Romeo v Juliet (RA Spratt, Penguin)

Bestselling author RA Spratt’s Romeo v Juliet is a light-hearted time-travelling comedy that will appeal to older middle-grade and younger YA audiences aged 12 and up. When 16-year-old Selby, a reluctant reader recently diagnosed with dyslexia, has to step in as understudy for the role of Juliet in her class production, she calls on her tutor, Dan, for help. Selby not only struggles with Shakespearean language, but she’s literally transported into a play before, in Spratt’s standalone prequel, Hamlet is Not OK. Understandably, Selby is cautious about opening another Shakespeare play. No sooner does Selby read the play aloud than she and Dan are transported back to 16th-century Verona, where the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet begins to unfold around them. Various hijinks ensue as Dan and Selby bring characters back and forth in time: Selby is hopeful she can alter the “dreadful” plot and stop her new friends from dying, plus she can enlist the real Juliet to replace her in the school play. Spratt doesn’t attempt to make rules or explanations for the time travel magic, nor is there much focus on character development. The book’s charm lies in the comic irony of modern teenagers trying to apply present-day progressive values to Shakespeare’s most famous love story. For fans of Rhiannon Wilde’s Henry Hamlet’s Heart and Rachael Lippincott’s Pride and Prejudice and the City, Romeo v Juliet is a funny and witty companion for young readers keen to deepen their understanding of Shakespeare.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Charlotte Callander is a freelance writer who has worked as a bookseller and museum educator. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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