Romeo v Juliet by RA Spratt

"Pauline Lee has fractured her spine ... which is very sad for her ... but good news for you. Because now you get to play Juliet! ... You're the understudy ... you'll have to step in and perform."

Selby has not been listening in rehearsals, she has not read the play and she is terrified of any sort of performance. 

"To Selby's mind, nothing about Romeo and Juliet was romantic. She preferred the romance plots on soap operas, where problems didn't involve violent street gangs, controlling parents and interfering church officials. Soap opera characters had real problems - like your identical twin sister turning up and accidentally making your fiancé fall in love with her. ... Shakespeare could have learned a lot from watching The Bold and the Beautiful - mainly to have more fun and less stabbings."

Selby finds herself back in the real scene 

Here is what Selby thinks about Romeo:

"Romeo totally lived up to the hype. He was by every measure really, really good-looking. He radiated wealth and charm and athleticism, but not in an obnoxious way. He had the natural grace of someone who had been physically and financially blessed every day of his life. He made Selby think of an apex predator. He was an apex romantic hero. THE apex romantic hero."

And Juliet:

"She was beautiful. Like an angel. Her skin was flawless, her dark hair cascaded down her shoulders in shining waves and her face was stunning. ... Her expression spoke of sweetness, which made her seem young for her age."

And Selby:

"Jane Austen did nothing her whole life. She sat in drawing rooms. She never went anywhere, she never worked, she never travelled. And she created seven books that are among the most loved novels ever written.' 'Are you planning to write seven great novels?' asked Mrs Karim. 'No, I can't spell or do grammar,' said Selby. I'm just saying don't underestimate the importance of people who sit quietly in the corner doing nothing. Observers are important too."

And plot points of Romeo and Juliet - comments by Selby:

"Selby couldn't believe things were moving so quickly. 'Marriage? How has this escalated to marriage already ... they only met an hour ago ... first look to first kiss to marriage proposal in an hour is ridiculous."

"she is not the sun, the moon or a star. She is a regular girl who just happens to be beautiful. It is unfair to idealise who she is just because he judges her appearance to be ideal. It sets her up for failure. She can't live up to unrealistic worship. She isn't a goddess. She is a girl."

I explained to Rachel at Gleebooks kids that I am not really a fan of timeslip stories but she convinced me that I would really enjoy Romeo v Juliet and she was RIGHT even though yes this is a timeslip story and also it is slightly above my usual focus because I think this book will better suite a Young Adult audience of readers aged 12+ especially IF they are studying the famous play in their high school English class.

There are parts of this clever story that made me laugh out loud. RA Spratt is able to weave in lines from Shakespeare with a cheeky modern commentary from Selby. Her teacher has decided (rightly) that the best way for these modern teenagers to appreciate this famous play is to perform it. Selby has no intention of performing so she signs up to help with the scenery and props. Her teacher tells Selby she must also be the understudy for the main role of Juliet but Selby knows there is no way, no way ever, that Pauline would give up this role. Then Pauline is in an accident which you know from my text quote at the beginning of this post. 

Publisher blurb: Selby does not want to be in the school play. She is much happier behind the scenes painting sets – anything to avoid standing on stage in front of an audience, performing for disinterested classmates and overenthusiastic parents. So Selby did not plan on landing the lead role of Juliet . . . and she certainly never planned to land in Verona and meet Juliet in person. With chaos, wit and R.A. Spratt wisdom, if those who rush stumble and fall, Romeo and Juliet are about to crash-land into a modern-day town!

If you are a high school teacher and Romeo and Juliet is part of your class study, you MUST buy this book and share it with your students. It is simply perfect. And even readers with little or no knowledge of the actual play are sure to enjoy the banter, rapid fire scenes and modern commentary delivered by t the very feisty Selby. 

R.A. Spratt’s creative licence with what she allows Selby to do to the plays is amusing and a lot of fun. It makes Shakespeare engaging, makes it relatable and is a great way to show readers and kids who read this how retellings can work. It’s a clever way to make to plays accessible, and can be used as a good introduction to them. Seeing it play out simply like this helps understand the original, and all with R.A. Spratt’s trademark humour that makes her books shine and garners her lots of fans. The Book Muse

As characters move back and forth between past and present worlds, we laugh out loud when they misconstrue events. However, Selby and her classmates analyse the play with more modern sensibilities including the feminist perspective. Read Plus

Romeo v Juliet follows on from a previous Shakespeare book from RA Spratt:

Here is the Kirkus review - many of the points in this review also apply to Romeo v Juliet

Here are two other timeslips book featuring Shakespeare:

King of Shadows