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Dec 03, 2011

Nicola rated it:

I absolutely adored this book, from start to finish. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourites so I was really interested to read the author's take on young Jane. Everything about this book was just lovely... from the gorgeous cover to the writing that flowed really well. I enjoyed all the characters and really felt like I got to know them. The book was charming, witty and just fun to read. I loved the story of Jenny and Jane- they were both portrayed excellently. I was also glad to see the au More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Apr 19, 2011

Amy rated it:

I was a little skeptical of this one at first, because this is a really bold premise.

But I thought it was fun to see a young Jane Austen, as the author imagined her to be, and I thought the writing style, particularly the character descriptions and developing love story were very Austen-esque, albeit not exactly in her language, but that would have been impossible so it's best she didn't attempt it.

I liked it even more when I read the author's note at the end and saw how More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Feb 06, 2011

Hallie rated it:

Very interesting, but more because of the questions of authenticity and what limit there is (or isn't) to how far you can invent about real, well-known characters in historical fiction, than because of great quality to the writing. Mrs. Austen is Mrs. Bennet but massively more competent, Cassandra is surprisingly sour, and Jane herself a bit dubious. Jenny (whose diary this is) is fine, as very little is known about the real Jane Cooper.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 30, 2011

Libby rated it:

I am currently reading this book, but I'm finding it very interesting seeing as it's set in 1791 which gives a whole new aspect of how people lived. this book is filled with romance,comedy, families and friendship. Jenny cooper is the name of the main character in the book she is best friends with Jane Austen.They get threw a lot of hard times together like being at a horrible boarding school where they were no feed proper food. While being at the school Jane becomes terrible sick and is not ca More...

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Jun 28, 2011

Amy (Turn the Page) rated it:

I Was Jane Austen’s Best Friend follows the teenage life of Jane Austen, her cousin Jenny, and Jane’s immediate family, in a diary-like format. There are little illustrations dotted about, supposedly drawn by Jenny (and mostly of the handsome men she happens to meet!) with scraps of Jane’s writing attached for safe keeping. What’s interesting about this story is that the basic plot and the characters are all real, taken from facts known about that particular time in her life. Jenny Cooper, the m More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 07, 2011

Catharine rated it:

I ended up really liking this book despite the title and despite the cover art. Those put me off because they seemed a little smug? I'm not sure the exact right word here, too worldly, too put together? Who knows, but the book isn't like that at all. I really enjoyed getting to know Jenny, who in the book isn't sure in the knowledge that she's Jane Austen's best friend though she does feel welcomed by her family. Jenny is shy and unsure of her place in the world and I enjoyed seeing her develop More...

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Mar 13, 2011

Becky rated it:

I Was Jane Austen’s Best Friend is a delightful, witty and entirely addictive historical novel!

I hadn’t really intended on reading I Was Jane Austen’s Best Friend but when I ordered it for the library, one of my students asked me to read it before she did in case it had too much kissing. So of course, as a diligent and obliging librarian, I said I would. And I am so glad that I did.

I Was Jane Austen’s Best Friend is the story of Jenny Cooper – Jane’s best fri More...

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Mar 04, 2011

Rosalyn rated it:

This book was, surprisingly, much better than I'd expected. I'm always interested in Austen adaptations, but most of them are sadly disappointing (yet I still find myself reading them. Why?). In this book, Jane Austen's young cousin, Jenny Cooper, comes to live with them for what proves to be a momentous year in her life. The story itself is told with sensitivity, I thought, and the author has clearly done her research into Austen's family life (I never knew, for instance, that Jane had a mental More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 20, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

I first saw this book under suggestions that Amazon had generated for me to read and fell in love with the beautiful cover. The connection with Jane Austen appealed to me because although I have watched several film adaptations of her novels and loved the time period, I had not yet read any so I felt it would be a perfect introduction.

The book is told through the diary entries of young Jenny Cooper, who is Jane Austen's orphan cousin and comes to live with the Austen family at Steve More...

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Jan 01, 2011

Lisa rated it:

Summary: Through a series of journal entries, Jenny Cooper describes her stay with cousin Jane Austen in the 1790's. The story takes the reader through difficulties, triumphs, secrets, gossip, and romance.

I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend by Cora Harrison was a delightful surprise. This story is set prior to the Regency at the end of the Georgian period when Jane Austen was a teenager. The story is written from the point of view of Jenny Cooper, Austen's friend and cousin, and is told th More...

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Jul 26, 2010

Amanda rated it:

Jenny Cooper is an immediately likable character, risking everything to get a letter to Jane’s mother to let her know that she is very ill. Like many of Austen’s own characters, you get a sense of who she is right away and she’s endearing through the thoughts she keeps in her diary. The book is meant for teen readers and Jenny is just 16 years old so the diary reflects the thoughts and dreams of a girl that age, many of which are true no matter what time in which you live.

This books More...

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Sep 17, 2011

Hope rated it:

So today I finished reading “I was Jane Austen’s best friend”. I was so excited when I saw this book at my local library. I took it home and started to read right away. I have to say, it was rather disappointing read.

Jenny is Jane’s cousin and best friend; story is told by Jenny through her diary. At first I thought it would be interesting and entertaining read. But it turned to be very boring. Writing was disastrous, I felt like I was reading a diary of ten year old girl. Romance b More...

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Mar 02, 2011

Mrs. rated it:

This charming young adult novel begins with Jane and her cousin Jenny Cooper languishing away at a dreadful boarding school. Jane has fallen seriously ill and Jenny makes a dangerous nighttime trip into the streets of the city to dispatch a letter to Jane's mother. Thus begins a series of events that brings the girls back to Steventon and results in a fortuitous romantic attachment for one of the characters.

Cora Harrison's characterization of Jane, Mrs. Austen and Jane's older siste More...

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Oct 27, 2011

Gabby rated it:

I was Jane Austen's best friend is set in the 1700s. The girl Jenny was sent to a boarding school by her brother after her mom died. After a few weeks at the boarding school there best friend and her cousin Jane Austen became very sick. In Order to save her she need to get a letter to her aunt, Jane’s mother. Do get the letter sent she had to sneak out during the middle of the night in a town full of sailors to get the letter to the inn. On her way there she met a Captain who helped her get to t More...

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Aug 25, 2011

Chels rated it:

This book was incredible. It was interesting, fastpaced, romantic and had wonderful messages. Jenny, the main character, is brave and honest. Two qualities I highly value. She is Jane Austen's cousin and best friend. The two take on society together and survive a horrible boarding schol. Jenny then meets a beau she falls in love with. Through falling in love, she matures. It was great to see the changes she experiences and her confidence increase. The supporting characters were all unique and ha More...

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Jan 22, 2011

Breanne rated it:

This was the best Austen spin off I have read in quite some time. It does have some flaws, one being that Jane Austen is characterized as a bit of a brat, but I suppose that she was really just trying to embody her with a fun, almost wild nature. And while Jane is closely tied to the plot of the book in the beginning, she really falls into the background by the end of the book, which is fine, but it would have been nice if she was woven in a bit more closely. She really just became a spectato More...

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Dec 03, 2011

Jazmin rated it:

I really enjoyed this novel. There were days where I couldn't put it down! Even though this novel started off pretty slow, getting past the middle, things started becoming more of what I was expecting of this novel. I really loved the ending!:D I would really recommend it for those who like the time era of those beautiful ball gowns, the balls, and the romance:)

*~*~*~*~*CONTAINS SPOILERS*~*~*~*~*
It bugged my how the author made Jane and Jenny seem younger than what they rea More...

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Apr 20, 2011

Andrea rated it:

As a long-time fan of all things Jane Austen, I was delighted to find I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend by Cora Harrison at my local library.

After fifteen-year-old Jenny Cooper and her cousin Jane Austen are rescued from an oppressive boarding school, Jenny moves into the Austen family home. Living with the Austens opens up a whole new world of possibilities for Jenny, which she details in the pages of her "secret diary."

Each entry gives the reader a glimpse into the More...

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Oct 16, 2011

Alkyoni ~ Kingfisher of books rated it:

Well, this book gave me precisely what I had expected from it. It was light, fun read and I enjoyed it though, petty bitch like I am, I could not help notice some of its flaws.
Jenny was believable enough in the sense that she was shy and withdrawn the way girls were supposed to be at that time. I didn’t like the fact that sometimes she appeared to be flippant at times, but then again she’s a mere, what, 16-15 year old girl? Also, her writing – given the fact that we’re reading her jou More...

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Jun 11, 2010

Milka rated it:

The reader is introduced to Jane Austen's cousin Jenny Cooper who is a little older than Jane. The book begins with the girls going into a boarding school in which Jane has got ill. In order to get Jane out of the school to home to get better Jenny has to leave the school during the night and wonder in nightly South Hampton where she meets Captain Thomas Williams which who she falls in love right at the first moment even though she does not know it then.

Jane and Jenny are taken More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 16, 2011

Bridget R. added it

The year is 1791. Jane Austen is fifteen years old. Her cousin and best friend Jenny Cooper is sixteen years old. Jane scribbles away even then. Jenny is embroiled in her own romance that may one day inspire one of Jane's novels.

What I thought: An enjoyable book. Jenny makes a compelling narrator. Her opinions and thoughts show how different life was two centuries ago. Mostly I've heard how close she was to her sister Cassandra. This book shows another side to Jane--a younger, playf More...

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Apr 14, 2011

Melody rated it:

This is a super-cute and really easy read! I'm a Jane Austen lover, and when my sister recommended it to me, I knew I'd like it. The writing style of the author isn't in the style of Austen at all, but I like that the author didn't attempt to have it be the same. Written in journal form, I thought that the plot line flowed easily and kept me interested. Also, a lot of the book is written about real events or real people, which I really liked.

The story is about a girl named Jenny Cooper More...

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Dec 18, 2011

Ichigo rated it:

I absolutly adore Jane, and Jenny!!! Jane is out going, funny, creative, and brave. While her best friend Jenny is shy, quiet, and modest. After moving in with the Austins, Jenny becomes confident, and brave. I really liked this book!!! They both like to write which is what I love to do so I liked hearing Janes multipul love, and adventure stories. It was also back in 1791, which is good because I liked to hear about balls, romance, and gossip. I also liked all the humor that the Austin family s More...

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Jan 01, 2011

Tiffany rated it:

The first book for me to finish in the year 2011 and I was disappointed. To me the story was 2 stars but because it was a clean read I gave it three stars. The beginning of the book starts out promising and then is just there for the rest. Cora Harrison the author implemented many truths of Jane Austen and her cousing (Jane Cooper) in the book she is known as Jenny. Also the author from studying journals written by Jane Austen's parents about Jane during this time frame in her life she inven More...

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Feb 17, 2011

Sandi rated it:

I was so excited to see this title, and a little skeptical, too. I've read other send-ups of Austen and haven't been impressed. I feared I would be greatly disappointed with another author missing the mark. I expected it to be heavy with Austen's famous quotes and a thinly-veiled plot ripped straight from one of her books. Boy, was I ever surprised. Ms. Harrison's novel was a genuine treat! It felt like Austen from beginning to end without being too familiar. She used actual people and events fr More...

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Dec 08, 2010

Josie rated it:

2.5 stars. Sad to say, but I liked the illustrations a lot more than I liked the writing... When I read the author's note at the end of the book, I was surprised to learn that Jenny Cooper was a real person who actually did get engaged to a Captain Williams after only having known him for three weeks. Which says a lot about the quality of the writing and believability of Jenny's feelings in the book...

I did like the real snippets of Jane Austen's writing from her teenage years, but More...

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Nov 18, 2010

Kristy rated it:

This was a really neat book, because the characters in it were all real people. I loved Jane's personality. The author did a lot of research and a lot of reading to try and accurately portray the characters, and that made me love the book even more. Some of the events in the book actually happened. That was really neat to find out after reading the book.

It is a sweet love story, but also a great story about two friends. I really enjoyed reading this. I really hope that Cora Har More...

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Aug 20, 2010

Joey rated it:

3.5 stars:This is a sweetly told story from the perspective of Jane Austen's best friend Jane (Jenny Cooper). There really isn't a lot of information out there in regards to Jane Austen's teenage years so this provided a fun, imaginative idea of what Jane may have been like. Although the focus is on Jane's best friend Jenny, Jenny is living with the Austen family throughout the story so we also get to meet Mr. and Mrs. Austen, as well as Jane's sister Cassandra and her brothers.

R More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 24, 2011

Kat rated it:

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I can sometimes be nitpicky about books written about Jane Austen's life. I kept in mind, however, that this is a young-adult book written in a way to introduce young readers to Austen's life and times, and it helped me enjoy the book without getting caught up in the parts that might've been inaccurate.

I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend is written in a diary style, told from the perspective of Jenny Cooper, Austen's cousin (their mothers are si More...

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Jul 16, 2011

Lori rated it:

This book was so so so sweet. I'm a big fan of the 4 Austen books I have read and it was fun to figure out how the author tried to fit characters into this book as influences to Austen's characters. I loved how she wrote about Jane Austen's mother and couldn't get Brenda Blethen's character (Mrs. Bennett in the Kiera Knightly version) out of my head. Also, every time the author mentioned Jenny's brother I thought of the Mr. Collins in Pride & Prejudice. Although this book was fiction, I loved lo More...

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