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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
To be honest some of the things Mr. Torres said made me uncomfortable. There were some racial remarks in the beginning and some remarks towards the end of the play that also made me uncomfortable. Otherwise it was an okay story.
This was SO adorable. It captured the feelings of middle school and all the friend drama and young crushes that come along with it so perfectly, I was grinning like an idiot the entire time. It really is special, and I feel SO happy for all of the kids who will come across this book and find a little piece of themselves in it. I can't even imagine what this would have done for me as a young reader had it been released 10+ years ago.
Well, that was utterly adorable and just beautifully done. I was skeptical because the author identifies as straight, and there is just so *little* out there in terms of girl-crushing romcoms that I worried it wouldn't work. But it really, really did. The social pieces were great, especially the ways that the friends supported each other (but got stressed and hurt about secrets), and the ways that the interpersonal backstabby-drama wasn't life or death but felt like it a little. It didn't feel didactic or clunky at all. The balance of not-totally-depressing-vs-not-totally-utopian was perfectly done, I thought. It managed to be realistic and gentle and uplifting and message-y without ever falling into the manipulative emotional space of MG books like Wonder. Even the Shakespeare, while a little gimmicky, didn't feel pretentious or overly literary (this definitely wasn't trying to be The Wednesday Wars).
Other details that really worked for me - the sister and the mom! Like, of course that's how her sister reacted. ("Have you ever kissed a boy?" "No." "Too bad. Because kissing a girl works the same way." AWWWWWWW!) And of course Mattie's perspective on her mom's relationship with her much-older sister (and even herself) was skewed and incomplete. Delicately and sweetly done.
I'd recommend for your Smile and Drama readers, especially girls. I remember when Drama came out and there were a lot of convos about how gentle it was, did it have any appeal for teen readers, and a number of people pointed out that as ninth graders, they had been really *young*, and Drama was the perfect tone for them. Star-Crossed has a similar feel, and I can think of a whole, whole lot of tweens to rec this to. It gave me a happy afternoon and a satisfied book sigh.
Other details that really worked for me - the sister and the mom! Like, of course that's how her sister reacted. ("Have you ever kissed a boy?" "No." "Too bad. Because kissing a girl works the same way." AWWWWWWW!) And of course Mattie's perspective on her mom's relationship with her much-older sister (and even herself) was skewed and incomplete. Delicately and sweetly done.
I'd recommend for your Smile and Drama readers, especially girls. I remember when Drama came out and there were a lot of convos about how gentle it was, did it have any appeal for teen readers, and a number of people pointed out that as ninth graders, they had been really *young*, and Drama was the perfect tone for them. Star-Crossed has a similar feel, and I can think of a whole, whole lot of tweens to rec this to. It gave me a happy afternoon and a satisfied book sigh.
I adored this book!!! I thought it blended being an awkward teenager with Shakespeare perfectly, in addition to being a fun story about dealing with friendships, enemies, and crushes. A romance at its heart, I loved how Star-Crossed portrayed a girl confused about her feelings for another girl and slowly trusting her best friends with those feelings. She doesn't even really put a label on it or say she's gay, she's just a teen trying to figure things out. And for those teens that are going through the same stuff, I'm so happy for every story like this that they get to see themselves in and relate to.
I did feel like for 8th graders, these kids read more like 6th/7th graders.
I did feel like for 8th graders, these kids read more like 6th/7th graders.
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
An amazingly sweet book that is about and for middle schoolers and younger and which centers on gay crushes and love but also on preserving friendships, understanding and empathizing with others, and getting over fears of social alienation in order to express what you want.
Everyone who read Romeo and Juliet in ninth grade or has seen West Side Story or the Leonardo DiCaprio film knows that Romeo meets Juliet for the first time at a costume ball thrown by his enemy. Similarly, this book features a scene where Mattie meets Gemma (or rather really sees her for the first time) while she is gate crashing a Halloween party that her middle school rival has explicitly not invited her to. She’s dressed like Darth Vader, and she and Gemma hang out in the kitchen for a while alone. They don’t kiss—it is middle school—but there’s a feeling of flirtation before Mattie is discovered.
While the parallels to the original Shakespeare are raised, they aren’t carried too far. Mattie’s Rosamund is her would-be crush on Elijah, a nerdy, oblivious boy from her class that she feels she has to have a crush on because they’re so similar. As the story goes on, she realizes that what she feels for Elijah was never really a great crush anyway. It happens realistically and is a non obtrusive teachable moment for young gay or lesbian or bisexual readers—or just young people who aren’t into anyone- who can be thus introduced to the idea that they may feel obligated to express heterosexual desire when they don’t really feel it.
As the story goes on, there are fewer parallels to Shakespeare and there is more development of the central romantic tension (and anxiety about it) from the main two girls. As it turns out, Gemma and Mattie don’t face insurmountable obstacles to expressing their love (which I was relieved by) and there is a satisfyingly middle-grade happy ending.
My favorite minor arc is the one where Mattie tries to mentor the kid who plays Romeo in the school play initially, who can’t learn his lines and cares more about hockey than the play their grade is putting on. Ultimately Mattie learns to respect Liam even as she despairs over his ability to act—he is smart and observant and just can’t get into the text or relate to it. Rather than implying that he’s stupid, the book allows that different people may just have different interests.
I like the characters and the way this story encourages kids to talk to their friends and to empathize with others as well as following their hearts. It isn’t sugary, but it’s a solid fuzzy feeling of a book.
Everyone who read Romeo and Juliet in ninth grade or has seen West Side Story or the Leonardo DiCaprio film knows that Romeo meets Juliet for the first time at a costume ball thrown by his enemy. Similarly, this book features a scene where Mattie meets Gemma (or rather really sees her for the first time) while she is gate crashing a Halloween party that her middle school rival has explicitly not invited her to. She’s dressed like Darth Vader, and she and Gemma hang out in the kitchen for a while alone. They don’t kiss—it is middle school—but there’s a feeling of flirtation before Mattie is discovered.
While the parallels to the original Shakespeare are raised, they aren’t carried too far. Mattie’s Rosamund is her would-be crush on Elijah, a nerdy, oblivious boy from her class that she feels she has to have a crush on because they’re so similar. As the story goes on, she realizes that what she feels for Elijah was never really a great crush anyway. It happens realistically and is a non obtrusive teachable moment for young gay or lesbian or bisexual readers—or just young people who aren’t into anyone- who can be thus introduced to the idea that they may feel obligated to express heterosexual desire when they don’t really feel it.
As the story goes on, there are fewer parallels to Shakespeare and there is more development of the central romantic tension (and anxiety about it) from the main two girls. As it turns out, Gemma and Mattie don’t face insurmountable obstacles to expressing their love (which I was relieved by) and there is a satisfyingly middle-grade happy ending.
My favorite minor arc is the one where Mattie tries to mentor the kid who plays Romeo in the school play initially, who can’t learn his lines and cares more about hockey than the play their grade is putting on. Ultimately Mattie learns to respect Liam even as she despairs over his ability to act—he is smart and observant and just can’t get into the text or relate to it. Rather than implying that he’s stupid, the book allows that different people may just have different interests.
I like the characters and the way this story encourages kids to talk to their friends and to empathize with others as well as following their hearts. It isn’t sugary, but it’s a solid fuzzy feeling of a book.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes