Sass and Serendipity by Jennifer Ziegler

Published: July 2011

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Pages: 364

Copy: From Library

Summary: Goodreads

For Daphne, the glass is always half full, a situation is better managed with a dab of lip gloss, and the boy of her dreams—the one she's read about in all of her novels—is waiting for her just around the corner.

For Gabby, nothing ever works out positively; wearing any form of makeup is a waste of study time, and boys will only leave you heartbroken. Her best friend, Mule, is the only one who has been there for her every step of the way. 
But when the richest boy in town befriends Gabby, and Daphne starts to hang out more and more with her best and only friend, Mule, Gabby is forced to confront the emotional barriers she has put up to stop the hurting. And for once, her sassiness may fall prey to her definition of stupidity.

I have always thought that Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility' was the quintessential sister book. With 'Sass and Serendipity', Ms Ziegler has brought that story up-to-date and has made it contemporary enough for todays teens.

'Sass and Serendipity' isn't a complete slave to the original story, but it does have all the high points, even if some of them play out in a rather surprising fashion. I never had a sister myself, but I found Daphne and Gabby were believable as two sisters falling on hard times and falling in love, and if I occasionally wanted to shake one or other of them and tell them to smarten up, it was because I became involved in the story, and not because I didn't like the characters. Prentiss and Mule were perfect boy candy, from opposite ends of the social spectrum, and Mule is just exactly the kind of slave - er, sorry, friend - we all wish we'd had.

The story was a fairly quick, enjoyable read, that will give you a perfect romantic fix for this time of year, and it just might get you interested in reading the original, if you haven't already.