Bite Sized Review: Lois Lane - A Real Work of Art

Published:  March 4th, 2015

Lois Lane: A Real Work of Art

By: Gwenda Bond

Capstone

ISBN-13:  9780000000

In high school art class, Lois Lane demonstrates her undeniable talent.....but not for painting.

This is an official teaser short story for the young adult novel LOIS LANE: FALLOUT that takes place before Lois moves to Metropolis.

Review

       I normally don't care too much for short stories, especially ones that are under 50 pages long.  I know that a lot can be conveyed in them if the right writer is guiding the ship -- but more often than not, these short stories and novellas for popular YA book series are just useless filler.  This was available on NetGalley, so I requested it and hoped for the best.  And I got it!  Lois Lane is exactly how I wanted her to be - sassy, smart, and self-aware.  Of course, she's a teenager, so there is some self-doubt.  Lois is constantly moving around as an army brat, and she's in a new town again.  All she wants is to figure out something that she's good at, something that can be just for her.  So, Lois decides to try out an art class, and manages to get into more trouble than you'd think possible.  If you're a fan of Lois Lane (especially as portrayed by Erica Durance on Smallville, who this Lois really reminded me of!), try reading this.  I am now super pumped up for the full-length book coming out in May.  I enjoyed Gwenda Bond's style and I will LOVE reading more of Lois' misadventures!  Highly recommended.

VERDICT: 4/5 Stars

*I received this book from Capstone, on NetGalley. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. This book was published on March 4th, 2015.*

Good Girls Aren't (Always) the Fun Ones

Published:  July 1st, 2014

The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher

By: Jessica Lawson

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13:  9781481401500

In 1860, eleven-year-old Becky Thatcher is the new girl in town, determined to have adventures like she promised her brother Jon before he died.  With her Mama frozen in grief and her Daddy busy as town judge, Becky spends much of her time on her own, getting into mischief.  Before long, she joins the boys at school in a bet to steal from the Widow Douglas, and Becky convinces her new best friend, Amy Lawrence, to join her.

Becky decides that she and Amy need a bag of dirt from a bad man's grave as protection for entering the Widow's house, so they sneak out to the cemetery at midnight, where they witness the thieving Pritchard brothers digging up a coffin.  Determined to keep her family safe (and to avoid getting in trouble), Becky makes Amy promise not to tell anyone what they saw.

When their silence inadvertently results in the Widow Douglas being accused of the graverobbery, Becky concocts a plan to clear the Widow's name.  If she pulls it off, she just might get her Mama to notice her again and fulfill her promise to Jon in a most unexpected way...if that tattletale Tom Sawyer will quit following her around.

Review

       I have to admire Jessica Lawson's ingenuity.  As both a fanfic author and reader, I can more than respect a well thought-out "what-if" scenario.  So, the switch in the personalities of Sid and Tom, along with the inclusion of Sam Clemens would have been more than enough to draw me in as a potential reader.  Add in the fact that Becky Thatcher is actually the mischievous protagonist in this one, with Tom and Sid as side-characters, and you have me hooked like a large-mouth bass!  Even with all of that aside, I actually really enjoyed this book!  This is exactly the kind of book that I loved as a child, with a daring and adventurous heroine, well-drawn side characters (friends, family, etc.), and a rollicking plot full of fun.  Becky has just moved to a small Missouri town with her parents, almost a year after the death of her much-loved and admired older brother, Jon.  Becky's Daddy is busy being the town judge and has to deal with notorious thieves, the Pritchard brothers, on the loose and her Mama is sunk down into her grief, with no time for Becky.  So she has plenty of time for mischief!

     There are some sly allusions to the original stories by Mark Twain, especially with Sam Clemens as a stranded riverboat pilot, waiting on a part for his ship, and gathering material for stories he likes to write.  Becky becomes friends with Sid Sawyer, almost immediatly puts the tattling Tom (brother of Sid) on her revenge list and is mostly just happy to make some friends and have adventures.  But when attempting to get grave dirt for "protection spells" against the Widow Douglas (a known witch), so that the girls can win a five-dollar bet to take something from her house, they get into more trouble than they can handle!  They stumble upon a grave-robbing and barely escape with their lives!  Becky has to decide whether being grown up means telling the truth and accepting punishment, or having adventures - or if she can possibly do both.  I love the writing style of Lawson in this book!  Unlike Twain, the dialect isn't so heavy that you have a hard time reading it.  It's still there, but not as thick.  Also, there are some beautiful prose passages and Becky, is a loveable heroine who never once got on my nerves.  Overall, I would recommend this even to people who just like historical fiction with a sense of humor, even if they've never read Mark Twain.  You'll still like it, I promise.  Or as Becky and Amy would say I "vow" it! :D

Favorite Quotes:

--  'I found my way to the riverbank.

"Hello, Miss Issipi," I said.  "You're looking awful pretty this morning, with that fog coming off your water.  You're going your way and I'm going mine."  I tipped my hat, but the Miss ignored me.  I didn't mind a bit, though.  I liked the river real well.

...I stared at the Miss, watching the first bit of sunlight make flashes on the water.  I wondered if Jon up in Heaven could see those flashes, if he'd met Jesus at all, and if he'd put in a good word for me.'

--  "Kiss my grits," I swore.  "That brother of yours has done it again."  I hit Sid's shoulder.

Joe spit on the ground.  

"How'd he find out, that sneak!"  Though he sounded mad, I could tell Joe was as worried as the rest of us.

   "I thought I saw Tom when I was putting out your flames," I told Sid.  "Probably told Aunt Polly that I tried to set Mrs. Douglas's house on fire."

   "Who's Mrs. Douglas?" Joe asked.  His face wrinkled up like when Dobbins asked him a math question.

   "You can go to jail for doing something like that!" Amy cried.

   And the widow might go to jail for grave robbing, I thought.  Maybe we'll be stuck in the same cell.

VERDICT:  4/5 Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.*

Let Me Choose My Fate

Published:  February 11th, 2014

Fates (Fates #1)

By: Lanie Bross

Delacorte Press

ISBN-13:  9780385742825

One moment.  One foolish desire.  One mistake.  And Corinthe lost everything.

She fell from her tranquil life in Pyralis Terra and found herself exiled to the human world.  Her punishment?  To make sure people's fates unfold according to plan.  Now, years later, Corinthe has one last assignment: kill Lucas Kaller.  His death will be her ticket home.

But for the first time, Corinthe feels a tinge of doubt.  It begins as a lump in her throat, then grows toward her heart, and suddenly she feels like she is falling all over again -- this time for a boy she knows she can never have.  Because it is written: one of them must live, and one of them must die.  In a universe where every moment, every second, every fate has already been decided, where does love fit in?

Review

     Why the FREAKING HECK do I do this to myself???  I took one look at this book, and knew from the start that barring a miracle, it wouldn't be higher than a three star rating for me.  But being the eternal optimist, I went ahead with it anyways.  Predictably, it was a complete and total mess of a book.  Let's see what I can unravel for you in this "review" of mine.  The book centers around Corinthe, who was one of the Fates in a place called Pyralis Terra.  She sorted the Fates of the world, until she committed a horrible mistake in the name of curiosity.  Exiled to Earth, for the last ten years Corinthe has been trying to earn her way home by carring out the will of the Universe.  Or at least that's what she's been told by her "guardian", Miranda.  In reality, Miranda has been using Corinthe for her own purposes for the last decade and is an enemy of the Fates.  She tells Corinthe that her last assignment is to kill a boy named Lucas Kaller.  It will set off a chain reaction of events, that will bring Pyralis Terra crumbling down.  Then the Radicals (Miranda's faction of beings) can take over everything.  But when things spiral out of control, and Luc ends up on a quest to save his sister alongside Corinthe, the fate of her world hangs in the balance.  Can they do the right thing and still save their hearts?

     From what I managed to gather, there are a bunch of different realms and the way in is through the crossroads.  I was completely unsurprised by any of the "major" plot twists in this book (Miranda being evil, Luc's sister being kidnapped, picking the magical flower they need equaling death, etc.).  The whole thing was entirely confusing with terms like Radicals, Unseen Ones, Fates, and Executors being used with no real explanation ever given.  I guess she was expecting the plot to explain them.  Well, it freaking DIDN'T!  More than half of the book was spent in our world with Corinthe drifting around, closing out fates (getting people killed in accidents, breaking up couples, etc.), and whining about how much she wants to go home again.  I was able to empathize a bit more with Luc, who has a home life similar to my own growing up.  Alcoholic father, out of control younger sibling, and absent mother (mine was just emotionally absent).  It puts the pressure on, to get as much done as possible, bring in money, and save everyone around you.  

     I get that Luc's intrigued by the crazy looking chick (Corinthe) when he first sees her, in the midst of a car-wreck.  But you don't go directly from curiosity, to hatred, and to dreamy, unexplainable insta-love!  The romance in this mad absolutely ZERO SENSE!  Honestly the more intriguing romance was the star-crossed one between Miranda and Rhys.  I adored the whole matching compass thing with the archer and the ballerina.  Their love kind of made me want to cry.  That said, their love story and the reasons they were apart were confusing as well, because what they were (Radicals) was never really explained.  Why do they do the things they do Lanie?  I WANNA KNOW!!!  The entire conflict with the blood nymphs, Luc's sister Jasmine being kidnapped and given to them, and the gnome who almost kidnaps Corinthe for good, felt like they belonged in a completely different book.  They were high fantasy/mythology, when the rest of this book was boring, slow-moving, contemporary insta-love.  Overall, this book was a gigantic mess.  The ending was a poorly done cliffhanger and I am definitely NOT reading the next one!  I don't recommend it unless you like being extremely confused and pissed off by badly plotted story, riddled with holes.

VERDICT:  1.5/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book was published February 11th, 2014.*

Painting the Roses Red

Published: January 1st, 2013
Splintered
By: A.G. Howard
Amulet
ISBN-13: 978149704284

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.  When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Review

 

     Alyssa has grown up with a very valid fear of losing her sanity - the women in every generation of her family since her great-great-great Grandmother Alice Liddell have been committed to asylums.  Yes, Alyssa's three times great Grandmother was the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's books about the twisted world of Wonderland.  But she insisted that it was real.  And since Alyssa has been communicating with bugs and plants for most of her life, she's pretty sure she's going insane too.  Until she discovers that it's all true and she has to travel to Wonderland in order to break the family curse and free her Mom before more drastic measures are taken to 'cure' her.  But Wonderland is not the same as it was before Alice fell down the rabbit hole and Alyssa must fix all her mistakes if she's to ever be sent home again.  She didn't count on her best friend (and secret crush) Jeb getting dragged down into the rabbit hole with her.  And who will she trust with her life - Jeb or Morpheus, her childhood guide thorough Wonderland who has his own selfish and possibly deadly motivations.  When Alyssa uncovers a secret from her family's past that changes everything, can she still save Wonderland without sacrificing who she is?

     I was expecting disappointment when I went into this, even though I was giddy with excitement.  Thankfully it lived up to my expectations, unlike the 2010 Tim Burton film redux.  Everyone should skip that and go with Syfy's Alice miniseries from 2009.  There's a very HOT Hatter in it...but I digress!  The book managed to take a darker spin on Wonderland and still make it relatable and not completely out of context.  It was like coming upon a treasure chest of Gothic jewels.  And they were very well crafted.  It was pure awesomeness having a heroine, who while pretty much crush obsessed, managed to not let it overtake her entire life.  Alyssa was brave, strong, independent and wonderfully snarky.  I liked that she was being tested and (supposedly) had to fix Alice's mistakes to break the curse of madness in her family.  The author managed to make both Morpheus and Jeb both likeable love interests, even though about 80% of the time I wanted to smack one, or both, of them upside the head.  The mystery of all the original characters' true stories, Alyssa's family lineage and the motivations of everyone offering to 'help' her finish her quest make for a truly gripping story.  Some truly creepy scenes had me flipping pages, desperate to find out what happened next.  The ending leaves things open for a sequel, but could also be a fairly satisfying ending which is nice in a world full of never-ending trilogies and quartets.  Highly recommended for anyone looking for an innovative and well crafted tale with romance, adventure, twisted fairy-tale elements and pure surprise.

 

VERDICT:  4.75/5  Stars (I can't go higher because of the loose ending.  I would have liked more definite closure or cliffhanger.  One or the other.)

 

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

It's A Gothic Goose...

Expected Publication: October 16th, 2012

Two and Twenty Dark Tales: Dark Retellings Of Mother Goose Rhymes

By: Nina Berry (Editor), Michelle Zink (Editor)

Month9Books

ISBN-13: 9780985029418

In this anthology, 20 authors explore the dark and hidden meanings behind some of the most beloved Mother Goose nursery rhymes through short story retellings. The dark twists on classic tales range from exploring whether Jack truly fell or if Jill pushed him instead to why Humpty Dumpty, fragile and alone, sat atop so high of a wall. The authors include Nina Berry, Sarwat Chadda, Leigh Fallon, Gretchen McNeil, and Suzanne Young.

Review

     For the most part I really enjoyed this anthology.  All of these authors told very interesting, creepy and highly imaginative stories.  There were a few that confused me, but that was mostly because of the fact that I had never read the original rhymes they were based on and had no springboard because of it.  This review will give a few insights into my opinions of the individual stories.  Beware that as this was an advance copy, some of the stories that will be in the final published version were omitted from this one and therefore I did not review them.  Enjoy!

As Blue as the Sky and Just as Old (Nina Berry):  This was one of the nursery rhymes that I had never heard before, Taffy and the Welshman.  I spent most of this one in a state of complete confusion until things came together at the end.  I'll read the original at some point and re-read this one after.  Hopefully it'll go better.

Sing A Song Of Six-Pence (Sarwat Chadda):  I was very impressed by the story the author built from the original rhyme.  Someone cursed into blackbird form, allusions to Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven, and the royalty involvement were highly unique.  It really chilled me to my bones.

Clockwork (Leah Cypess):  I wondered how she would make a mouse running up a clock interesting and boy was I not disappointed!  The mouse is really a girl who has been transmogrified and there is royal intrigue, murder, witchcraft and the ending made me wish this had been a full-length novel.  But then again I loved Leah Cypess' Mistwood series when I read it.  This was probably my favorite in the anthology by far! :)

Blue (Sayantani DasGupta):  Unlike some of the other reviews I've seen, I felt like this story was one of the best in the anthology.  It was a retelling of Little Boy Blue and I really enjoyed that it focused on a mysterious phantom tattoo artist, who works life stories into people's skin, but is not allowed to ever feel for herself.  The final interaction was truly beautiful and the writing flows like a river.  Not to be missed.

Pieces of Eight (Shannon Delany with Max Scialdone):  This one was another based on a rhyme that I had never heard before and it really suffered from that fact.  I didn't understand half of what was happening and it alternately dragged and moved too fast at different points.  Not one I feel I can fairly judge, but not a favorite for sure.

Wee Willie Winkie (Leigh Fallon):  CREEPY AS HELL.  It is all about a girl who is moved to an Irish village where all the children under sixteen who aren't in bed asleep by a certain time are taken by a mysterious and villainous figure.  She is lying about her age to work in a tavern and the consequences might not be pleasant...  I liked it and you could tell the author got enjoyment from giving readers goosebumps.

Boys and Girls Come Out To Play (Angie Frazier):  One that was unfamiliar to me, but highly decipherable and well-written, which allowed me to enjoy it more than I thought I would.  The whole idea that the witches have their own community and claim a child of the bloodline each year was innovative and fresh.  What happened when the heroine tried to trick them made me cling to the edge of my seat.

I Come Bearing Souls (Jessie Harrell):  This story was based on Hey Diddle Diddle and had the distinction of including Egyptian mythology, with each main character being the incarnation of a deity.  That made it distinguishable from the others, but more disappointing because of how limited the short story forum made it.  I wish that I could read a full novel about something like this.  It would have made it easier to understand.

The Lion and the Unicorn: Part the First (Nancy Holder):  I am extremely PISSED OFF.  I loved the historical influence in this story, it was well-paced and written interestingly.  It reminded me of Robin McKinley and Tamora Pierce.  I was however un-amused when the second part of the story that was supposed to be in this anthology was left out of my ARC.  I am very displeased with the publisher about this.  I do love that it showcased the twisted proclivities of royalty of yore though, very nice touch.

Life in a Shoe (Heidi R. Kling):  Based on Old Woman who lived in a shoe and the idea that she lives in a dystopian world where birth control is illegal and she has a deadbeat husband who only comes home for sex.  The daughter is about to be forced to marry and the Mother is yet again pregnant (even though they are in abject poverty and can't afford the kids they have).  So the oldest kids take matters into their own hands.

Candlelight (Suzanne Lazear):  I knew of this rhyme from the book Stardust by Neil Gaiman and was always intrigued by the idea of traveling by candlelight.  It gave the idea that you wished upon the candle (as a kid) and were transported to a world without parents and restrictions).  It really reinforced the idea that once you leave, you can't go home again.  Even if you realize how melodramatic, ungrateful and wrong you were.

One for Sorrow (Karen Mahoney):  I was new to this rhyme and found the idea of a reverse Beauty and the Beast story very cliched.  I rolled my eyes through most of it and was glad when it was over.  If you have more romantic tendencies it might be more your speed.  Not for me personally, at all.

Little Miss Muffet (Georgia McBride):  Little Miss Muffet as being half-spider and unable to be human all the time until her Mom sacrificed herself and became a spider for good.  Muffet has a very selfish sister, but even so I was sort of gagging when she met the end she did.  Hugely imaginative but not for those without strong stomachs.

Sea of Dew (C. Lee Mckenzie):  I liked this one, even though it was really bleak.  It painted a story about teens in a lifeboat following a shipwreck, who die off one by one.  It was very sad, but the ending (although slightly cheesy) fits the dreamlike quality of the rest of the story.

Tick Tock (Gretchen McNeil):  This story reminded me of everything that I like about slasher flicks, R.L. Stine books and gratuitous violence as an American young-adult.  Delightfully stereotypical in the best way, with the babysitter meeting a bad end in an inventive way.

The Well (K.M. Walton):  
Based off the rhyme Jack and Jill and it definitely took them to the dark side of sibling rivalry.  Jack and Jill hate each other because he is the favorite and a smarmy brat.  Also, they each want something the other has and as the last two people in the world there is one sure way to get it: murder.  Very in-depth characters for such a short story.  Loved it! :)

The Wish (Suzanne Young):  I disliked the insta-love trend that this one followed, but I'm not much of a fan of Young's full-length novels either.  The idea of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star being interpreted as "Be careful what you wish for" was a good one though.  And I liked that the identity of the boy she fell for was horrifying for her at first, as it should be.

A Ribbon of Blue (Michelle Zink):  It was about a girl with a sick Grandma, cerebral palsy and a mysterious fortune shadowing her that at the fair she would find light, peace and love.  But first she would be given a whistle, a ticket and a blue ribbon.  Very bittersweet, but the ending made me smile.

OVERALL VERDICT:  3.75/5  Stars

HIGHLIGHTS:  Clockwork, Blue, Life in a Shoe, A Ribbon of Blue, The Well, and Sea of Dew.

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is October 16th, 2012.*

Into The Woods, Toward the Creepy Ice Palace

Published: Spetember 27th, 2011
Breadcrumbs
Written By: Anne Ursu, Illustrations by: Erin Mcguire
HarperCollinsPublishers / Walden Pond Press
ISBN-13: 9780062015051


Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. They had been best friends since they were six, spending hot Minneapolis summers and cold Minneapolis winters together, dreaming of Hogwarts and Oz, superheroes and baseball. Now that they were eleven, it was weird for a boy and a girl to be best friends. But they couldn't help it - Hazel and Jack fit, in that way you only read about in books. And they didn't fit anywhere else.

And then, one day, it was over. Jack just stopped talking to Hazel. And while her mom tried to tell her that this sometimes happens to boys and girls at this age, Hazel had read enough stories to know that it's never that simple. And it turns out, she was right. Jack's heart had been frozen, and he was taken into the woods by a woman dressed in white to live in a palace made of ice. Now, it's up to Hazel to venture into the woods after him. Hazel finds, however, that these woods are nothing like what she's read about, and the Jack that Hazel went in to save isn't the same Jack that will emerge. Or even the same Hazel.

Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," Breadcrumbs is a story of the struggle to hold on, and the things we leave behind.

Review

   Hazel's life is not what it used to be.  She used to go to a liberal private school where the students calle teachers by their first names, her parents were happily married and she had a great best friend named Jack.  Now Hazel's parents are getting divorced, her Dad has seemingly no interest in her at all, she's stuck in public school where all the kids hate her and they don't have money for ballet lessons that Hazel wants.  The one thing she really has left is her friendship with Jack.  Together they imagine fantasctic worlds filled with magic, dragons, knights, superheroes and villains.  One day at school a piece of glass from a magic mirror (broken by a crazy imp) gets into Jack's eye.  It magnifies all that's wrong with the world and begins to destroy his friendship with Hazel.  Then a woman who is a lot like The Snow Queen from the fairy tale convinces Jack to return with her to a Palace of Ice, that's far away.  Hazel knows something is wrong with Jack, but everyone around her tries to tell her that he decided girls and boys just couldn't be friends.  When she finds out what really happened, Hazel will embark on an odyssey through strange, dangerous and magical lands to retrieve Jack from the icy, numb world he's trapped in.  Will Hazel make it to Jack or will she fall to harm by the evil surrounding her?  And will she be able to rescue Jack from the cynical view of the mirror once she reaches him?  More of a middle-school age kid or children's book, this was still compelling stuff.  I read most of it in one sitting, because even though I felt detached from the characters themselvers the plot never stagnated.  It kept moving in a way that was interesting and the illustrations were not overused, complementing the written words.  The illustrator of this book has a supreme talent, but some may not like her cartoonish style of drawing (I loved it personally).  The way the original tale of "The Snow Queen" was woven into the plot worked very well.  A couple other fairy tales were alluded to as well, most obviously "The Little Match Girl."  I loved the way Hazel took charge of changing the girl's destiny herself.  This was a good book but fell short for me, most likely because of my age and more mature perspective.  A lot of children under the age of 13 will fall head over heels for this one.  As for adults, it's worth the read.

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

* No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*

At The Beginning With You...

Published: August 9th, 2011

Juliet Immortal
By: 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.*