Mother-daughter duo Angourie Rice and Kate Rice reimagine Jane Austen’s classic on an Australian beach, with Hollywood stars and eco-activism at the center.
Austen Reimagined for the Social Media Age
What if Elizabeth Bennet lived in the 21st century, surrounded by celebrities, Instagram culture, and environmental activism? That’s the premise behind Stuck Up and Stupid, a contemporary retelling of Pride and Prejudice written by actress Angourie Rice and playwright Kate Rice — a real-life mother and daughter from Sydney, Australia. The book has been released in Brazil under the title Esnobes & Sem-noção by publisher Plataforma21.
The story follows Lily, a recent graduate spending the summer in Pippi Beach, a tight-knit coastal town in Australia. When Hollywood actors Dorian Khan and Casey Brandon arrive looking for a quiet getaway, the sleepy village is instantly transformed into a hotspot — much to the delight of Lily’s status-obsessed mother.
Enemies-to-Lovers with an Environmental Twist
While many locals are starstruck, Lily keeps her distance. Worried about the environmental impact of potential film productions in the area, she campaigns to protect the local ecosystem. Her tension with Dorian ignites when she overhears him calling her “suburban” — a remark she reads as pure arrogance.
It is a universally acknowledged truth that girls should enjoy summer and ignore any stuck-up actor who shows up to ruin a perfectly good beach holiday.
What follows is a classic enemies-to-lovers arc driven by misunderstandings and snap judgments. The novel’s cast mirrors Austen’s original: romantic cousin Juliet echoes Jane Bennet as she grows close to charming Casey Brandon, while the scheming Alex King fills the role of the manipulative smooth-talker who bends the truth to suit his own agenda.
A Pick for the Next Generation
The book was selected for Reese Witherspoon’s book club, earning international recognition before its Brazilian release. As a Young Adult novel recommended for readers aged 14 and up, it tackles themes that resonate well beyond the romance genre: social responsibility, public image in the age of social media, career uncertainty, and family expectations.
Angourie Rice, best known for her roles in Mean Girls: The Musical Movie (2024) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), runs the literary platform The Community Library, where she shares her reading life. Kate Rice holds a doctorate in Creative Process Ethics and has received the AWGIE Award, Australia’s most prestigious recognition for writers and screenwriters.
In the end, Lily and Dorian’s journey delivers the same timeless message Austen wrote over two centuries ago: first impressions can deceive, pride can cloud judgment, and acknowledging your own mistakes is the first step toward both growing up and falling in love.
Event Info
- Title: Stuck Up and Stupid (Brazilian edition: Esnobes & Sem-noção)
- Authors: Angourie Rice and Kate Rice
- Publisher: Plataforma21
- Edition/Year: 1st edition, 2026
- ISBN (print): 978-65-5008-071-6
- ISBN (e-book): 978-65-5008-072-3
- Genre: Contemporary YA Romance
- Recommended age: 14+
- Pages: 276
- Price: BRL 89.90
- Where to buy: Amazon, VR Editora e-commerce (https://www.vreditora.com.br/lancamentos/esnobes-amp-sem-nocao), Mercado Livre, and major bookstores in Brazil
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