The Juliet Club

Since Hurricane Gustav decided to ruin my week, I had time to catch up on some reading. I will admit the cover artwork and title of the book enticed me to read it. I'm not much for reading, but this book was a delight. The romance was just so easy going and beautiful for teenage love. I would recommend this book to any young girl first experiencing Shakespeare or young love.

I have become a big fan of Shakespeare spin-offs/interpretations, ranging from ones that take place during his time (like Ophelia by Lisa Klein) to ones that take place now (like Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors). This adds to the collection. Kate Sanderson is a smart girl who learns from her mistakes. After being dumped by her boyfriend for another girl, she vows never to fall in love again. Kate then finds out that she has been accepted into a summer course in Verona, Italy, where Romeo and Juliet took place. Kate is excited: she will eat, study, and see the awesome sights. Her friend Sarah though thinks something else will happen though: she will fall in love. There is a whole cast of characters at the course: Tom, the average soccer playing California boy who maybe isn't so much into Shakespeare as he seems; Lucy, the beautiful, kind, and polite Southern belle; Silvia, the revengeful and fiesty Italian with a secret core; Benno, the hard-working boy who wishes to be more like his friend Giacomo; and of course Giacomo, the handsome Italian boy who plays girls like cards. Throughout the course, the teens learn, answer questions about love, etc. But something better happens: Silvia has a wickedly wonderful plan (a Shakespearan one no less) that will forever change these scholars. I was enthralled the whole times. Although it seems like a shallow book from afar, it is quite wonderfully written. The plot was well-organized and rapid. Everyone got a happy ending, and a well-deserved one too. The only complaint I have is that perhaps the author could have set the epilouge a year later because Kate and Giacomo live like 4,000 miles away from one another: how will they visit? Otherwise, I enjoyed it emmensely, especially because I am much like Kate. I think other girls looking for a summer read will find that too. The character development was wonderful, the plot was wonderful, the setting beautiful. It gives all girls hope that one day they will find their match. A time-transporter.

Kate, who has decided to stay firmly out of love after being dumped by her boyfriend, heads to Italy for a summer at a Shakespeare seminar in Verona, hometown of Romeo and Juliet. However, she soon finds her convictions challenged when her fellow Shakespeare Scholars attempt to set her up with the local heart-throb. I really, really enjoyed this book. I thought that the characters were well-drawn, the dialogue was quick and snappy, and the plot was very amusing. Anyone familiar with Shakespeare will appreciate the references to his plays, and anyone unfamiliar with him might very well become interested in picking up one of his works after finishing this book. I would especially recommend this to middle schoolers and high schoolers with an interest in literary history or anyone looking for a well-written, breezy romantic comedy.

THE JULIET CLUB is about six teenagers taking a Shakespeare Seminar in Verona, Italy, which is the same place where the famous Romeo and Juliet is set. The three Americans, Tom, Lucy, and Kate, are winners of a Shakespeare essay contest and have traveled halfway around the world to attend the seminar. They're all excited, for different reasons, to be spending a month in the beautiful country of Italy. The other three teenagers, Benno, Giacomo, and Silvia, all live in Verona and happen to be studying at the seminar. Each of the teenagers is very different from the rest. Kate is very educated and her father is a noted Shakespeare scholar, who just happens to be the main rival of Francesca Marchese, who will be teaching Kate's seminar. Kate, who's still suffering from a broken heart whether she'll admit it or not, plans to spend the summer studying and discussing Shakespeare even more than before. Lucy, a friendly, bubbly, and beautiful southern, is crazy with happiness about being in Italy. Unlike the girls, Tom doesn't seem interested at all in Shakespeare, but more in playing soccer (football). Benno is happy and ready to work for whoever will pay him. Giacomo, Benno's best friend and the boy all of the girls fall for, is less than thrilled about going to the seminar, but his mother insists. Silvia is an angry but beautiful girl who gives off the vibe to stay away from her. Somehow, these six very different teens end up together in Italy, where romance is always blooming. During the seminar, they are to act out scenes from the play and to answer letters written from Juliet's point of view, because hundreds of teens throughout the world write to her every year about their love problems. But the teens are not only studying love - they're experiencing it. Their lives are filled with the same experiences of falling in love, heartbreak, and jokes that Shakespeare's plays were filled with. This book had a fun setting, great characters, and a whole lot of potential. The thing is, it switched points of view so often, and focused on so many relationships, that it was hard to keep track and relate to the characters. But even so, I'm still looking forward to reading Ms. Harper's previous books and any books to come. Reviewed by: Harmony

Kate Sanderson prides herself in being sensible. After an unfortunate romantic encounter that ended badly, she's resolved that no one needs romance until after they're out of school and have a career. Her friends despair of her ever falling in love, but for Kate, schoolwork is satisfying enough. So that's why when she wins a Shakespeare essay contest with an all expense paid trip to Verona, Italy to attend a seminar on the great Bard, the only thing she's got on her mind is enjoying her time there and working hard. Kate is stunned to learn that rather that analyzing Shakespeare's text; she's expected to feel the meanings by acting it out with her classmates, and by answering letters seeking advice on love. This is hard enough without pompous Giacomo having to argue with her on everything. And when her other classmates conspire to play a prank on them, she'll have to work with him to outsmart them. But will the joke be on her? The Juliet Club is a wonderfully fun and breezy read perfect for summertime. The trip of a lifetime comes alive in this cleverly constructed and formatted book that will ensure that readers devour it quickly. Though the first chapter is slightly awkward, but the numerous characters and their backgrounds make this novel appealing to everyone, and keep the story moving quickly. Throw in a few fun twists, Shakespearean sonnets, and a masquerade ball, and you have a light, funny, and uplifting romantic novel that won't soon be forgotten.