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Calypso Chronicles #1
Pulling Princes
Calypso is an ordinary America teen, plunged into the extraordinary world of the ancient British Boarding School system with all its mad traditions & customs, surrounded by the daughters of international royalty & rock-stars.
But after three years of enduring the Terrible Toffs & Horrible Hon.s' treating her like The American Freak, Calypso Kelly is determined to beat them at their own game by tricking them into believing she's dating a hot Hollywood boy.
She may be able to rinse the Eades boys at sabre & dazzle the girls with a poster of her "fake Hollywood boyfriend" - but with the paparazzi lurking behind every hedge, her phone confiscated & the not-so-Honourable Honey O'Hare plotting against her, can Calypso manage to pull it off AND pull the Prince?
But after three years of enduring the Terrible Toffs & Horrible Hon.s' treating her like The American Freak, Calypso Kelly is determined to beat them at their own game by tricking them into believing she's dating a hot Hollywood boy.
She may be able to rinse the Eades boys at sabre & dazzle the girls with a poster of her "fake Hollywood boyfriend" - but with the paparazzi lurking behind every hedge, her phone confiscated & the not-so-Honourable Honey O'Hare plotting against her, can Calypso manage to pull it off AND pull the Prince?
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First published January 1, 2004
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About the author
Tyne O'Connell
29 books136 followersTyne O’Connell is a bestselling British author. Her 13 novels have been published to great acclaim by Headline UK, Bloomsbury USA & other international publishing houses.
http://edition.cnn.com/style/article/...
"An eccentric is not trying to define themselves, they're born seeking a different way," explains Tyne O'Connell, and if anyone should know, it's her. The Mayfair-based author and socialite seems to have been torn straight from the pages of an Evelyn Waugh novel; with her cut-glass accent, perma-fixed tiara and layers of pearls.
Despite recently being diagnosed with a brain tumor, O'Connell has continued to embrace the extraordinary.”
In 2015 HRH as patron of the historic Eccentrics Club awarded her the title of “Most Eccentric British Thinker” based on her research into the 17th C when Eccentricity became the quintessential aspects of the British character. Her extraordinary life has been featured in TV documentaries & feature-spreads in Vogue UK, Elle & most UK broadsheets. Cassandra Jardine in The Daily Telegraph UK wrote: “The Impossibly glamorous Tyne O’Connell’s real life is every bit as extraordinary as her fiction” ELLE UK.
Critics have described O’Connell as, “Enid Blyton of our time” comparing her bestselling boarding-school series, Pulling Princes to “an up to date Mallory Towers”. The first four books in the series are set in a fictionalised Eton College &St Mary’s Ascot near Windsor Castle and based on her three children’s experiences at boarding school & Oxford as well as her own extraordinary life in Mayfair.
Born into an Irish Catholic family, daughter of a retired spy, her favourite chore as a child was collecting eggs from the hens for sixpence writing & reading. She was told by teachers & family she would be an author from age eight. Her first bestselling book was Sex, Lies & Litigation, pub1996 Headline to rave reviews.
Shes spent all her life in Mayfair where she brought up two husbands & three children. The area is at the heart of her ancestry & many of her books. She writes about all things Mayfair for mayfaireccentrics.com, & elsewhere. Visit her at www.tyneoconnell.com & follow her on Instagram @tyneoconnell
O'Connell was educated by elderly Flemish Sacre-Coeur nuns (born in the 1870-80's) with the expectation that she would marry a diploma or Catholic aristocrat - perfectly equipping her for a world that hadn't existed since the 1930’s. It was an unusual Victorian style upbringing & by 17, she was accomplished in Le Cordon Blue, Croquet, Semaphore, Literature, Latin, Needlepoint, Flower Arrangement, Diamond Valuation, Deportment, Millinery & Embassy Dinner Seating. After school she returned
http://www.tyneoconnell.com
http://www.mayfaireccentrics.com
http://www.dandizette.com
http://edition.cnn.com/style/article/...
"An eccentric is not trying to define themselves, they're born seeking a different way," explains Tyne O'Connell, and if anyone should know, it's her. The Mayfair-based author and socialite seems to have been torn straight from the pages of an Evelyn Waugh novel; with her cut-glass accent, perma-fixed tiara and layers of pearls.
Despite recently being diagnosed with a brain tumor, O'Connell has continued to embrace the extraordinary.”
In 2015 HRH as patron of the historic Eccentrics Club awarded her the title of “Most Eccentric British Thinker” based on her research into the 17th C when Eccentricity became the quintessential aspects of the British character. Her extraordinary life has been featured in TV documentaries & feature-spreads in Vogue UK, Elle & most UK broadsheets. Cassandra Jardine in The Daily Telegraph UK wrote: “The Impossibly glamorous Tyne O’Connell’s real life is every bit as extraordinary as her fiction” ELLE UK.
Critics have described O’Connell as, “Enid Blyton of our time” comparing her bestselling boarding-school series, Pulling Princes to “an up to date Mallory Towers”. The first four books in the series are set in a fictionalised Eton College &St Mary’s Ascot near Windsor Castle and based on her three children’s experiences at boarding school & Oxford as well as her own extraordinary life in Mayfair.
Born into an Irish Catholic family, daughter of a retired spy, her favourite chore as a child was collecting eggs from the hens for sixpence writing & reading. She was told by teachers & family she would be an author from age eight. Her first bestselling book was Sex, Lies & Litigation, pub1996 Headline to rave reviews.
Shes spent all her life in Mayfair where she brought up two husbands & three children. The area is at the heart of her ancestry & many of her books. She writes about all things Mayfair for mayfaireccentrics.com, & elsewhere. Visit her at www.tyneoconnell.com & follow her on Instagram @tyneoconnell
O'Connell was educated by elderly Flemish Sacre-Coeur nuns (born in the 1870-80's) with the expectation that she would marry a diploma or Catholic aristocrat - perfectly equipping her for a world that hadn't existed since the 1930’s. It was an unusual Victorian style upbringing & by 17, she was accomplished in Le Cordon Blue, Croquet, Semaphore, Literature, Latin, Needlepoint, Flower Arrangement, Diamond Valuation, Deportment, Millinery & Embassy Dinner Seating. After school she returned
http://www.tyneoconnell.com
http://www.mayfaireccentrics.com
http://www.dandizette.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
February 6, 2011
I read it long time ago, and it was THE book that made me fall into reading books !
I have read this book at least 15 times, I absolutely loved this. I even started practising fencing.
I'll recommend this book to every teenage girl :)
I have read this book at least 15 times, I absolutely loved this. I even started practising fencing.
I'll recommend this book to every teenage girl :)
February 7, 2012
It's kind of hard to feel sympathetic towards Calypso.
I originally gave this three stars, but I talked myself down to two when I gave it a bit more thought. It's not that the book is bad -- it's perfectly fine fluff, which is more or less what I expected when I picked it up at the library. It's just...
Oh, Calypso.
I'm sorry, but "woe is me my parents sent me off to a posh boarding school and now we can't afford a pool and I have to buy my designer clothing secondhand" is not a compelling argument for sympathy. I'm not completely oblivious -- I understand that money counts in that kind of environment -- but a little tiiiiny bit of depth would go a long way.
She's meant to have depth. Honestly, she is. She wants to be a writer when she's older (even though she can't stand her English class because it is soooo lame and authors like Hardy and Bronte -- any of the Brontes -- and Alcott are just soooo boring). She's a nationally ranked fencer. The fencing could be really interesting -- except that the only times we ever see Calypso fence are when there's a cute (excuse me, "fit") boy around. So the ideas are there, but the execution is lacking.
While we're on the subject -- or at least not too far off the subject -- of fit boys...the question of pulling boys. Okay. Look, I was not a cool fourteen-year-old. That was perfectly fine with me. I was not stupid, and I was perfectly aware that the popular students dated and made out and so on and so forth, but I really had limited-to-no interest in swapping spit with every cute person who wandered into my eyesight. And...frankly, I don't think most fourteen-year-olds are obsessed with doing so, either. Seriously, to read this book you'd think that every fourteen-year-old girl in England is running around throwing herself at hot boys, making out with them, and then running off to find another, hotter boy. And repeat. Really? Because...no.
I probably would have been happier if Calypso hadn't started so firmly at the bottom of the social heap and risen so suddenly, and improbably, to the top (why is there never a happy middle for this kind of character?). It's just hard to buy the idea that the characters who have made the protagonist's life miserable for the last three years are suddenly her bosom buddies (all because she made up a boyfriend).
In a lot of respects it's a pretty entertaining book -- the same kind as the Gossip Girl books, I suppose, which really have no redeeming values whatsoever except that they're so over the top as to be funny. I wouldn't want to be Calypso, or to go to her boarding school, but at least there's a certain degree of ridiculousness to the story that allows it to be harmless fluff rather than toxic fluff.
I originally gave this three stars, but I talked myself down to two when I gave it a bit more thought. It's not that the book is bad -- it's perfectly fine fluff, which is more or less what I expected when I picked it up at the library. It's just...
Oh, Calypso.
I'm sorry, but "woe is me my parents sent me off to a posh boarding school and now we can't afford a pool and I have to buy my designer clothing secondhand" is not a compelling argument for sympathy. I'm not completely oblivious -- I understand that money counts in that kind of environment -- but a little tiiiiny bit of depth would go a long way.
She's meant to have depth. Honestly, she is. She wants to be a writer when she's older (even though she can't stand her English class because it is soooo lame and authors like Hardy and Bronte -- any of the Brontes -- and Alcott are just soooo boring). She's a nationally ranked fencer. The fencing could be really interesting -- except that the only times we ever see Calypso fence are when there's a cute (excuse me, "fit") boy around. So the ideas are there, but the execution is lacking.
While we're on the subject -- or at least not too far off the subject -- of fit boys...the question of pulling boys. Okay. Look, I was not a cool fourteen-year-old. That was perfectly fine with me. I was not stupid, and I was perfectly aware that the popular students dated and made out and so on and so forth, but I really had limited-to-no interest in swapping spit with every cute person who wandered into my eyesight. And...frankly, I don't think most fourteen-year-olds are obsessed with doing so, either. Seriously, to read this book you'd think that every fourteen-year-old girl in England is running around throwing herself at hot boys, making out with them, and then running off to find another, hotter boy. And repeat. Really? Because...no.
I probably would have been happier if Calypso hadn't started so firmly at the bottom of the social heap and risen so suddenly, and improbably, to the top (why is there never a happy middle for this kind of character?). It's just hard to buy the idea that the characters who have made the protagonist's life miserable for the last three years are suddenly her bosom buddies (all because she made up a boyfriend).
In a lot of respects it's a pretty entertaining book -- the same kind as the Gossip Girl books, I suppose, which really have no redeeming values whatsoever except that they're so over the top as to be funny. I wouldn't want to be Calypso, or to go to her boarding school, but at least there's a certain degree of ridiculousness to the story that allows it to be harmless fluff rather than toxic fluff.
December 23, 2007
14 year-old Calypso Kelly, from Hollywood, goes to St. Augestine. There she is shunned and called the "American Freak". Her only friend is star, the daughter of a famous, washed up, rock star.
Full of cliques and queen Bees, Calypso returns for another year at the dreaded boarding school. But Calypso has a plan, to get right in the most popular girl in school, Georgina.
Full of lies and tricks, love and rumors, Calypso finds herself in the middle of a problem that she wishes she had left alone. Calypso being 14 and never been kissed is in for a rough year...
Full of cliques and queen Bees, Calypso returns for another year at the dreaded boarding school. But Calypso has a plan, to get right in the most popular girl in school, Georgina.
Full of lies and tricks, love and rumors, Calypso finds herself in the middle of a problem that she wishes she had left alone. Calypso being 14 and never been kissed is in for a rough year...
June 21, 2019
Feels a little bit weird rating this as it was a childhood fave and I'm so far away from the target audience now. Though I now can see some flaws, I still enjoyed revisiting Calypso and her (possible) friends.
June 20, 2024
The Royal We but for teens? My sister and I were obsessed with this series when we were 14. I hadn’t read it in years and was really worried it wouldn’t hold up now. I’m pleased to see Calypso is still the worst, but I love her anyway. She’s only for 14 and at boarding school with the name Calypso, give the girl a break.
Need to reread the rest of the series now!!
Need to reread the rest of the series now!!
December 18, 2009
totally love this book!!!
i'm not knd a girl who always love romantic novels, but this one isn't too romantic, but funny and fresh. It's really amusing to read about what happened to Calypso and the dilemma in her heart. nice!!
i'm not knd a girl who always love romantic novels, but this one isn't too romantic, but funny and fresh. It's really amusing to read about what happened to Calypso and the dilemma in her heart. nice!!
February 14, 2011
ok, so the first like 90 pages are REALLY slow, but after that it gets really good. I HATED the ended, it was too much of a cliffhanger. now, i GOTTA read the second book.
<3 you all so freaking much!
<3 you all so freaking much!
January 15, 2019
Instead of reading one of the many books that are waiting for me on my nightstand, I chose to re-read one of my favourite teen books when I was over at my parents for the holidays.
I Regret Nothing this series is hilarious
I Regret Nothing this series is hilarious
October 17, 2007
This was a really good book! I couldn't put it down and I am already reading the 3rd in the series! It is such a good series of books!
December 19, 2008
EVER SCENCE I READ THIS BOOK IVE BEEN READING A BOOK 1 TO 3 DAYS SO MY LIST WILL FILL UP FAST
March 24, 2009
i liked this book even though it has a sort of YA guide line.
April 5, 2011
this series is so Good!!! i love Calypso and the other characters. unfortunately have only read the first 2 books :(
April 14, 2009
YA book-AWESOME!!!!
April 13, 2014
Buku ini merupakan bacaan ringan yang menghibur banget. Aku suka sama jalan ceritanya yang ga berat dan lumayan kocak.
Ceritanya tentang tokoh utama yang mempunyai nama aneh bernama Calypso Kelly. Dia orang america yang di sekolahkan ortunya ke sekolah asrama elite di Inggris. Sekolah tersebut berisi para putri bangsawan atau juga anak2 kaya terkenal yang mempunyai rumah mewah. Tidak seperty Calypso yang agak pas2an, uang sakunya saja sedikit sekali dikirim ibunya.
Alhasil dia menjadi bulan2an oleh Genk Georgina, Honey cs. Georgina adalah putri bangsawan yang cantik, pirang mampu menggaet cowo2 keren di sekolah Eades, sekolah asrama cowo yang tak kalah mewanhnya dengan asrama Augustine tempat Calypso bersekolah.
Calypso hanya mempunyai teman dekat bernama Star yang dianggap aneh oleh anak lainnya karena seringkali berpakaian warna hitam, merupakan anak seorang rockstar yang sering banget teler karena narkoba.
Calypso sering diejek karena aksen Inggrisnya.. tak jarang ia ditempelin Post-It di punggungnya. Sampai suatu ketika di semster baru hidupnya mengalami perubahan, ia sekamar dengan Georgina dan Star. Georgina tentu saja sangat membencinya. Tapi kali ini Calypso bertekad ia akan merubah hidupnya dan tidak mau di bully lagi. Seru mengikuti petualangan Calypso dan teman2..
Ceritanya tentang tokoh utama yang mempunyai nama aneh bernama Calypso Kelly. Dia orang america yang di sekolahkan ortunya ke sekolah asrama elite di Inggris. Sekolah tersebut berisi para putri bangsawan atau juga anak2 kaya terkenal yang mempunyai rumah mewah. Tidak seperty Calypso yang agak pas2an, uang sakunya saja sedikit sekali dikirim ibunya.
Alhasil dia menjadi bulan2an oleh Genk Georgina, Honey cs. Georgina adalah putri bangsawan yang cantik, pirang mampu menggaet cowo2 keren di sekolah Eades, sekolah asrama cowo yang tak kalah mewanhnya dengan asrama Augustine tempat Calypso bersekolah.
Calypso hanya mempunyai teman dekat bernama Star yang dianggap aneh oleh anak lainnya karena seringkali berpakaian warna hitam, merupakan anak seorang rockstar yang sering banget teler karena narkoba.
Calypso sering diejek karena aksen Inggrisnya.. tak jarang ia ditempelin Post-It di punggungnya. Sampai suatu ketika di semster baru hidupnya mengalami perubahan, ia sekamar dengan Georgina dan Star. Georgina tentu saja sangat membencinya. Tapi kali ini Calypso bertekad ia akan merubah hidupnya dan tidak mau di bully lagi. Seru mengikuti petualangan Calypso dan teman2..
August 19, 2009
This a great first book to start off a great series (although i'v only read 2 of the books). Unfortunatly I read the 2nd book first, so it sort of spoiled this one for me. It takes a while to get into the book/s, but when you've read about half of the book, it starts to grow on you and you really get into it.
It is based on a girl named Calypso who lives in America, but tralvels over to England to go to a private boarding school, Saint Augustines, the best all girls boarding school in England. But with a hefty £25,000 a year to pay, and with Calypso's parents not what you'd call rich, its not all glitz and glam for the American Fencing star. But then her hopes start to rise because at a fencing tournament she meets the fit Prince Freddie, heir to the English Throne. But when the paparatzi and other complications get in the way of her and Freds love life, shes swimming in very deep water.
A truly fab book that id recommend to anyone 11+ (as it contains some strong language.) :D :)
It is based on a girl named Calypso who lives in America, but tralvels over to England to go to a private boarding school, Saint Augustines, the best all girls boarding school in England. But with a hefty £25,000 a year to pay, and with Calypso's parents not what you'd call rich, its not all glitz and glam for the American Fencing star. But then her hopes start to rise because at a fencing tournament she meets the fit Prince Freddie, heir to the English Throne. But when the paparatzi and other complications get in the way of her and Freds love life, shes swimming in very deep water.
A truly fab book that id recommend to anyone 11+ (as it contains some strong language.) :D :)
February 2, 2014
The book overall was great because it talks about all of the experiences this young woman has and all of the little ironic parts of life in a really funny way. Near the end of the book, she constantly talks about how shes inspired by this writer "Nancy Mitford" or something to that effect and I think it's really cool to have an idol that she adores. I also like to think that she reminds me of me, (which is always really cool when you can relate to a book). I have never been to boarding school and this book gives me a somewhat made up idea of what boarding school is. Also, she's stuck between two different cultures which are American and English. Reading of her struggles about peers insulting her just because she sounds British or because she sounds american is actually a really different reaction than I was expecting because, a boarding school usually has many students from around the world and you wouldn't think that they would judge the place you come from or how you talk. This book defiantly made me think.
May 23, 2011
Bercerita mengenai kehidupan Callypso Kelly yang dianggap aneh karena aksennya, rambut ikalnya, kesukaannya dengan anggar, tidak punya gelar, tidak bertubuh kerempeng-tinggi serta tidak kaya raya. Star, sahabat karib Callypso yang juga anak dari seorang rockstar, bernasib sama seperti Callypso. Dicemooh oleh kaum eksklusifnya Honney O'Harey.
Tetapi semester ini penuh dengan kejutan, Georgina; Arabella dan Clemetina yang merupakan anggota kaum eksklusif dapat berteman akran dengan Callypso dan Star. Terlebih lagi Callypso digandrungi oleh Freddie, Pangeran Inggris yang bersekolah di Eades dan Billy, kapten anggar tim cowok Eades. Kedua Pria ini adalah impian setiap gadis disekolahnya.
Lucu, seru, ngegemesin dan kocak
Tetapi semester ini penuh dengan kejutan, Georgina; Arabella dan Clemetina yang merupakan anggota kaum eksklusif dapat berteman akran dengan Callypso dan Star. Terlebih lagi Callypso digandrungi oleh Freddie, Pangeran Inggris yang bersekolah di Eades dan Billy, kapten anggar tim cowok Eades. Kedua Pria ini adalah impian setiap gadis disekolahnya.
Lucu, seru, ngegemesin dan kocak
July 7, 2011
Sans surprise, cette série collectionne les clichés autour des filles et des pensionnats, c'est niais, c'est creux, c'est affreusement girly et même la romance royale passe au second plan. Bref, il n'y a pas de quoi fouetter un chat ! Et pourtant j'ai lu d'une traite ce premier tome en me surprenant à ricaner plus d'une fois de bon coeur. C'est le double effet Kiss Cool : admettre la platitude de l'histoire, mais en savourer chaque miette malgré tout. C'est bon, la honte. Calypso n'est pas l'héroïne du siècle, son histoire ne figurera pas non plus dans les annales, mais on s'en fiche, car c'est drôle, dans le style chick-lit pour midinettes en détresse, et ça se lit facilement, surtout en vacances.
July 6, 2011
Cutest book ever! I was sucked into this book right away, and cannot wait to finish the series! Although I am in my mid-twenties, I fell in love with this story about a 14 year old American girl away at English boarding school. It's really the typical "Mean Girls" sort of situation, but the characters are developed so well and everything that happens will take you right back to high school. It's hysterical! I'm rooting for you Calypso!
August 1, 2013
At first, I wasn't really that into the book because it was basically chapters and chapters on the backgrounds of the girls, school, and lifestyles. As I read further, I started to really get into the drama (as bad as that sounds). I recommend this book to any teens facing boy trouble or girl drama. Also, I recommend it to people having a hard time fitting in. I really want to read the other 2 books and figure out who she chooses, though I have a pretty good idea.
October 12, 2014
I love this book, very funny - full of hilarious boarding school antics. I really got behind Calypso and all the predicaments she seems to get her self into. There's really nicely written romance stuff without being over the top... and there are lots of laugh out loud moments.
April 22, 2008
I LOVE this book!!
June 20, 2009
Not as bad as it seems. Calypso starts out sounding whiny (enough that I quit for a while) but grows into a not so terrible person. Not really the chick flick it seems, and pretty funny, too.
February 25, 2019
REALLY want to start the next book but I can't yet!
June 29, 2015
This was a great start a to a great series, I enjoyed reading this book, it was a great introdcution of the characters, especially Calypso!
April 13, 2022
I read this series back when they each first came out and loved them. Now, reading them as an adult. I still get so much giddy joy in reading these stories!
July 28, 2024
So it’s a couple days later and I kind of forget what happened in detail. But at the same time I remember. I think that the prince is kinda bratty. Like I understand that he is used to people using him but like… he was kinda rude. Like he was thinking of himself and then all the sudden she gets hated on, or least in her perspective, and he ain’t even trying to help her. Like she deserved better also I really like that Billy person. I think he was very nice and I like him so much more than I liked the prince. I liked this book but let me tell you I wouldn’t blame someone for not wanting to read it or DNFING it. But I also could see if someone rated it highly. This book wasn’t bad but I didn’t think I loved it at all. I think if you like drama and idk how to describe it but it’s kinda like bad drama? Idk if you read it you might understand what I’m talking about. Idk I was invested but not because of the characters because the all the characters have rich, bratty, pick me girl vibes. But I liked the drama. I would say probably 2.75 ⭐️ but it could also be like a 3 ⭐️
April 29, 2022
This book series made me fall in love with reading when I was a pre-teen. The books get better over time and so does Calypso. All I can say is when it comes to this series I have so much nostalgic bias and so much love and sentiment towards it. It defined the boarding school, slow burn(ish), first love genre for me. And the friendships were so pure ❤️ People saying they don’t like Calypso cause she’s too woe is me? Yes that’s the point she’s a 14 year old mate.
May 13, 2020
This was very cute. It was probably somewhere between middle grade and YA, but it trusted it's audience and didn't explain everything like some books in that category. It was ostensibly about an American girl in an English boarding school who gets together with a prince... But honestly the prince was almost secondary. Which was actually nice. This was mostly about girls bonding.
June 26, 2018
I love reading about Calypso and her friends. I swear I kinda wish I went to a boarding school for girls. Lol! Honey O’Hare is a classic bitch! But Calypso finds her way to deal with her. Looking forward to start reading Stealing Princes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews