Published: August 9th, 2011By: Stacey Jay
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780385740166
"These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume."
—Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
The most tragic love story in history . . .
Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.
Review
Everything that you've ever been told about Juliet and Romeo was wrong. They were in love in medieval Italy, but Romeo sacrificed Juliet for eternal life through a faction of evildoers, the Mercenaries, who spend eternity separating couples who are made for true love by getting one to sacrifice the other. Juliet was taken into the service of the Ambassadors, rivals of the Mercenaries who fight for the survival of true love, trying to make it into an unshakable bond. Juliet and Romeo have been rivals for over half a millenia but now it might be coming to an end. Juliet suddenly finds herself in the body of Ariel Dragland, a seriously miserable teenage girl who has led a fairly painful life with her single Mom, scarred and unable to find the beauty in herself. She is plagued by a popular boy name Dylan who acted like a creep on their first date, before crashing the car. This is when Juliet posessed Ariel and Romeo posessed Dylan, attempting to kill Juliet. Thankfully, a great guy named Ben comes to her rescue. Before long Ariel finds herself falling in love with Ben, but thinks that it's doomed and he's meant to be with Ariel's best friend Gemma, because they both show the glow of someone who's found their soulmate. Romeo is meanwhile trying to win Juliet back because he thinks she's his only hope of escaping the service of the Mercenaries and still living forever. It turns out that Ben and Gemma aren't soulmates - they are each meant for someone else. We learn more of the politics of the Ambassadors and Mercenaries (Juliet's Nurse was an Ambassador in disguise). The ending is really shocking, has two parts to it (one for Juliet and one for Romeo) and it involves alternate universes. I really loved Juliet's alternate universe ending, I thought it was absolutely beautiful. Romeo's left me feeling creeped out and semi-cheated, especially after the tragedy that led to the necessity of alternate universes. This entire book was sort of a conundrum - beautiful and twisted at the same time. I can see why there are so many mixed reviews out there, but my love for the beauty of the way the story was told outweighs my disgust for Romeo's behavior and subsequent ending. It definitely is not for everyone but I'd recommend trying to read it if you're hardcore for Shakespeare and literature in general.
VERDICT: 3.75/5 Stars (Yes that's right, I said 3.75!!!)
*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are much appreciated and I always read them with a smile on my face! :) While I appreciate the thought, this an award-free blog as well. I just don't have the time to keep up with it. Thank you for my smiles and please share your thoughts! Also, sorry for the Captcha, but I've been getting a lot of spam lately!