O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell was a pleasure to read. The imagery was especially enjoyable. Maxwell uses lots of descriptive adjectives to appeal to the five senses of the reader. It is easy to vividly visualize the setting of the story. Maxwell adapts to the Shakespearean language decently. There wasn't many parts in the book where she applied the language. The only few areas that had it was when Juliet was composing her poems. In Juliet's poems, Maxwell skillfully uses allusion, imagery, metaphors to create them. Only there, did I see what seemed to be close to the Shakespearean language.The story lacked a few elements that could've earned it a 5 star. First of all, there is not much action to the story. Although the story is told in at a fast past, I felt that there were places where Maxwell could've slowed down and describe a bit better. For example, the story was told mainly in Juliet's point of view. It showed all her thoughts, her worries and what's going on in her life. It would be nice if Maxwell showed us more of what Romeo was going through (she does do this occasionally after every few chapters but I feel that it isn't enough). This was a neat little retelling of "Romeo and Juliet" as a historical fiction novel and I really enjoyed reading it. The characters feel so real and even the more fantastical aspects of Shakespeare's play (the potion that puts Juliet in a death-like state, for example) are treated like they really could have happened. If you're a fan of Shakespeare and retellings of his plays, this is certainly one you should check out.
What do You think about Ó, Júlia! (2010)?
A pastiche of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Same story told in a different way. Good read.
—Lita
Fun retelling of a familiar story with historical settings and people.
—WesleyWee
Didn't care for it. A little bit to much dante for me.
—whiterider
