Everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet, but what about Rosaline? You know, the girl Romeo loves before he falls for Juliet?
Rosaline knows that she and Rob are supposed to be together and when he finally kisses her for the first time, it's perfect. Rosaline thinks her senior year will go exactly as she dreamed it would be. Then Juliet, Rose's cousin whom she hasn't seen in almost ten years, moves back to town. The two used to be best friends but now Juliet hates her and even worse...has her heart set on Rob.
When Rose loses Rob to Juliet, her world crumbles into a million pieces and she can't put the pieces back together...alone. She gets help from Len, the social outcast of her class, who sees Rose even more clearly than she sees herself. But can Rose finally get over Rob, even when his life is being threatened? Just because Shakespeare got some of the characters wrong, doesn't mean his ending is.
I really liked When You Were Mine. There are several modern-day-takes of Romeo and Juliet but not very many from Rosaline's point of view. Serle does a good job of weaving in the different elements from Shakespeare's play and making them more modern. The hardest part, I think, would have been coming up with the reason as to why the Caplets and Montegs hate each other. The only thing I wish would have been different is Rosaline's innocence of the feud between her parents and her aunt and uncle. But overall this book was good. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes modern spins of old plays and books, as well as people who like romance.
Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Brownsburg, Indiana United States of America
