurate but not overwhelming and other than a knowledge of the fact that Jane Austen is a 19th century novelist, I don’t think any specific historical knowledge would be required to enjoy the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Graphia/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for allowing me to read and review this ARC!(less)

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Apr 11, 2012 Kara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: humor, modern-teenagers, season-summer

An extremely enjoyable, funny, fluffy, adorable teenage summer love story.

Lots of shout outs to Jane Austin, the American Revolution, Nancy Drew, and Battlestar Galactica.

All of the characters are, to some degree or another, hilarious, the setting was tailor made for the book-loving, history geek, there’s a costume ball, fireworks, a tidy little ghost story, ships, ice cream, sunscreen, and the Jonas Brothers predicting True Love.

My only problem was I had a really hard time suspending my disbe...more

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Mar 03, 2013 Turtles rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: stories-modern

Wow, I liked this a lot more than I thought! Stephanie Kate Strohm reminds me of Meg Cabot in all her good ways. This story was awesome! It started off a bit slow and the nasty roommate is a bit daunting. But Libby's foray into to history and out of fashion was really funny and interesting to read. I'm a huge history fan and I liked the nerdy guy, so much! I wish Libby had appreciated his humor earlier. While the "sailor," Cam, was handsome, it was obviously surface only. But he wasn't as bad (u...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Sarah (The Brazen Bookworm) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

Good premise, and if I were 15 I'm sure I'd have loved it and wanted to be Libby, if for her experience, not her personality. This is an example, though,of a book that may not fare well outside the YA community. It's a bit too slick and glossy, without a whole lot of depth. The suspense plot was weak, and Libby's characterization was inconsistent. Then there was the reader-shaming that occurred more than once. Oddly enough, for a book that mocks romance as "lady porn," it's tagged as "romance" i...more

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Aug 13, 2011 Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-book-read, e-galley

This was a really fun unexpected read. I really enjoyed the characters and the slight paranormal underlining mystery thing it had going for it.
Libby was a very real likeable character. Garret was fun and Cam was drool worthy (well, for awhile anyways. ;) ) and her friend Dev was such a riot.
I love the Jane Austen period and could totally relate to the whole falling in love with chivalry and poetry and the time period. When a man was a real gentleman and love ruled all.
I just loved Libby's charac...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Ivana Tinkle rated it 5 of 5 stars

This one of my absolute favorite books. It has the humor, the romance, and the depths of the teenage mind down PAT!
I love:
how Libby and Garrett are so sarcastic,
how the little eight and nine-year-old girls are so adorablely cute,
Cam's sweetness,
Dev's humor,
Ashling's...I mean, "Susannah Fennyweather"s evilness,
how there really is a guy named Martin Cheeseman,
how loyal and predictable Suze is,
And how Strohm wrote a book with totally believable characters and a beautiful plot.

I recommend this...more

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May 12, 2013 Stephanie (StephTheBookworm) rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was incredibly cute. I've never really been one for history, but I still really felt myself drawn into the story, and could still relate to Libby a lot with the book-loving and trying to fit in. I really loved the setting, and found myself wanting to be at Camden Harbor, being a part of the crew there, and getting involved in all of their crazy activities and sometimes drama. This book actually made me want to take up an interest in history myself and visit all the museums. We actually...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Cait rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, received-for-review, young-adult

PILGRIMS DON'T WEAR PINK by Stephanie Kate Strohm is so cute and reading it made me wonder why I don’t indulge in more contemporary novels! Libby is off to a summer internship at a historical living museum, where she’ll be immersed in all things eighteenth century. Throw in some cute boys, a mysterious ghost and a hostile roommate, and Libby is in for quite a ride.

Libby is a great mix of history buff, fashionista and girl-next-door. She loves shoes and clothes, needs her cell phone, yet knows mo...more PILGRIMS DON'T WEAR PINK by Stephanie Kate Strohm is so cute and reading it made me wonder why I don’t indulge in more contemporary novels! Libby is off to a summer internship at a historical living museum, where she’ll be immersed in all things eighteenth century. Throw in some cute boys, a mysterious ghost and a hostile roommate, and Libby is in for quite a ride.

Libby is a great mix of history buff, fashionista and girl-next-door. She loves shoes and clothes, needs her cell phone, yet knows more history than most high school students would care to even acknowledge exists and has a very down-to-earth personality that allows her to get along with most everybody – except for Ashling, her crazy roommate and Garrett, the geek that just won’t seem to disappear. Dev, Libby’s gay best friend is absolutely hilarious and fashion obsessed. On the lam from a disastrous internship at a magazine, Dev shows up just in time to turn Libby into an eighteenth century beauty before the annual ball at the museum.

There was a nice mix of historic facts woven in throughout the story, and they never felt out of place with the plot or dialogue. Libby’s summer romance with Cam made me want to shake her a little bit, since it is very obvious he has an agenda and hidden motives (and not just to the reader – events that happen throughout the book should make it very obvious to Libby, too). I spent half the book wishing she’d just get a clue so the subsequent punch to Cam’s nose after he makes a very inappropriate move is wonderful. Libby can definitely take care of herself, and shows it. The ghost story mystery, while not a huge aspect of the book, is the catalyst for a number of decisions that get made and move the plot along. It’s a cute mystery and feels very Scooby-Doo (in fact, I do believe reference is made to Scooby-Doo throughout the book :D ).

PILGRIMS DON'T WEAR PINK by Stephanie Kate Strohm is a light, fun and funny read. A nice mix between summer romance, modern-historical and mystery, there is something for most anyone to enjoy. Plot moved along at a nice pace, characters were interesting and engaging and the descriptions of the clothes, museum and events are vivid and detailed. If you want to try out some historical or contemporary without diving all the way in, this is a great book for testing the waters.

Originally posted at Escape Through the Pages with the same rating.(less)

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Jul 26, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction-read, my-library, romance, summer-books, young-adult-read

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

My Summary: Libby couldn't believe it when she landed her dream job at Camden Harbour. A whole summer, dressing up in gorgeous gowns and getting to know the local sailors? Count her in. But even Libby's Jane Austen/everything historical/romance obsessions might not be enough to get her through one of the strangest summers she's ever experienced - or the romantic obstacles on her way to h...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Rowena rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review

After reading Past Perfect by Leila Sales and loving it, I thought I'd really enjoy reading this book as well. While I did enjoy it, I enjoyed the Sales more. That's not to say that this book wasn't good because it was, I just spent a good portion of this book, annoyed to high heaven with Libby.

You see, Libby scored an internship working at Camden Harbor, a museum in Maine. She's a big history buff and thought she'd enjoy some time in Maine, working at the museum there and she totally did. She m...more After reading Past Perfect by Leila Sales and loving it, I thought I'd really enjoy reading this book as well. While I did enjoy it, I enjoyed the Sales more. That's not to say that this book wasn't good because it was, I just spent a good portion of this book, annoyed to high heaven with Libby.

You see, Libby scored an internship working at Camden Harbor, a museum in Maine. She's a big history buff and thought she'd enjoy some time in Maine, working at the museum there and she totally did. She met some new people, made some new friends and learned a lot about herself over the summer and it was an enjoyable reading adventure for me even though there were times when I wanted to smack some sense into Libby and times when I cringed because of what was happening in the story.

Libby was a good character. She's young and she has great taste in friends (how awesome was Dev?) but she was also rude to the one person who has been up front with her from the jump. The romance that blossomed between her and Garrett was cute and even though I cringed when Libby let Garrett have a piece of her mind, I still enjoyed their romance. I'm a sucker for a good romance and theirs was cute.

Libby is one of those girls before boys kind of girls and I loved that. When she cut her date with Cam short because her best friend needed her, I loved her. I think that even though I was highly annoyed with the way that she talked to Garrett over and over again, because it was evident that she was such a good friend to Dev that I let a lot of things about her actions slide.

Right from the time that Garrett comes into the picture, I knew that I was going to love him. I mean, how can you not love him after he starts busting up laughing after Libby falls over and shows her Hello Kitty panties to the world? How can you not fall a little more in love with him when he starts calling her Hello Kitty? and then later when he calls her Proud Mary? I thought he was just too adorable. I loved that he wasn't a jock but a sci-fi nerd who was proud to be a sci-fi nerd. The way that he would defend his passion for nerdy things endeared him to me more than anything. He owned his nerdiness and he won me over with that. Such a cutie patootie.

Overall, this book was a great contemporary read that would be perfect for a day at the beach. It's cute, it's fun and even though I didn't absolutely love it- I still thought it was a cute read.

This review was originally posted on The Book Scoop by me.(less)

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Mar 31, 2013 Andrea at Reading Lark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-stars, arc, contemporary, favorites, ghosts, mystery, read-in-2012, young-adult, kindle, netgalley

Review on Reading Lark: http://readinglark.blogspot.com/2012/...
*Book given a 3.5 rating

This one is a fun read that is perfect for Spring time. There is humor, romance, and even a ghost. There are times when I crave a "cotton candy" book - light, fluffy, fun stories. I needed this one after completing a lengthy, detailed historical fiction.

Libby, the main character, is leaving behind her home in Minnesota to travel to beautiful Maine to spend her summer working as an intern at a living history...more Review on Reading Lark: http://readinglark.blogspot.com/2012/...
*Book given a 3.5 rating

This one is a fun read that is perfect for Spring time. There is humor, romance, and even a ghost. There are times when I crave a "cotton candy" book - light, fluffy, fun stories. I needed this one after completing a lengthy, detailed historical fiction.

Libby, the main character, is leaving behind her home in Minnesota to travel to beautiful Maine to spend her summer working as an intern at a living history museum. The museum specializes in 18th century history and allows patrons to experience what life would have been like during the colonial period when Maine was an extension of Massachusetts. Most teenagers do not find history as appealing as Libby does so many of her friends are perplexed by her decision. Libby's main job is to run the historical domestic arts camp for young girls. I loved the elements of the book that revolved around the camp; the campers are too cute.

Libby and the history elements are what make this book such fun. Libby has a wicked sense of humor that kept me giggling. I'm also a history nerd so I would have loved to spend a summer this way. Part of me still yearns to work for a museum or historical tour company. I also learned a few things about colonial life that I didn't know before reading this one. I really like that Strohm has created a new avenue for readers to experience history. This book doesn't read like historical fiction so it will reach a wider range of people. It felt more like Gossip Girl Goes Colonial which I felt made an appealing mix; this is chick lit for teens at its finest. I would love to see more books of this sort from Stephanie.

Lastly, I loved the romance and mystery elements of this read. The summer romance is predictable, but still enjoyable. I loved Garrett and Libby's banter. The mystery was also fairly predictable, but it was fun nonetheless. I would caution readers that in spite of its fun cover and amusing plot - there was a lot more profanity than I was expecting. I would recommend this without reservation to older teens, but it might be a bit much for younger teens.

If you're looking for a light, humorous read to welcome in the warm weather, this is the book for you. Its a fast read that will have you smiling.

One Last Gripe: I would have liked this one a bit more if it hadn't been so predictable. There just wasn't anything that made it stand out as an amazing book.

My Favorite Thing About This Book: The history elements

First Sentence: "Please remind me again why you're going to pilgrim camp."

Favorite Character: Libby

Least Favorite Character: Ashling
(less)

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May 29, 2012 Haley Mathiot rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink. For the most part, it was a good read. There was only one thing that I didn't particularly like, but it was a pretty large part.

The good:

-The plot was fun. I enjoyed the storyline, the twists and turns, and the ending. Some of it I saw coming, some of it I didn't—but even when I expected it, I enjoyed seeing it work out.

-The characters: Dev (Libby's extremely gay friend) was fabulous in every sense of the word. If he were real, he'd be my buddy, even though he'd...more

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About Stephanie Kate Strohm

Stephanie Kate Strohm is the author of Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink and the upcoming Confederates Don't Wear Couture. She grew up in Connecticut and attended Middlebury College in Vermont, where she was voted Winter Carnival Queen. Currently she lives in New York City with a huge shoe collection and a little white dog named Lorelei Lee.

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Confederates Don't Wear Couture (Pilgrims, #2)

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“...you should be the heroine of your own life....” — 8 people liked it

“I didn't know if I believed in 'happily ever after' anymore. I mean, I didn't know what would happen tomorrow, let alone for forever and ever after. But I did know that I was happy, right there, right then, with him.
And that was all I needed to know.” — 7 people liked it

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