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A review by jenny_librarian
Romeo for Real by Markus Harwood-Jones
4.0
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger warning: homomisia, bimisia, transmisia, violence
4.5 ⭐️
"Please note that this is a hi/lo title intended for reluctant and struggling readers. As such it is fast-paced, short, and uses high interest content with simple vocabulary to keep these readers engaged."
This is the note that was at the end of the summary for this book on NetGalley. I am putting it here because all the bad reviews I saw make no sense when you read that sentence. Yes, it is a fast-paced book with very little character development, because reluctant and struggling readers don't want a 300-pages book that moves slowly and spends a lot of time on each character. They want something that keeps them entertained because they aren't able or don't want to read 5-pages long descriptions.
That being said, this book had the perfect amount of fluff and realism. The boys were absolutely adorable together and I think it's good they had Julian out and proud while Romeo was struggling to come to terms with his sexuality. All through the book, you could see the silver lining at the end, the "it gets better".
It's not a Romeo & Juliet retelling per se, because their families don't even know each other. The author mainly took the "not able to be together" aspect and added a bit of queermisia (homomisia, bimisia, transmisia, etc.) in terms of hate. Don't go in expecting anything like the Shakespeare story apart from the names.
I loved that there was so much positivity for the whole LGBT+ spectrum. when Lyla tells Romeo he "might be bi, pan, ace, or queer. Or something else altogether!", my heart soared. Queer positivity above the usual gay/straight/bi boxes! What's not to like? Very little, actually.
What's not to like are the simple mistakes Romeo makes that can appear rude, when not downright homomisic. Of course, we can blame it on his upbringing, jerks of friends and very conservative parents. Some phrases like "my safe, normal, straight neighbourhood" and "Sami was... strange" and (the worst, in my opinion) "it wasn't a woman. Or even a man. It was a person" are offensive even when you consider where he's coming from. At least, though, he learns. And he's very open-minded. He quickly starts to use queer vocabulary and question what he thought he knew (like Lawrence being gay, but since his partner got pregnant, he could be bisexual, or his partner could be trans).
This is the kind of book I would recommend for people (especially gay folks who identify as men) who are struggling with their sexuality and aren't sure about coming out. Romeo's story isn't easy, and the last 20% of the book can be hard to read because he is a victim of hate, but the silver lining is there. And a lot of characters are actually queer positive and are happy for him. It's a cute, fluffy book about an important subject, a kind I which we had more of.
Trigger warning: homomisia, bimisia, transmisia, violence
4.5 ⭐️
"Please note that this is a hi/lo title intended for reluctant and struggling readers. As such it is fast-paced, short, and uses high interest content with simple vocabulary to keep these readers engaged."
This is the note that was at the end of the summary for this book on NetGalley. I am putting it here because all the bad reviews I saw make no sense when you read that sentence. Yes, it is a fast-paced book with very little character development, because reluctant and struggling readers don't want a 300-pages book that moves slowly and spends a lot of time on each character. They want something that keeps them entertained because they aren't able or don't want to read 5-pages long descriptions.
That being said, this book had the perfect amount of fluff and realism. The boys were absolutely adorable together and I think it's good they had Julian out and proud while Romeo was struggling to come to terms with his sexuality. All through the book, you could see the silver lining at the end, the "it gets better".
It's not a Romeo & Juliet retelling per se, because their families don't even know each other. The author mainly took the "not able to be together" aspect and added a bit of queermisia (homomisia, bimisia, transmisia, etc.) in terms of hate. Don't go in expecting anything like the Shakespeare story apart from the names.
I loved that there was so much positivity for the whole LGBT+ spectrum. when Lyla tells Romeo he "might be bi, pan, ace, or queer. Or something else altogether!", my heart soared. Queer positivity above the usual gay/straight/bi boxes! What's not to like? Very little, actually.
What's not to like are the simple mistakes Romeo makes that can appear rude, when not downright homomisic. Of course, we can blame it on his upbringing, jerks of friends and very conservative parents. Some phrases like "my safe, normal, straight neighbourhood" and "Sami was... strange" and (the worst, in my opinion) "it wasn't a woman. Or even a man. It was a person" are offensive even when you consider where he's coming from. At least, though, he learns. And he's very open-minded. He quickly starts to use queer vocabulary and question what he thought he knew (like Lawrence being gay, but since his partner got pregnant, he could be bisexual, or his partner could be trans).
This is the kind of book I would recommend for people (especially gay folks who identify as men) who are struggling with their sexuality and aren't sure about coming out. Romeo's story isn't easy, and the last 20% of the book can be hard to read because he is a victim of hate, but the silver lining is there. And a lot of characters are actually queer positive and are happy for him. It's a cute, fluffy book about an important subject, a kind I which we had more of.