And I'll No Longer Be a Capulet

Perfect Chemistry by Simon Elkeles
New York : Walker, 2009.
360 p. ; 22 cm.

Okay, so it's not actually a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but this young adult romance has fine echoes of the play - a boy and girl whose class and ethnic differences would seem to prohibit closeness find themselves falling deeply in love with each other.

I wouldn't have been likely to read this novel, except that it has circulated a lot since I added it to our collection and I've heard kids recommending it to each other. I found it very readable and - in spite of having some fairly predictable plot outcomes - it has compelling characters who are not just flat stereotypes.  It also works as a way of exploring the masks that young people wear to get by and the ways in which their class backgrounds can define and limit the choices they can make.  Overall, like Romeo and Juliet, it's a homage to the power of love - and the risks that characters are willing to take for love.

The novel is set in a suburb of Chicago where the high school has a divide between the wealthy white kids and the Latino students - some of who are involved in gang activities.  The novel deals with the accurate and distorted views that the two groups have of each other, and what happens when those boundaries are crossed.

The novel also deals with family life, street life and the difficulties of having family with serious disabilities.  
There is a fair bit of mature language and some frank sexual situations - not overly graphic, but definitely not suitable for classroom use, or for recommending to younger readers. 

I'm pleased I read this novel.  The writing is strong and it's good to know that this kind of book is popular with a lot of young adults. Students who like the novel or want to know more about it and the author would do well to visit the official website of the book.