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krystlocity's review
4.0
Review from 2006:
Alrighty, another YA GSA book. But! This one I really liked. :) It still wasn't *amazing*, but I did really enjoy it and it kept me reading it very swiftly (and, it is a really short book to begin with.)
It's about Rob, a boy that plays the role of a girl in one of Shakespeare's play's to get the full effect or whatever. When he does, he realizes he likes dressing like a girl, etc.
For it's genre, I'd give it 4 stars I think. And the "about the author" section is great-if you get the chance to read the book, make sure you don't miss that part. :p
Alrighty, another YA GSA book. But! This one I really liked. :) It still wasn't *amazing*, but I did really enjoy it and it kept me reading it very swiftly (and, it is a really short book to begin with.)
It's about Rob, a boy that plays the role of a girl in one of Shakespeare's play's to get the full effect or whatever. When he does, he realizes he likes dressing like a girl, etc.
For it's genre, I'd give it 4 stars I think. And the "about the author" section is great-if you get the chance to read the book, make sure you don't miss that part. :p
infogdss29's review
3.0
This British novel about gender and sexuality is cleverly staged around Shakespeare's gender-bending play As You Like It. When Robert is assigned the role of Rosalind in a class reading of the play, he is surprised to discover he not only enjoys dressing as girl, but that his crush Milena seems to like it too. As Robert struggles to wrap his mind around the idea that his preconceived notions of boys and girls no longer fit into little boxes, he raises more questions than answers, Milena agrees to a date, and his best mate Kev gets homophobic on him. A party invitation instructing attendees to dress as the opposite sex brings about a predictable climax.
In spite of knowing how the story will end, the author makes the journey there half the fun, keeping the serious story light and mixing in quotes from Shakespeare with true-to-life characters and issues. The underlying themes that we are all a mix of feminine and masculine, that we should be accepting of ourselves and one another, that there is no such thing as normal and that it is possible to surpass labels and just be are all positive ideas that teens -- and possibly our politicians -- need to have reinforced, not just in their literature, but in the world around them. Not as fluffy as David Levithan's Boy Meets Boy (Knopf, 2003) or as serious as a Nancy Garden novel, The Flip Side would make a fantastic title for book discussion.
In spite of knowing how the story will end, the author makes the journey there half the fun, keeping the serious story light and mixing in quotes from Shakespeare with true-to-life characters and issues. The underlying themes that we are all a mix of feminine and masculine, that we should be accepting of ourselves and one another, that there is no such thing as normal and that it is possible to surpass labels and just be are all positive ideas that teens -- and possibly our politicians -- need to have reinforced, not just in their literature, but in the world around them. Not as fluffy as David Levithan's Boy Meets Boy (Knopf, 2003) or as serious as a Nancy Garden novel, The Flip Side would make a fantastic title for book discussion.
line_so_fine's review
3.0
Robert, who is straight, is asked to play a female role in a Shakespeare class at school and discovers that he enjoys cross-dressing. He confides in Milena, who plays the male part opposite him in the play, and she is understanding. They discover much about themselves in this sweet story that treats the subject matter in a positive, non-angsty way.