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Penelope
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

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Author:
Harrington, Rebecca
Published:
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group 2012
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description
When Penelope O’Shaunessy, “an incoming freshman of average height and lank hair” steps into Harvard Yard for the first time she has lots of advice from her mother: "Don't be too enthusiastic, don't talk to people who seem to be getting annoyed, and for heaven's sake, stop playing Tetris on your phone at parties." Penelope needs this advice. She is the kind of girl who passes through much of her life with coffee spilled on her white shirt, who can't quite tell when people are joking, and who, inevitably, always says the wrong thing. But no amount of coaching will prepare Penelope for the people she meets at school.
 
Gloriously skewering the social hierarchy of college, Penelope is the brilliantly funny story of one of the most singular, memorable heroines in recent fiction. 
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Subjects
Subjects
Fiction
Literature
Humor (Fiction)
More Details
Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
08/07/2012
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780307950338
ASIN:
B0083DJURU
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Rebecca Harrington. (2012). Penelope. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Rebecca Harrington. 2012. Penelope. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Rebecca Harrington, Penelope. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2012.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Rebecca Harrington. Penelope. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2012.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
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Shared Digital Collection11
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Grouped Work ID:
0947a689-6a0a-ee88-4257-a5ede47922e9
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Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Jun 12, 2018 16:51:14
Date Updated:
Aug 05, 2022 18:16:25
Last Metadata Check:
Apr 14, 2024 08:20:31
Last Metadata Change:
Jan 08, 2024 18:16:20
Last Availability Check:
Apr 14, 2024 08:20:34
Last Availability Change:
Dec 20, 2021 22:45:04
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Apr 19, 2024 02:10:42

OverDrive Product Record

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      • value: Friendship
      • value: literary fiction
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      • value: secret societies
      • value: England
      • value: advertising
      • value: publishing
      • value: Wealth
      • value: dating
      • value: cozy
      • value: feminism
      • value: cozy mystery
      • value: twins
      • value: engagement
      • value: Pop Culture
      • value: Chick Lit
      • value: Social Media
      • value: literature
      • value: fiction books
      • value: funny books
      • value: realistic fiction
      • value: humor books
      • value: humorous books
      • value: satire fiction
      • value: book club books
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creators
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Harrington, Rebecca
      • bioText: Rebecca Harrington is a twenty-six-year-old writer living in New York City. She has worked at The Huffington Post, studied history and literature at Harvard and journalism at Columbia. Penelope is her first novel.
      • name: Rebecca Harrington
imprint
Vintage
publishDate
2012-08-07T00:00:00-04:00
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
Penelope
fullDescription
When Penelope O’Shaunessy, “an incoming freshman of average height and lank hair” steps into Harvard Yard for the first time she has lots of advice from her mother: "Don't be too enthusiastic, don't talk to people who seem to be getting annoyed, and for heaven's sake, stop playing Tetris on your phone at parties." Penelope needs this advice. She is the kind of girl who passes through much of her life with coffee spilled on her white shirt, who can't quite tell when people are joking, and who, inevitably, always says the wrong thing. But no amount of coaching will prepare Penelope for the people she meets at school.
 
Gloriously skewering the social hierarchy of college, Penelope is the brilliantly funny story of one of the most singular, memorable heroines in recent fiction. 
reviews
      • premium: False
      • source: Zoë K. Hitzig, The Harvard Crimson
      • content: "[An] amusing and often searing profile of a dysfunctional Harvard that runs on elaborately bullshitted papers and even more elaborately constructed personae. Penelope manages to bump into all manner of Harvard caricatures, allowing Harrington's satirical voice to shine."
      • premium: False
      • source: Shannon Draucker, The Dartmouth
      • content: "Unique . . . refreshing . . . It is this sincere depiction of a quirky quasi-misfit in a world of pre-law go-getters and trust-fund kids that renders Penelope not only a satire of the Harvard world, but also a sincere portrayal of an average kid."
      • premium: False
      • source: Rory O'Connor, Examiner.com
      • content: "The quirky, titular character of the novel is hilarious, loveable, and perfectly imperfect (and mercilessly deadpan). Harrington manages to balance snarky and sarcastic observations with genuine truthfulness about the college experience. . . . Penelope brilliantly satirizes (and, on occasion, skewers) the various 'typical' students you meet in college and the trappings of academia. The supporting characters, particularly Lan, are fabulous (the hairy, hairless cat plus the t-shirts equals genius) and many of the social observations are spot on (the less than cool party you still attend to be at a party . . .). This remarkable debut is one that will stick with me for a long time to come. How could I forget a narrator who proudly wrote her college entrance essay on a car seat? The answer, not easily. . . .[A] charming, disarming, witty debut from a writer who cleverly captures the social absurdities many of us experience in the awkward transition from adolescent to adult. . ....
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        June 4, 2012
        Harrington’s debut is a wryly funny bildungsroman chronicling the titular character’s freshman year at Harvard, and all the supplementary standard collegiate fare—drunken parties and regrettable hookups, pretentious extracurriculars, friends with and without benefits, an incessant pressure to succeed, and the #1 question: Who am I? Relatively plotless, the novel still works in a meandering, searching way. Penelope is sweet but socially awkward, and woefully prone to let little things spiral out of control—during a drunken dance, a boy kisses Penelope, “mostly with his incisors,” before vomiting on her shoes; and a favor for a roommate leads to a long-term commitment to a stage production of Caligula. While navigating the perilous social tides of the sea of her privileged peers, Penelope’s heart floats between Ted, whose romantic involvement with Penelope’s friend Catherine is ill-defined, and eccentric Gustav, who uses words like “darling” and “bourgeois,” and prides himself on being “as primed for disease as an Indian.” Penelope’s candidly deadpan neuroses provide plenty of humor, and while the well-off kids of Harvard Yard might seem too aloof, in Harrington’s hands they’re entertaining company. Agent: Jane Finigan, Lutyens & Rubinstein.

      • premium: True
      • source: Booklist
      • content:

        June 1, 2012
        Penelope O'Shaughnessy, an incoming Harvard freshman of average height and lank hair, arrives on campus to meet her roommates: hasty puddingpunching Emma and genius Lan, whose main focus in life appears to be toilet training her illegally housed cat. Socially awkward Penelope has trouble making friends, but late-night booty calls with bon motspouting Gustav help keep things interesting. From the Harvard-Yale game to exclusive social clubs to copious amounts of homework (the North Star that everything turned to), Penelope experiences all that makes Harvard prestigious. Debut author Harrington, herself a recent Harvard grad, is well equipped to lead readers behind the ivy-covered walls. Although her dialogue is stiffly delivered at times (she uses few contractions), it serves to heighten the awkwardness of the characters. Penelope seems a rather dull girl at first, but she comes into her own through deadpan one-liners and witty repartee with Gustav, which are easily the best scenes in the book. Ultimately, this clever parody of Harvard pretentiousness may leave many readers thankful they weren't smart enough to get in.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

popularity
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shortDescription
When Penelope O’Shaunessy, “an incoming freshman of average height and lank hair” steps into Harvard Yard for the first time she has lots of advice from her mother: "Don't be too enthusiastic, don't talk to people who seem to be getting annoyed, and for heaven's sake, stop playing Tetris on your phone at parties." Penelope needs this advice. She is the kind of girl who passes through much of her life with coffee spilled on her white shirt, who can't quite tell when people are joking, and who, inevitably, always says the wrong thing. But no amount of coaching will prepare Penelope for the people she meets at school.
 
Gloriously skewering the social hierarchy of college, Penelope is the brilliantly funny story of one of the most singular, memorable heroines in recent fiction. 
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