First Impressions

" I read on. And then it happens. On page 89. Mary is humiliated, and I know I have to step in. There she is, in an ill-fitting, wine-colored gown that doesn''t do anything for her mousy complexion, gathering up her music, when I pass by, and spill my glass of punch right on her dress. I turn, and there is Kevin, dressed in a scarlet coat and all the rest of the uniform of a British Soldier, circa 1811. ''What are you doing here?'' I ask. ''Well, this is the part I''m up to in the book.''"

The smart middle child in a blue-collar family identifies with Mary, the middle child in Jane Austen''s Pride and Prejudice. When Alice enters Mary''s world and makes changes in both their lives, she learns that first impressions aren''t always right.