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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
When Mattie starts helping with her eight grade play of Romeo and Juliet she's really just doing it to spend time with her best friends Tessa and Lucy. She doesn't expect to end up replacing Romeo when the boy playing him drops out. She also doesn't expect to be so smitten with Gemma the lovely girl playing Juliet, she's always had crushes on boys before so she doesn't understand why she's feeling that way about Gemma. But with the the help of her friends, some good sisterly-advice, and some Shakespeare it might all just work out.
I love books where Shakespeare is involved, and this book was so perfectly middle school. There's a mean-girl, and best friends and unsure feelings and awkwardness all around. This endearing book handles the topic so well and is just such a joy to read. 10/10 would recommend.
I love books where Shakespeare is involved, and this book was so perfectly middle school. There's a mean-girl, and best friends and unsure feelings and awkwardness all around. This endearing book handles the topic so well and is just such a joy to read. 10/10 would recommend.
Look. I didn't want to relive middle school, and the Romeo and Juliet retelling is SO on the nose (yeah it's middle grade but it could've been a LITTLE subtler) but I'm not sure if I've read a better portrayal of what it's like to be a young teenager and have an all-consuming crush since my Meg Cabot days. Adorable.
Super sweet story about an 8th grade girls crush on a girl she is in a play with. Great characters and breezy plot. Super cute
Great MG book about a female character that struggles with what her sexuality is. Barbara Dee does an excellent job of channeling the middle school voice. Cute story with great Shakespeare parallels!
This was super cute, and filled with great moments of understanding. It was how the world should be, and it was extremely pleasant to read. This is definitely a book I'll be hanging onto so my kids can read it one day.
Update: 2022 reread
This book is so genius. It’s really dawning on me now that I’m taking a research seminar on global adaptations of Shakespeare how difficult it is to adapt Shakespeare effectively for kids and Barbara Dee really did that.
2018 read:
3.75/5
Very cute, and the Shakespeare tie-ins were kind of brilliant. I adored how they were performing Romeo and Juliet, but the plot of the novel was also an arc of the Romeo and Juliet storyline, but modernized and set in middle school. Several times, I was like, my English teacher (a Shakespeare fanatic) would LOVE this.
The characters were likable. Mattie was very well-developed, and honestly, was super relatable for me. I felt like Lucy fell flat a bit, but Tessa was wonderful and faceted. Gemma was cute, but I wish she had been developed a bit more. I actually really liked the character of Liam!! I appreciated that there was more to him than initially meets the eye.
Mattie’s bisexuality was portrayed in a very realistic way. The experience of crushing on a girl for the first time was written so well.
But unfortunately I didn’t find myself rooting for Mattie and Gemma as much as I wanted to. I didn’t dislike them or anything. Just didn’t feel the chemistry.
I felt like there were a lot of plot lines that could’ve been explored. For example, I think Barbara Dee intended to make Elijah gay, but then those little hints are thrown out about halfway through the book. And Mattie and Gemma’s ending was EXTREMELY anticlimactic for me.
On the plus side, Barbara Dee’s writing was very funny and kind of obsessively readable. She also got middle school voice almost perfectly. And of course, it’s FANTASTIC to have bi rep, especially in middle grade, where it barely exists.
If you’re thinking about picking Star-Crossed up, I’d give it a shot. It’s not perfect, but you’ll be able to spend some time with a couple of very enjoyable characters, read a great portrayal of bisexuality, and explore a really really cool Romeo and Juliet adaptation.
This book is so genius. It’s really dawning on me now that I’m taking a research seminar on global adaptations of Shakespeare how difficult it is to adapt Shakespeare effectively for kids and Barbara Dee really did that.
2018 read:
3.75/5
Very cute, and the Shakespeare tie-ins were kind of brilliant. I adored how they were performing Romeo and Juliet, but the plot of the novel was also an arc of the Romeo and Juliet storyline, but modernized and set in middle school. Several times, I was like, my English teacher (a Shakespeare fanatic) would LOVE this.
The characters were likable. Mattie was very well-developed, and honestly, was super relatable for me. I felt like Lucy fell flat a bit, but Tessa was wonderful and faceted. Gemma was cute, but I wish she had been developed a bit more. I actually really liked the character of Liam!! I appreciated that there was more to him than initially meets the eye.
Mattie’s bisexuality was portrayed in a very realistic way. The experience of crushing on a girl for the first time was written so well.
But unfortunately I didn’t find myself rooting for Mattie and Gemma as much as I wanted to. I didn’t dislike them or anything. Just didn’t feel the chemistry.
I felt like there were a lot of plot lines that could’ve been explored. For example, I think Barbara Dee intended to make Elijah gay, but then those little hints are thrown out about halfway through the book. And Mattie and Gemma’s ending was EXTREMELY anticlimactic for me.
On the plus side, Barbara Dee’s writing was very funny and kind of obsessively readable. She also got middle school voice almost perfectly. And of course, it’s FANTASTIC to have bi rep, especially in middle grade, where it barely exists.
If you’re thinking about picking Star-Crossed up, I’d give it a shot. It’s not perfect, but you’ll be able to spend some time with a couple of very enjoyable characters, read a great portrayal of bisexuality, and explore a really really cool Romeo and Juliet adaptation.
Mattie is a bookworm, so she's very excited when her teacher chooses "Romeo and Juliet" as the play her grade will perform for the school. Through various mishaps Mattie ends up being cast as Romeo, starring alongside the very popular Gemma who is playing Juliet. Mattie is pretty sure she likes Gemma, really likes her, and is nervous about telling Gemma, her friends, and her family. Also, she has to KISS Gemma during the play!
This book is adorably sweet, as is appropriate for a middle grade / tween book. I have read a handful of books for this age group featuring LGBT parents, and a few books featuring transgender characters, but this is the first book I've read featuring a female tween character who is not heterosexual. I didn't call her a lesbian because Mattie states that she may still be attracted to boys; she's not sure yet. It's possible that future Mattie may define herself as lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, or something else entirely. As a tween book, though, it's more than fine that Mattie isn't sure what to call herself yet. And although Mattie definitely has a crush on Gemma, that's as far as it goes. They have to kiss during the play, and there are some friendly hugs exchanged, but this book is squeaky clean. Highly recommended.
Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: minor bullying
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars
Read-Alikes: [b:Better Nate Than Ever|13414183|Better Nate Than Ever (Better Nate Than Ever #1)|Tim Federle|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1391970255s/13414183.jpg|18707527], [b:The Wednesday Wars|556136|The Wednesday Wars|Gary D. Schmidt|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442044636s/556136.jpg|2586820], [b:The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher|18769869|The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher (Family Fletcher, #1)|Dana Alison Levy|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1391311284s/18769869.jpg|26668105]
This book is adorably sweet, as is appropriate for a middle grade / tween book. I have read a handful of books for this age group featuring LGBT parents, and a few books featuring transgender characters, but this is the first book I've read featuring a female tween character who is not heterosexual. I didn't call her a lesbian because Mattie states that she may still be attracted to boys; she's not sure yet. It's possible that future Mattie may define herself as lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, or something else entirely. As a tween book, though, it's more than fine that Mattie isn't sure what to call herself yet. And although Mattie definitely has a crush on Gemma, that's as far as it goes. They have to kiss during the play, and there are some friendly hugs exchanged, but this book is squeaky clean. Highly recommended.
Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: minor bullying
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars
Read-Alikes: [b:Better Nate Than Ever|13414183|Better Nate Than Ever (Better Nate Than Ever #1)|Tim Federle|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1391970255s/13414183.jpg|18707527], [b:The Wednesday Wars|556136|The Wednesday Wars|Gary D. Schmidt|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442044636s/556136.jpg|2586820], [b:The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher|18769869|The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher (Family Fletcher, #1)|Dana Alison Levy|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1391311284s/18769869.jpg|26668105]
Finally had a chance to sit down and read this book, and I absolutley freaking loved it, and think everyone should read it! It's totally adorable and a super fast read. I love how it focuses more on the unsure about the crush thing, because EVERYONE at one point went through it! I also like that each character somehow resembled the characters they were in the play, thought it was pretty clever.
This kind of representation matters. It's a sweet story about a great female protagonist who falls for the new girl in school. She also has amazing, wonderful, supportive female friends. It's also about Shakespeare, so bonus. Sure there are some parts that are a bit unrealistic but it's nice to have a hopeful LGBTQ+ story for middle graders.