Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Book Review: Romeo & What's Her Name by Shani Petroff

Romeo & What's Her Name by Shani Petroff
Blurb:
Understudies never get to perform...which is why being Juliet's understudy in the school's yearly Shakespeare production is the perfect role for Emily. She can earn some much-needed extra credit while pursuing her main goal of spending time with Wes, aka Romeo, aka the hottest, nicest guy in school (in her completely unbiased opinion). And she meant to learn her lines, really, it's just:

a) Shakespeare is HARD,
b) Amanda (the "real" Juliet) makes her run errands instead of lines, and
c) there's no point, since Amanda would never miss her chance to be the star of the show.

Then Amanda ends up in the hospital and Emily, as the (completely unprepared!) understudy, has to star in the most famous scene from Romeo and Juliet opposite the guy of her dreams. Oops?

My Review:
Emily Stein has had a crush on Wes Rosenthal for as long as she can remember, but somehow or another she always ends up acting like an idiot in front of him. When she learns that he and his girlfriend have broken up and that Wes is planning to audition for the part of Romeo for their English class project of Romeo & Juliet, Emily decides to audition for the part of Juliet. But mean girl Amanda, who also has her sights set on Wes, also auditions and gets the part. Luckily Emily's friend Jill is directing the Romeo & Juliet scene and Emily convinces her to let her be an understudy so she can still hang out with Wes.

Emily thinks she can relax, I mean understudies never really have to go on stage, right? And with Amanda treating her like a gopher during rehearsals on top of her homework and after school job, Emily doesn't really have time to memorize the lines. But she doesn't really need to learn the lines, right?

Then an unforeseen case of appendicitis forces Amanda out of the role and into the hospital and Emily onto the stage in her place. Emily makes a fool of herself but Wes doesn't seem to mind.

Could it be possible that Wes likes her the way Emily likes him? Or is he just being nice? Does Emily really have a chance with the guy of her dreams or will the mean girl get the guy?

I really enjoyed reading Romeo & What's Her Name. Its light, fluffy, and funny - a feel good read. Reading it made me so thankful that I'm no longer an awkward teen crushing on a cute guy.

Parts of this book were really funny (in a good way) while others left me cringing and wanting to crawl under a table, but its realistic to real teen life. After all, most teens aren't like the girls on Pretty Little Liars with their designer label clothes, perfect hair, and endless confidence; real teens have bed head and wear ratty sweats they hope their crushes will never see them in and I loved that this book showed that. I also loved the relationship between Wes and his brother Neal, it was really sweet.

Overall, I thought Romeo & What's Her Name was a cute Contemporary YA Romance. It is a great book to read when you want something that will leave you with a smile on your face.

My Rating:
4/5 Stars

Romeo & What's Her Name is out today, Tuesday, February 7, 2017, from Swoon Reads & Macmillan! Pick up your copy today:

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