Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown

Legally Blonde
by Amanda Brown
Pages: 291
Published by Plume Books
Publication Date December 2, 2005
Goodreads

The hilarious novel that inspired the blockbuster movie--including what's next for Elle Woods!

Elle Woods, California University senior, seems to have it all. President of Delta Gamma sorority, she's aced her major--sociopolitical jewellery design--and is on the verge of becoming Mrs. Warner Huntington III. Too bad Warner, bound for Stanford Law, dumps her with the explanation he needs a more "serious" woman at his side. Faced with this unexpected reversal of fortune, Woods doesn't get depressed, she gets busy.

Thanks to a creative application video and a demand for "diversity" at Stanford Law, Elle gets admitted. Soon she's packing her convertible--as well as her pet Chihuahua "Underdog"--and heading north, determined to win back her man. Smart, fast, and funny, Legally Blonde proves how much fun blondes really can have!

Reviews Done Quick

I’ve always loved the film Legally Blonde. Elle Woods was quick, charming, and went after what she wanted. After discovering that the film was based on a book I was eager to read how her paper counterpart compared.

Oh, how disappointed I was. In the novel, Elle is a stereotypical dumb blonde who is blinded by the idea of getting her loser boyfriend Warner back. When she isn’t scheming about how to steal Warner away from his fiancee she spends her time reading People magazine in class, that is when she isn’t skipping school for a nail appointment. Yes, Elle is those things in the movie as well but it seemed more blatant in print.

The plot was also lacking. Elle’s classes or any development in her progress as a law student were continuously shelved in order to draw attention to the color of her nail polish. Josette, her manicurist on speed dial also had a much smaller part and felt she was underutilized. I really wanted to throw the book against the wall, either to knock some sense into the barely fleshed-out characters or as a cathartic release of my frustration.

Unfortunately, the writing was no saving grace. It felt very amateurish. It reminded me of when I was in middle school and used “like” and “coolio” in almost every sentence. Overall, the novel was a bit of a letdown.

Perhaps I’m viewing the movie through rose (or pink) tinted glasses which clouds my judgment of said book. However, it still begs the question, Amanda Brown, what have you done with my Elle Woods?