Inspired by Romeo and Juliet and narrated by high school senior Rosaline Caplet, this emotionally authentic debut novel about a fragile first love keeps the pages turning.
Cousins Rose and Juliet Caplet, along with neighbor Rob Monteg, were inseparable as children. But 10 years ago, a rift developed between Rose's father, who aspired to be a senator, and Juliet's father, who did become a senator. Rose recalls a Christmas visit that ended in a horrifying-to-a-seven-year-old scene in which Juliet snapped off the head of Rose's brand-new Barbie doll. Now Juliet is back in town for Rose's senior year, and ups the stakes: she sets her sights on Rose's newly minted romance with Rob.
Serle gets the nuances just right. The optimism of new love, the concerned friends after Rose's heartbreak and the dynamics of a triangle--not just the love triangle between Rose, Rob and Juliet, but also the triangle of female best friends Charlie the leader, Olivia the stunning beauty and Rose. Rob's quick turnabout calls to mind Friar Laurence's lines in Shakespeare: "Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear,/ So soon forsaken? Young men's love then lies/ Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes." All teens can appreciate the awkwardness and anxiety of risking a best friendship to try out romance. So when Rosie finally takes the plunge, only to have Juliet show up and quash it, it feels doubly cruel. Readers will also sense a more than platonic interest in Rose from offbeat Len, who delivers some of the novel's pearls of wisdom: "Sometimes the hardest part about letting someone go is realizing you were never meant to have them," he tells Rose.
With Serle's credible dialogue and snappy pace, no previous experience with the classic is required to thoroughly enjoy this contemporary novel. Readers may know the outcome from Shakespeare, but the real drama here plays out as the evolution of Rosaline's thinking. --Jennifer M. Brown
Shelf Talker: In this modern take on Romeo and Juliet, Rose weighs a dear friendship against the possibility of romance.