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seemeghanread 's review for:
Star-Crossed
by Barbara Dee
POPSUGAR 2018 READING CHALLENGE: A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist
This is a really cute middle grade retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Not only is this a loose retelling of the famous tragedy, but the plot also focuses on an eighth-grade production of the play, with each of the book’s characters cast as their own counterpart, for the most part.
Our Romeo is 12-year-old Mattie, who has just recently gotten over her crush on Elijah (our Rosaline, if you will), and is discovering slowly that she has a crush on Gemma, the pretty new student from the UK, and our Juliet. Unfortunately, Gemma is friends with Willow (our Tybalt), who doesn’t like Mattie at all. But Mattie has two great friends to help her navigate this new crush: sweet, perceptive Lucy (Benvolio) and boisterous Tessa (Mercutio). Gemma is cast as Juliet, and when the original actor for Romeo drops out, Mattie is the only one who can step in.
I think the portrayal of Mattie navigating her first crush on a girl was done so well! I love that books featuring two girls dancing on the cover can now be found in the middle grade section of a bookstore! This is so important for children everywhere! Books like this are going to make future generations so much more understanding and inclusive. When I was in grade 8 people were still saying “That’s so gay!” all the time. Books like this give me hope that things can and will improve.
This is a really cute middle grade retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Not only is this a loose retelling of the famous tragedy, but the plot also focuses on an eighth-grade production of the play, with each of the book’s characters cast as their own counterpart, for the most part.
Our Romeo is 12-year-old Mattie, who has just recently gotten over her crush on Elijah (our Rosaline, if you will), and is discovering slowly that she has a crush on Gemma, the pretty new student from the UK, and our Juliet. Unfortunately, Gemma is friends with Willow (our Tybalt), who doesn’t like Mattie at all. But Mattie has two great friends to help her navigate this new crush: sweet, perceptive Lucy (Benvolio) and boisterous Tessa (Mercutio). Gemma is cast as Juliet, and when the original actor for Romeo drops out, Mattie is the only one who can step in.
I think the portrayal of Mattie navigating her first crush on a girl was done so well! I love that books featuring two girls dancing on the cover can now be found in the middle grade section of a bookstore! This is so important for children everywhere! Books like this are going to make future generations so much more understanding and inclusive. When I was in grade 8 people were still saying “That’s so gay!” all the time. Books like this give me hope that things can and will improve.