|summary=A sweet, if directionless, book about a sweet, if directionless, freshman at Harvard. Funny but it drags a little.
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Peneleope Penelope is a socially awkward Harvard student, chronicling her first year at the famed institution. She has a thing for Hercule Poirot (don’t we all?), is allergic to cats, and quite worryingly believes that ''Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights'' is one of the best films of all times. She is determined to make friends but finds the options quite limited. Her roommates are either too studious (Emma) or too dubious (Lan) and the boys downstairs are peculiar creatures, to say the least. The dashing, mysterious foreigner Gustav is worth a second glance, but never seems to be where she wants him to be, when she wants him to be there, which is annoying.
This is a massively original, definitely bizarre book that gave great insight into the life of an Ivy Leaguer, at least from one person’s point of view. This book is about life outside the classroom, and it’s really not hard to believe that Penelope is happily and whimsically lost in a Harvard haze of extracurricular clubs, Peter Pan themed parties and marathon Oprah sessions. There are lots of things about College life in the States that I find bizarre, and it’s fun to see a lead in a book have the same response. Penelope has no clue what is going on most of the time, and that’s definitely part of her charm.