Year Published: 1999
Publisher: Antheneum Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780689821806
Pages: 236
Price: $11.26 (Library Bound)
Genre: Romance, Suspense
Interest Level: 9-12
Reading Level: 6
Personal Rating: 3 Stars
Subjects: Internet, School stories, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, Fiction
Reader's Annotation: Romiette, an African-American girl, and Julio, a Hispanic boy, discover that they attend the same high school after falling in love on the Internet.
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Julio Montague's parents have moved their family to Cincinnati, OH, in order to get their son out of his gang-ridden high school in Corpus Christi, TX. Romiette Cappelle, also 16, is the daughter of successful African-American parents and the granddaughter of college professors. When these two young people, both from proud heritages, begin a romance, they must deal not only with their parents' prejudices but also with the threats of a local gang called The Family. At times, Romiette and Julio effectively parallels and contemporizes the original story. The young couple meet, not at the Capulets' feast, but in an Internet chat room. Julio's friend, Ben Olsen (read Benvolio), who looks like a punk rocker, has an optimistic and irreverent attitude that balances Julio's passion and volatility. At other times, the allusions to the play are obvious and heavy-handed. Nonetheless, this novel is more than simply a carefully plotted teenage romance.
Review: School Library Journal - 09/01/1999
"A contemporary retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story with a happy, upbeat ending. Draper gives a realistic portrayal of the interactions among high school students as well as their relationships with their parents. The book also examines how gangs can gain power and take control. All of the characters have unique voices and the writing style shifts according to the action. Romiette and Julio would be a wonderful curriculum tie-in book, but it also stands alone as a first-rate novel about contemporary teens."
Evaluation: Interesting fiction book about teenage life. It contains how peer-pressure greatly affects how teens interact. There are sexual innuendo in the online conversations between Romiette and Julio.
Reviews and Awards: Kirkus Reviews (07/15/99), School Library Journal (09/99), Booklist (09/15/99)
Author Information: Sharon M. Draper was born in Ohio August 21, 1948. She earned a B.A. from Pepperdine University and a M.A. from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Ms. Draper taught junior high and high school students for more than thirty years. She is a public speaker who addresses educational and literary groups of all ages, both nationally and internationally. Ms. Draper was awarded the Coretta Scott King Award in 1998 for Forged By Fire and in 2007 for Copper Sun. She received the Coretta Scott King Author Honor in 2004 for Battle Of Jericho and in 2008 for November Blues.The author and her husband reside in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Website: sharondraper.com
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