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The Juliet Club

3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 · rating details · 2,296 ratings · 303 reviews

Kate Sanderson has been burned by love. From now on, she thinks, I will control my own destiny, and I will be reasoned and rational. But life has other things in store for Kate. Namely, a summer abroad studying Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in the very town where the star-crossed lovers met, Verona, Italy. Kate is thrown together with two other American teens and three It...more

Paperback, 416 pages

Published May 4th 2010 by Greenwillow Books (first published June 1st 2008)

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Dec 06, 2008 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: teen girls, grades 8-12

Recommended to Jackie "the Librarian" by: WashYARG book

Shelves: humor, romance, youngadult

Harmless fluff. Comedy of manners-ish teenage romance in Italy, with Romeo and Juliet as an excuse. For teen girls only. Kate wins an essay contest to attend a Shakespeare class in Verona, Italy, to the delight of her Shakespeare scholar father.
Her friends are delighted, too, and hope that this will be the cure for Kate's romantic slump. But Kate, having been disillusioned in love by her cool, yet nerdy ex-boyfriend, is determined never to fall for the trap of love again. She is determined to r...more

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Feb 02, 2009 The Loft added it · review of another edition

You win a Shakespeare essay contest in high school. The prize? A month-long summer trip to Verona, Italy, to study Romeo and Juliet. But under the sporadic direction of Professoressa Francesca Marchese, this is no ordinary seminar spent annotating and dissecting Shakespearean text, to which Kate Sanderson is accustomed. Instead, the six teen winners (3 American and 3 Italian) are tasked with answering letters written to Juliet and sent to The Juliet Club (a club in Verona that receives and respo...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novel, ya, romance, realistic

One of the worst YA books I have ever read. It was full of tired sexist cliches and the plot was pathetically unrealistic. Winners of a Shakespearean essay contest win a trip to Italy where they are forced to answer lame advice column letters? Wtf? There is nothing realistic about that. I really struggled to give a shit about any of these characters, because they remained bland and one-sided throughout the entire book. In fact, I struggled to keep my interest through the whole middle when nothin...more

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Jul 14, 2008 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

In order to take a break from reading nonfiction on Stalin's GULAGs, a friend loaned me a copy of the young adult novel, Juliet's Club. It's a fun summer read, but it's not complete fluff. It's fluff for young teens with a passion for the Bard.

The book follows the serious, bookish American teen, Kate, as she spends a few weeks in Verona, attending a seminar on Romeo and Juliet. She forms frienships with two other Americans and three teens who are from Verona. The book's chapters are organized in...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Jennifer Showalter - MAMA Bookasaurus rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-modern-day-drama, ya-romance, ya-teen-behavioral-issues

See me at http://mamabookasaurus.blogspot.com •TWITTER: @MAMABookasaurus •Facebook, Myspace, Tumblr & Book Blogs as: MAMA Bookasaurus
TECHNICALLY 3.9 ROUNDED to 4

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... oh wait.. sorry, wrong author. But it is appropriate for the novel. Young people falling desperately in love... and trying to get that person to even notice them. Sigh. Let's face it. We have ALL been there. Ouch.

This novel really grew on me. It was a bit slow and remote but as...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, young-adult

Practical Kansas girl Kate has just broken up with her two-timing boyfriend, and has declared that she's done with love--it's just not logical. Still, she's excited to win a place at a month-long summer seminar to study Romeo and Juliet, because the seminar will take place in Verona--far, far away from Kansas and the cheating Jerome. In her seminar are two other Americans, Tom and Lucy, and three Italians, Giacomo, Benno, and Sylvia. Kate finds Giacomo attractive--because every girl does--but al...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Sharon (A Book Barbie) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(Review originally posted at Fictionally Inclined.)

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be charming. Sometimes, a book has an opening line of such brilliance that you simply know you are in for a treat. While The Juliet Club's was not necessarily brilliant, it was utterly perfect. I always love it when I start a book out on a laugh.

❝Which one of Johnny Burwell's eyebrows do you think is cuter?❞

The Juliet Club made me laugh many times, heave deep sighs of emotion, and smile whimsi...more

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Dec 15, 2011 Kayla rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book reminded me a lot of the old movies of my childhood/preteen years, like the Mary-Kate and Ashley traveling movies. It was cute, but a little predictable. I knew who was going to wind up with who soon after the introduction of the characters... and I was right. I was a little disappointed with the ending; after the climax, it seemed to halt very quickly, so quickly, it didn't seem like all the loose-ends were tied. For instance, I'm still not 100% sure if (spoiler alert!) (view spoiler)...more

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Jul 13, 2011 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 24, 2011 Deb rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this young adult romance by way of work, but actually enjoyed it quite a bit. It would make a good summer movie aimed at teenaged girls. The plot revolves around Kate, a scholarly Midwestern teen who wins an essay contest which sends her to Verona as a Shakespeare Scholar for a summer seminar filled with other Americans and three Italians. The seminar's professora has an eccentric method of teaching Romeo and Juliet to her pupils: they will learn to fence, they will attend a costume ball,...more

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Nov 12, 2010 Morgan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a book that i particularly liked for two reasons, one being that it was set in a place that i would kill to go and see and two because it made you think about the story in a certain way, and then as you read through the book your views on the characters and their actions change as the characters do. When I picked up this book i was fully expecting a fully predictable romance, and an easy read, but what I got was a novel that made me think about what I want to do with my life as well as...more

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Oct 25, 2010 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book is about a girl named Kate who has two divorced parents that have two opposite views on love which cause Kate to have weird opinion herself. Kate's dad is a Shakespear expert and is offered to teach a Shakespear seminar in Italy. Kate is allowed to come and attend the seminar. The first day she meets two other Americans, Tom and Lucy, and three Itlians, Silvia, Benno and Giacomo in the seminar. The group also finds out that they will be prepareing for a ball which will be held at the e...more

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Oct 15, 2010 Christine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who LOVES romance novels,and two people falling in love

Recommended to Christine by: my friend Joyce

I just read this book,and Suzanne Harper is a phenomenal writer in that she takes the most basic romance line forbidden star-crossed lovers a stubborn girl who doesn't believe in true love,and a handsome charming boy who believes in the joy of love,and the ladies,and she runs with it changing the characteristic bore most of us get after we've seen this theme in SO MANY BOOKS. I thought I was done with romance but she managed to catch the little girl inside me,and hook me onto this romance,it was...more I just read this book,and Suzanne Harper is a phenomenal writer in that she takes the most basic romance line forbidden star-crossed lovers a stubborn girl who doesn't believe in true love,and a handsome charming boy who believes in the joy of love,and the ladies,and she runs with it changing the characteristic bore most of us get after we've seen this theme in SO MANY BOOKS. I thought I was done with romance but she managed to catch the little girl inside me,and hook me onto this romance,it was a overdone theme,but she managed to spice it up with her poetic,and easy to understand writing. Rarely do I after reading a romance novel feel inspired,and romantic,and so absolutely happy that the main characters experienced love. Most likely I sigh,and say well that was nice,not too believable to be fiction but of course in real life it wouldn't turn out that way,and my thoughts turn logical,and scientific. But after reading her book I was acting like a hopeless romantic,it doesn't matter if the love ends, after you leave,or the other person leaves. All that matters is that you experienced it,having a person you love die doesn't make the love less real,that is what one of the characters Lucy said,and I know strongly agree with it. This kept me smiling,and humming through the whole book. A great way to feel the romance and love,especially if you love Shakespeare,and poetry,and classic teenage romance. This has to be the best romance book I have ever read in its genre. This was a top-k notch job. It is a must-read for every romantic,and lover of romance books. I am so excited about it I can't even begun to express in more expressive words how much i loved this book. To the author thank you for all the time you've put into this book. It was worth it all. I am secretly hoping for there one day to be a movie for this. Only if it is very accurate,I can see it now. I am going to go buy my own copy,so I can read it over,and over again whenever I want. This book,and Eclipse by Stephanie Meyers are my two favorite teen-romance novels. If you haven't read it,I hope I have convinced you to read it,IT IS AN EXPERIENCE.(less)

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Sep 14, 2010 Emilie added it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, own, reviewed

I hadn’t heard much about The Juliet Club when I picked it up at the bookstore but I decided I would give it a shot. When I read the summary it made me think of the movie Letters to Juliet which came out in May of this year. They are both based around the group of people who answer letters that are sent to Juliet, the difference being that the letters aren’t used in the same way. The book was a lovely summer read and I really enjoyed it.

After seeing what happened to her parents’ marriage and a r...more I hadn’t heard much about The Juliet Club when I picked it up at the bookstore but I decided I would give it a shot. When I read the summary it made me think of the movie Letters to Juliet which came out in May of this year. They are both based around the group of people who answer letters that are sent to Juliet, the difference being that the letters aren’t used in the same way. The book was a lovely summer read and I really enjoyed it.

After seeing what happened to her parents’ marriage and a relationship gone wrong, Kate decided that she would never let herself get fooled by love. Then she learns that she will be spending four weeks in Verona, Italy at a Shakespeare Seminar. Kate leaves for Italy ready to plunge deeply into Romeo and Juliet and focus only on studying. But then she meets Giacomo and has to answer letters for the Juliet Club, which, obviously, deal with love. While trying to play a trick on the other members of the seminar, Giacomo and Kate find themselves falling for each other, something they most definitely did not except to happen.

Kate was a character that I learned to like. At the beginning of the book she didn’t really appeal to me all that much but by the end I found that I actually really liked her. I had the same reaction to Giacomo. At first I found him a little cocky and arrogant but I learned to like him too and by the end of the book I could see what Kate saw in him. Kate and Giacomo were very similar characters, at times it felt like they were the same just one was a girl and the other a boy. I found that this is what made the relationship between the two that much more interesting. We always say that opposites attract but in this case, they thought they were opposites but I thought they were actually the same. I’m not sure if that makes any sense but that’s just what I thought.

I actually like the secondary characters better than I did Kate and Giacomo (though I did like them in the end!). Lucy and Benno were my favorite. Lucy was always so positive and happy and she wanted nothing more than to help everyone who wrote to the Juliet Club. There was just something about Lucy that made her really likable...maybe it was the whole hopeless romantic thing. And Benno was just too amusing not to like. He was overly expressive about everything and he troubles with girls are truly funny, especially when another Shakespeare Scholar is concerned. Silvia and Tom were also quite interesting but Benno and Lucy were still my favorites.

The story was light and amusing and made for the perfect summary. I liked how the chapters were in terms of acts and scenes like it would be in a play. I found that it was a nice tie-in to the whole Shakespeare thing. The various Entr’acte with Kate’s two best friends were also nice to have just to have a different take on things at time. The general plot of the book also reminded me of some of the Shakespearean comedies, with those thinking they are playing the trick actually ending being the ones tricked. I just thought it was neat especially considering Shakespeare plays a pretty important part in the book. The story was nothing overly deep and meaningful but it was exactly what I needed after having read a few pretty intense books.

Overall The Juliet Club was the perfect summer read, I just breezed through it. Even though it was 400 pages long, there was never a boring moment. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone looking to read an light and entertaining novel.(less)

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Jun 02, 2010 Lisa Alfonso rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: not-so-hot, won-t-pick-up-again

The Juliet Club alludes to Shakespeare quite a bit, so I wouldn't recommend this to anybody who is either uninterested or ill-informed of his plays. If you're like me, who finds all that Elizabethan stuff fascinating, then crack open this book immediately.

While the plot is a little mundane, the book itself was a fun and enjoyable ride. Recently heartbroken Kate swears to NEVER fall in love again, and her perfect getaway from reality couldn't have come sooner. Upon winning an essay contest, Kate...more The Juliet Club alludes to Shakespeare quite a bit, so I wouldn't recommend this to anybody who is either uninterested or ill-informed of his plays. If you're like me, who finds all that Elizabethan stuff fascinating, then crack open this book immediately.

While the plot is a little mundane, the book itself was a fun and enjoyable ride. Recently heartbroken Kate swears to NEVER fall in love again, and her perfect getaway from reality couldn't have come sooner. Upon winning an essay contest, Kate and her father win a trip to Verona, Italy to attend a Shakespeare seminar. Kate isn't excited about the romantic city, though. She's more interested in the Shakespeare itself. But, like every other romance novel out there, Kate is sadly mistaken as soon as she meets the handsome (and very arrogant) Giacomo. Of course, their personalities clash instantly, and the wit behind the dialogue is extremely amusing.

Along with Tom, the quintessential Californian, Lucy, the giddy southern Mississippi-bound girl, Silvia, the bitter and spiteful, yet beautiful Italian girl, and Benno, the clumsy and short best friend of Giacomo, the "Juliet Club" find themselves in a much different situation than they had anticipated. Not only are they going to put on a play from specific scenes in Romeo and Juliet, but they are to answer letters to Juliet from all around the world. And by letters, I mean love letters.

Silvia and Benno, thick with jealousy, decide to play a prank on Kate and Giacomo. Their plot is to get the couple to THINK that they're falling in love. What they don't know is that Kate is eavesdropping in the coat closet, and she immediately goes to Giacomo to tell him of their idea. He has an idea of his own, too: get Silvia and Benno to think that they actually are in love. The prank would be on THEM, right?

You can guess what's to come. This book is entirely harmless (a little TOO harmless for my taste, but this is a YA novel) and is full of a happy time. The plot goes along well, though I was a bit upset that the main conflict in the novel only lasted about twenty pages. Nonetheless, if you're in the mood for a little corny romance with a predicable plot, The Juliet Club is right for you.(less)

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May 31, 2010 Kate (VerbVixen) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Juliet Club- Suzanne Harper

Lets see, the main character is a girl named Kate. A practical, rational, studious, smart girl who declares she will never fall in love again after having her heart broken by some moronic teenage boy. Then she falls in love despite herself. Well, that sounds familiar.

I had no problem relating to Kate (being a Kate myself!), or to her bantering ways (what a Beatrice at heart!). I even found myself loving Giacomo in the same way I love Benedick (read: Much Ado About...more

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Jul 07, 2009 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Tweens and Freshmen or Sophomore Teens

Did you know that Il Club di Giuletta (the Juliet Club) which dispenses love advice was founded in Verona in 1972? I thought this novel was hokey at first, but I grew to like it. Sixteen-year-old Kate Sanderson has been dumped by her boyfriend and is therefore resigned to forever forego romance, and so when she finds out that she has won a contest to particpate in Shakespeare seminars on "Romeo and Juliet" in Verona, she jumps at the opportunity to forget her feckless boyfriend and embark on ser...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Hope rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was another one of my library finds; I really did not know what to expect from this book. I’ve never read anything by this author before and I thoughtwhy not I'll give it a try. It sounded cute and interesting. I was right this was a cute book, it was easy read, I just flew through the pages.

This book was comedy/romance type book, even though personally I did not find funny or overly romantic. Story takes place in Verona, Italy and Kate (main female protagonist) attending Shakespeare semin...more This was another one of my library finds; I really did not know what to expect from this book. I’ve never read anything by this author before and I thoughtwhy not I'll give it a try. It sounded cute and interesting. I was right this was a cute book, it was easy read, I just flew through the pages.

This book was comedy/romance type book, even though personally I did not find funny or overly romantic. Story takes place in Verona, Italy and Kate (main female protagonist) attending Shakespeare seminar. Story is told from different points of views , Kate, Bene, Giacomo, Sylvie, and Lucy. Each character tells the story from their point of view. Writing was good and it was constrictive; there were a lot of quotes from Shakespeare’s plays flying around, but then that was not surprising since the students were attending Shakespeare seminar. Some of the plays mentioned and quoted, of course Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado about Nothing and Midsummer’s night Dream.

This YA book is somewhat instructive on Shakespeare; even though there was a lot of talk about love and quotes from Romeo and Juliet it was not very romantic. I mean there was romance, Lucy was looking for summer romance in Italy, Giocomo and Kate are falling for each other, Bene falling for Lucy while Lucy is too preoccupied to even notice him. And then there is was Sylvie and Tom, Tom falls for Sylvie but he is afraid to tell her. Sylvie is scary at least that is what Bene says.

Kate was an interesting character and she was not my favourite. I found her too series and rigid; she takes everything seriously, does not know how to have fun. There is time to be serious and there is time to have fun and enjoy herself; Shakespeare seminar in Italy should have been fun, but she plunges in being too serious. Towards the end she does relax and allow herself to have some fun, but not too much fun because that is just not Kate. Giacomo was also interesting character, he is handsome, rich, smart, can quote Shakespeare, flirty, he is irresistible to woman (teenage girls in this case since he is teenage boy himself). I liked the interaction between Kate and Giacomo, I liked it because it was not love at first sight, but rather it took time for them to fall for each other.

Overall this was cute and fluffy read; there was no deep meaning to it and did not require much brain power to process. It was simple, fun and fast read. If you like reading books that are loosely based on Shakespeare’s plays than you might enjoy this book. I give this book 3/5 STARS. (less)

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Mar 10, 2011 Scribbler King rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Short review: It was cute! It wasn't very serious and had a happy ending, but was a light read and it made me laugh--everything I expected from a book based around ROMEO AND JULIET with the word 'Club' in the title.

Longer Review: Why do I give so many books 4 stars? Maybe I just want to save five for my absolute favorites.

Also, I like different books for different reasons, so the writing style, characterization, and plotting abilities of the author are all different things that I look at and giv...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Haley (Beach Kissed YA Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-challenge-through-this-year, reviewed-on-blog, to-buy-get-a-copy-of

Wow. I really, really liked this book. For one, I love YA romance, so it was a definite plus for me. This is a book that I could read many times more in the future. I think I truly enjoyed reading it because it had two things : A fun and playful mood of Italy and also the undercurrent of the real life Romeo and Juliet. Those two combined made this a favorite in my collection.

Let me talk about the characters a bit. The two that I enjoyed the most, of course, were Giacomo and Kate. I mean, you can...more

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May 18, 2011 Cristy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-relationships, realistic-fiction, cultural

“Given enough time, the impossible becomes possible, the possible probable, and the probable virtually certain.”

THE JULIET CLUB is a sweet and romantic story that is very Midsummer’s Night Dream esque, complete with humorous antics that would make Shakespeare himself proud. I love a modern twist on classics and Suzanne Harper shrewdly shows her expertise on Shakespearean literature, text and understanding their depth and meanings.

Being that the plot itself is an outwardly obvious play on a clas...more

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Apr 26, 2012 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, library, 2012-reads, fluffy

I wavered a bit between giving 3 or 4 stars, but could change my mind again. The book reminded me a bit of the movie Letters to Juliet only because the story wound up taking place entirely in Italy. The premise to get to Italy, a well written essay in a contest that happened to be a trip to Italy to participate in a Shakespeare seminar, was pretty far fetched but I looked past that. There was a great deal of emphasis on Shakespeare and a twist and retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story within t...more

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May 23, 2010 Diane ϟ [ Lestrange ] rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-reads, young-adult, own, reviews, summer-reads

Italy . . . Shakespeare . . . but no romance?

Kate Sanderson inherited her good sense from her mother, a disciplined law professor, and her admiration for the Bard from her father, a passionate Shakespeare scholar. When she gets dumped, out of the blue, for the Practically Perfect Ashley Lawson, she vows never to fall in love again. From now on she will control her own destiny, and every decision she makes will be highly reasoned and rational. She thinks Shakespeare would have approved.

So when sh...more Italy . . . Shakespeare . . . but no romance?

Kate Sanderson inherited her good sense from her mother, a disciplined law professor, and her admiration for the Bard from her father, a passionate Shakespeare scholar. When she gets dumped, out of the blue, for the Practically Perfect Ashley Lawson, she vows never to fall in love again. From now on she will control her own destiny, and every decision she makes will be highly reasoned and rational. She thinks Shakespeare would have approved.

So when she is accepted to a summer Shakespeare symposium in Verona, Italy, Kate sees it as the ideal way to get over her heartbreak once and for all. She'll lose herself in her studies, explore ancient architecture, and eat plenty of pasta and gelato. (Plus, she'll be getting college credit for it—another goal accomplished!) But can even completely logical Kate resist the romance of living in a beautiful villa in the city where those star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet met and died for each other? Especially when the other Shakespeare Scholars—in particular Giacomo, with his tousled brown hair, expressive dark eyes, and charming ways—try hard to break her protective shell?

"In fair Verona, where we lay our scene . . . "

While this sounds like a lot of fun, and it is, I do think that perhaps Suzanne Harper has taken on too much with this novel. There are six main characters, but I don’t really think we get to know any of them. Kate is in the spotlight more than the rest, but still not very much. Because Harper has to divide the story between all six of them, their motivations and personalities, everything that makes a character seem real, is just explained rather than really shown–she takes the easy way out. As a reader, I didn’t feel close to any of the characters, and didn’t feel like I knew them well. They were not well-developed.

There’s some potential in this story, certainly. I do love books with fun settings, so a summer in Italy is perfect! However, this would have been a much better book if the author had focused on one of the couples, rather than all six characters, and let the reader really get to know them, switching viewpoints. This is making me wish for what might have been! With some changes, this could have been a great book rather than a mediocre one. Especially if the ending had been less tidy. Real life is rarely tidy.

The Juliet Club is enjoyable, but it could have been so much better.(less)

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Mar 28, 2012 Brandy Painter rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, young-adult

3.5 stars for all the Shakespeare

Originally posted here.

The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper is fluffy fun, but intellectual fluffy fun. After all, it is fluffy fun that takes place during a Shakespeare seminar on Romeo and Juliet. It is perfect if you are in the mood to read a lighthearted romance with a little of the Bard thrown in for fun.

This book contains plenty of Romeo and Juliet, but does not mirror that particular play at all. It is quoted, it is discussed, the students in the seminar are...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Taylor (A Booky Wonderland) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paperback

So. First, I want to start off on how I was trying to figure out what book to read, when I saw this one. I'd read Anna and the French Kiss about a year ago, and I was left so deeply touched by it that every since, I've been trying to cram in more contemporary romance into my reading schedule, and trust me guys, I have a lot of books to get through by the time they're due at the library. First of all, I'm trying my hand at Nicholas Sparks, after a very good friend recommended it to me, along with...more So. First, I want to start off on how I was trying to figure out what book to read, when I saw this one. I'd read Anna and the French Kiss about a year ago, and I was left so deeply touched by it that every since, I've been trying to cram in more contemporary romance into my reading schedule, and trust me guys, I have a lot of books to get through by the time they're due at the library. First of all, I'm trying my hand at Nicholas Sparks, after a very good friend recommended it to me, along with Twilight. And another very good friend recommended Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck, so I have to get to those.

Anyways, I picked this up in a desperate chance to get to read this, because so little people nowadays pay attention to contemporary (it's all paranormal and dystopian romance nowadays), and thus there are very few reviews for it in the book blogosphere. So I've had to fend for my own for a good contemporary romance novel that will nearly move me to tears.

I entered this book with really high expectations, thanks to Anna, and my expectations were fulfilled pretty completely. During the first three or so chapters, I felt that it was going really slow because Kate had yet to get the opportunity to go to Verona, Italy. In these chapters, however, we learned how cynical Kate was because her so-called boyfriend, Jerome, rudely broke up with her when she believed that they were in love.

Once Kate finally met Giacomo, the action really sped up, and then I couldn't get enough of it. Until I got to that point, however, it was slow to me. But if you are encouraged to read this, just bear with the first five or so chapters. The romance wasn't actually that strong to me, but it definitely was there, but one little pet peeve I had was that Kate never actually told Giacomo that she loved him. And for the last few chapters when everything was supposed to be tying up, I was mentally hollering at Kate to say the three words.

Yes, I know that those three words may be the hardest words to say when you're dating someone, and I'm not saying that I've actually said them other than to family and friends, but it's easier—I think—if you'd be next to say it. For example, I think if the boy tells you they love you first, then you should be able to say "I love you" back because you know of the other person's feelings. So I didn't know why at all Kate didn't say it back, but maybe I missed it.
(less)

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Sep 30, 2012 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

THE JULIET CLUB (YA) SUZANNE HARPER
Kate Sanderson is sour on romance. When she travels with her dad to Verona to study Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet she is embroiled in a Shakespeare inspired triangle. There are many twists and turns in this adorable story. The author introduces us to Lucy a popular southern Belle type, Tom the clueless Californian surfer dude. Giacomo is the cad with women and leads Silvia to play a joke on him involving Kate. Silvia is the bitter and neglected goth girl and Be...more

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Jan 21, 2009 BAYA Librarian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

Three American teens and three Italian teens participate in a summer Shakespeare Scholar program set in Verona, where they study and perform scenes from Romeo and Juliet. We've got three girls and three boys, each with their own particular quirk-they're bound to end up as three perfect couples, and the reader's challenge is to figure out who will end up together. Echoing Shakespearean themes, there's star-crossed lovers, bickering a-plenty and ghost-written love letters. Character development is...more

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Jun 23, 2009 Melanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 7th-grade-and-up, young-adult-literature, romance, shakespeare, italy, verona, interpersonal-relationships, letters, summer-vacation, humorous-stories

Kate Sanderson, daughter of an oh-so-sensible mother and an oh-so-romantic father, often finds herself trying to balance her rationality with real-life. Winning a trip to Verona, Italy for the summer to study Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet might help, she thinks. Then she meets the handsome and charming Giacomo. Oh, dear...she does try to remain practical and logical. But it's Italy for heaven's sake!

I loved this book! It was hilarious! My only complaint is that the author characterized Kate as...more

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Mar 04, 2011 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book awhile ago, and i loved it! <3 I'll admit at first i wasn't really into it, then I read the other reviews below mine and they said it was an amazing book. So i picked it up again and i'm glad i did. I loved the relationship between Kate and Giacomo! (did you know that the name Giacomo translated from Italian to English means James? haha. I wanted to know what it sounded like in Italian so i used google translate and it also said it was James in English. Anywaaaays...) Overall...more

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Oct 31, 2010 Brooke rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-want-to-own, includes-a-love-story

Fun and exciting book. I was pulled into modern day Verona and couldn't climb back out until the end of the book thrust me back into reality.
Well, the descriptions of the town weren't that extensive and didn't really pull me into Verona, but I was definitely pulled into the story.
Lovely, lovely leading man... Italian Hearthrob all the way!
This book was well written and was a really fun read. Worth the time it takes to read it for sure.
It's especially fun because Ms. Harper brings in plot elemen...more

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About Suzanne Harper

Suzanne Harper has published two young adult novels, The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney and The Juliet Club. She is currently working on a third young adult novel and a middle-grade series.

She has also written three original novels based on the Hannah Montana TV series (Rock the Waves, In the Loop, and Swept Up) and a number of novels (under the pen name N. B. Grace) based on High School Musical....more

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A Gaggle of Goblins (The Unseen World of Poppy Malone, #1)

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“Problems can be fixed. But unrequited love is a tragedy.” — 29 people liked it

“She looked like an angel who had decided that it was far more amusing to be wicked than to be good.” — 28 people liked it

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