Summary
Merrilee is a book-obsessed romantic – in all the best ways. She reads avidly, and she’s convinced that boys are just better in books. While her friends and family adore her, they sometimes have to remind her that she should pay attention to the real world since she lives here and all.
As a new student at Reginald R. Hero Preparatory School – a co-ed school after her previous all girls school – Merrilee is excited to spend time with some boys other than her best guy friend, Toby (who wishes they were more, but Merrilee just doesn’t feel that way). When her English teacher assigns them Romeo and Juliet, Merrilee is thrilled to be revisiting such a classic romantic story. But Ms. Gregoire seems to have ulterior motives to having Merrilee read it.
Soon Merrilee finds herself in a real life version of Romeo and Juliet. Monroe is the son of her older sister’s soon-to-be mother-in-law’s political rival. It’s like the Capulets and Montagues again. And Monroe is intense and interested. Merrilee responds to the grand romantic gestures and the brooding, handsome boy. But Ms. Gregoire may be right – there may be more to Romeo and Juliet than Merrilee ever noticed before. And maybe Romeo and Juliet isn’t the story she wants for her life after all.
Review
I fell in love with Merrilee and this story in the first chapter. I love meeting fellow avid readers, even if they are only fictional. All of the characters were fantastic – well-defined, interesting and nuanced. I laughed – loudly and often – as I read. The descriptions are terrific. I read passages aloud to my family because they begged to be shared. And I read the book non-stop from start to finish because I loved every bit of it.
I was not expecting a thread of magic/fantasy to the story – for the English teacher to have a mystical sort of way about her and for the stories Merrilee reads to be reflected in her real life. It was a delightful surprise! I hope there will be several more stories with these characters and Ms. Gregoire.
I pre-ordered my own copy of this the moment I finished reading. This is my favorite sort of book – it has all of the qualities I look for. There are terrific characters. It’s funny. It’s also smart, the premise is clever, and the execution was perfect. And there’s depth to the story and the characters. Merrilee grows up and matures and sees things differently in the end while still retaining all the things I loved about her character from the beginning. And by the end you discover some nice depth to a few of the secondary characters as well once Merrilee gets past her assumptions about them.
This was a delight from start to finish. I highly recommend this book. This could easily be one of my favorite books of 2018.
Many, many thanks to Netgalley and Amulet for the opportunity to read an electronic review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely mine – I honestly adored this book!
