Beatrice Bunson's Guide to Romeo and Juliet: a novel [Paperback]

Juliet Capulet would find a worthy BFF in Beatrice Bunson. —Cordelia Frances Biddle, author of the Martha Beale mystery series

Cohen has made an essential classic cool. —Beth Kephart, author ofGoing Over

High school begins, and to Beatrice Bunson nothing is the same, not even her best friend, Nan. The new Nan doesn't hang out with Bea; she's running for Student Council and going to parties and avoiding Bea at lunchtime. The boys who were gross in middle school have become surprisingly polite, while the cool kids are still a mystery. Bea's older sister, meanwhile, acts like she's living in a soap opera.

On the bright side, there's English class with Mr. Martin, where Beatrice discovers that Shakespeare has something to say about almost everything—and that nothing in life is as dramatic asRomeo and Juliet.

But when Nan gets in over her head in her new social life, it's up to Beatrice to restore her reputation—and she may need to make a few new friends to pull it off. One of them, the slightly brainy guy that Beatrice meets at her grandmother's retirement home, is definitely kind of cute, and probably dateable. (Fortunately, nothing is the same in high school.)

As Beatrice and her classmates tackleRomeo and Juliet, they unveil the subtleties of the play as well as broader lessons of love, family, honor, and misunderstandings. Guided by Mr. Martin, these ninth-graders help us to understand Shakespeare, as Shakespeare helps them begin to understand themselves.

Warning to teachers of high school Shakespeare classes: be prepared to revise your lesson plan. —Gillian Murray Kendall, Smith College

Ideal for those who are charmed by the romance of Shakespeare. And who isn't? —Kirkus Reviews

Teens shouldn't be without a copy of this sparkling novel. —Foreword Reviews

An entertaining work for those who enjoy quick reads with realistic charlâ