Review: Roman + Jewel
When I heard about Roman + Jewel from Hailey, I immediately pre-ordered it! I absolutely love Shakespeare and especially, Shakespeare retellings. I’ve been really missing New York City and Broadway. It’s wild that I haven’t been onstage in almost 11 months so any story that reminds me of my profession and passion is a good one. This is a YA contemporary novel about a new musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that receives the Hamilton treatment.
Synopsis: “Jerzie Jhames will do anything to land the lead role in Broadway’s hottest new show, Roman and Jewel, a Romeo and Juliet inspired hip-hopera featuring a diverse cast and modern twists on the play. But her hopes are crushed when she learns mega-star Cinny won the lead…and Jerzie is her understudy. Falling for male lead Zeppelin Reid is a terrible idea―especially once Jerzie learns Cinny wants him for herself. Star-crossed love always ends badly. But when a video of Jerzie and Zepp practicing goes viral and the entire world weighs in on who should play Jewel, Jerzie learns that while the price of fame is high, friendship, family, and love are priceless.”
What I Liked:
The Premise—I stated it earlier, but I seriously love retellings! Romeo and Juliet is a play that definitely gets a reputation for being overdone, but I think when it is reinvented in a new way, done well, it can resonate with so many people.
The Characterization of New York—Any book set in New York always has a third main character in the city. I never thought I’d miss Times Square but this book certainly made me!
The Discussion of Mental Health—We all know how the original
What Didn’t Work:
Pitting Women Against Each Other—Though it was better explained towards the end, I don’t love when the story line has a heavy focus on women being pit against each other. The relationship between Cinny and Jerzie made me sad that young girls would read this and jump to the most obvious conclusion.
The Secrecy—I’m still not sure how I feel about Zeppelin as a character. It seemed like he kept a lot of unnecessary secrets and lacked communication skills, but perhaps that is typical of the Romeo and Juliet story.
TW/CW: Discussion of suicide, suicidal thoughts, suicide (including method)
Character Authenticity: 4/5 Steam Rating: N/A Overall Rating: 3.75/5