Saving Juliet (Suzanne Selfors)

Title: Saving Juliet

Author: Suzanne Selfors

Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers

Length: 256 pages

Rating: 2.5/5

Mimi Wallingford, of the famous Broadway Wallingfords, lives and breathes theatre, and is the star of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Scratch that. Mimi hates the theatre, but has no other choice than to act, forced by her mother as she tries to keep the Wallingford theatre afloat. And teen-heartthrob Troy Summers is the real star of the show, or at least the real money-maker. Cue from stage-left some magical ashes, and Mimi and Troy are transported into Verona, Italy, where they meet Romeo and Juliet, characters who are even more unhappy than their actors. Can Mimi write a happy ending to the greatest tragedy?

This was a cute PG romance and typical YA coming of age story. Maybe a little predictable or cliché, but great for younger readers and Shakespeare aficionados. I’m a bit of a Shakespeare buff myself, and loved all the quotes and characters coming to life.

I also liked that Mimi, as narrator, talked directly to the reader. “You won’t believe this story, but this is what happened to me…” was a good way to handle Mimi’s transportation into another world. This also provides perspective on the situation, and less time is spent with the main character trying to cope with the premise of the book (you all know this is a pet-peeve of mine).

Overall, a cute story for younger readers. 

Hourglass (Myra McEntire)

Title: Hourglass

Author: Myra McEntire

Publisher: Egmont

Length: 390 pages

Rating: 4/5

Emerson Coles keeps seeing things that no one else sees. A girl in a Civil War era outfit, a piano trio, a horse-drawn carriage- none seem to really exist, because when Emerson touches these images, they disappear. People think she’s crazy. Emerson thinks she’s crazy. Her brother is determined to find a way to help her, but they’ve tried everything. In one final desperate attempt, he brings in consultant Michael Weaver from the mysterious Hourglass society.

Michael is the first person to fully believe in everything Emerson sees, and every time he and Emerson touch, it’s electric. But the Hourglass is in trouble, and Michael needs Emerson to help prevent a death that never should have happened. Can Emerson trust in Michael and herself enough to change the past? And at what price?

There was a lot in this book that I didn’t expect. I liked that. Physics, time travel, romance, bending the laws of nature. Pretty cool stuff, but I was never overwhelmed by the depth of it all.

Emerson Cole, our seventeen year old narrator: I have a lot to say about her, since we spend most the book in her slightly-messed-up head. I wasn’t completely sold on Emerson until about two thirds of the way through the book. I’m finding that one of my biggest pet peeves is when one of the crucial conflicts in a novel is that main character can’t accept the premise of the book. Emerson was far less willing to accept the idea of time travel than I was, and harped on it unnecessarily. Just accept it! I grew to like Emerson though- she’s head-strong, knows her own strengths and weaknesses, and is adorable awkward, especially when it came to Michael and then the later introduction of the equally gorgeous Kaleb.

Overall, a good balance of sci-fi, romance, and paranormal, and a book unlike any others I’ve read.

When You Reach Me (Rebecca Stead)

Title: When You Reach Me

Author: Rebecca Stead

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books (Random House)

Length: 197 pages

Rating: 4/5

Sixth graders Miranda and Sal are inseparable until Sal gets randomly punched one day as they walk home from school together on the New York City streets. Sal shuts Miranda out of his life, and Miranda must deal with the crazy guy on the corner, a stolen house key, and new lunchtime friendships all on her own. Then Miranda starts finding mysterious notes, the first of which says “I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own.” At first, she doesn’t take these letters and the requests they make seriously, until she realizes that the author somehow knows things that no one else knows, things that haven’t happened yet.

I’m leaping into slightly new territory here by reviewing this Newbury winner because it’s more J than YA. “Middle grade” might be the proper publishing term for it. What this means for you: it’s a short read, less than two hundred pages (and very short chapters-I just kept reading!) and its narrator is younger.

Despite these differences, I really connected with the book. Maybe because it takes place in the late 1970’s, a throwback to the books I read as a kid. Miranda’s favorite book, which she reads throughout the novel is A Wrinkle in Time, a favorite of mine as a kid and still today. I also loved this book for its original story, which is wrapped in the mysterious, a harkening back to books like A Wrinkle in Time, where science fiction blurs with the real world.

And like any good book, this one is about figuring things out, which I was all about in 6^th grade, and might still be all about today. Miranda has to cope with the loss of her best friend, a mom who is practicing to be on a TV game show, and the possibility of time travel, just to name a few.

Definitely worth the quick read.