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3rd out of 23 books
—
20 voters
Romeo's Ex: Rosalind's Story
by
Lisa Fiedler
Shakespeare's classic retold from another perspective
Rosaline won't let anyone or anything get in the way of her future as a healer. That is, until she meets Benvolio. Where Romeo's words had been hollow and unfounded, Benvolio's are filled with sincerity and true love. Now Rosaline finds herself caught between her feelings, her ambition, and her family's long-standing feu...more
Rosaline won't let anyone or anything get in the way of her future as a healer. That is, until she meets Benvolio. Where Romeo's words had been hollow and unfounded, Benvolio's are filled with sincerity and true love. Now Rosaline finds herself caught between her feelings, her ambition, and her family's long-standing feu...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
September 19th 2006
by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
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Rosaline is NOT in love with Romeo—that simpering, lovesick, ANNOYANCE. In fact, she has no interest in falling in love or getting married or any of that. Nope. She’s going study medicine. Commit herself to science. And she isn’t going to waste her time on the feud between her family, the Capulets, and their archenemy, the Montagues, either.
She really couldn’t care less about of the Montagues.
That is . . . she couldn’t until the brawl. Where she gets hit on the head. And rescued.
And now, well, t...more
She really couldn’t care less about of the Montagues.
That is . . . she couldn’t until the brawl. Where she gets hit on the head. And rescued.
And now, well, t...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is a fairly straight re-telling of the Romeo and Juliet story from the perspective of Juliet's older cousin Rosaline, Romeo's first love. Rosaline has no interest in Romeo, and in fact no interest in love, as she wants to become a healer. As the story unfolds, Rosaline gets entangled with Mercutio and Benvolio (her forced confusion between the two seems to make little sense, plotwise, as it doesn't go very far), as well as her cousin's tragic tale.
This book blew hot and cold for me, though...more
This book blew hot and cold for me, though...more
The more I mull this one over, the more I dislike it.
Any sort of literary pastiche is, in essence, fanfic. It goes back to Dante and beyond, no shame in that. Some great work has come from reworking the stories of others. But Romeo's Ex is less "Baker Street Irregulars" and more "message board that's probably going to give you spyware."
The premise certainly had potential, but Rosaline just ends up being Juliet But Better: older, prettier, wiser, braver. She's a Capulet too, but all three Montagu...more
Any sort of literary pastiche is, in essence, fanfic. It goes back to Dante and beyond, no shame in that. Some great work has come from reworking the stories of others. But Romeo's Ex is less "Baker Street Irregulars" and more "message board that's probably going to give you spyware."
The premise certainly had potential, but Rosaline just ends up being Juliet But Better: older, prettier, wiser, braver. She's a Capulet too, but all three Montagu...more
* Hardcover: 256 pages
* Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (September 19, 2006)
* ISBN-10: 0805075003
* Author: Lisa Fiedler
* Cover art: Love the cover art.
* Overall rating * out of 5 stars
* Obtained: My personal book shelf
Romeo's Ex by Lisa Fiedler
Reviewed by Moirae the fates book reviews
Rosaline won't let anyone or anything get in the way of her future as a healer. That is, until she meets Benvolio. Where Romeo's words had been hollow and unfounded, Benvolio's are filled wit...more
* Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (September 19, 2006)
* ISBN-10: 0805075003
* Author: Lisa Fiedler
* Cover art: Love the cover art.
* Overall rating * out of 5 stars
* Obtained: My personal book shelf
Romeo's Ex by Lisa Fiedler
Reviewed by Moirae the fates book reviews
Rosaline won't let anyone or anything get in the way of her future as a healer. That is, until she meets Benvolio. Where Romeo's words had been hollow and unfounded, Benvolio's are filled wit...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
7 likes · like · see review
We never actually see or hear from Rosaline in Shakespeare's play, but she's still an important character; without her, none of the other action would have occurred.
This book imagines the story from Rosaline's perspective, how she reacted to Romeo's declarations of love, how she felt about the Capulet-Montague feud, how she helped the young lovers.
The language is that of the 16th century (though not in verse), so it could prove troublesome for less dedicated readers. I liked running into lines f...more
This book imagines the story from Rosaline's perspective, how she reacted to Romeo's declarations of love, how she felt about the Capulet-Montague feud, how she helped the young lovers.
The language is that of the 16th century (though not in verse), so it could prove troublesome for less dedicated readers. I liked running into lines f...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
"For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo." We all know the tragic story of the young, star-crossed lovers. But what of Rosaline? What is her story? What role did she play in this famous drama? Never actually seen in Shakespeare’s play, she is nonetheless extremely important. For if not for Romeo’s crush on her, he would never have crashed the Capulet masquerade ball in the first place.
If true beauty comes from within, then Rosaline is truly a beautiful person. She is...more
If true beauty comes from within, then Rosaline is truly a beautiful person. She is...more
My sister's choice, but I thought it looked intriguing (ignore the somewhat lame title). It was well written overall and makes good use of both Shakespearean language/humor (does get edgy) and the Romeo and Juliet story. My main criticism is that it gets chaotic (especially as the Romeo and Juliet story hits its dramatic point), switching between perspectives and changing directions a little too often, and sometimes the characters are a bit inconsistent (although I do like the way she extrapolat...more
For those of you who despise spinoffs, don't worry. I totally understand your sentiments, but this story is different. There's something about the way it's written that grabs your attention and doesn't let go. The author puts a twist on the original ending of the story, and it really gets the reader thinking. I like how the story is told, not from the lovestruck fools' point of view, but from the point of view of Rosaline - the sensible young woman mentioned in the beginning of the traditional S...more
Let me first start by saying I don't like Romeo and Juliet. The language may be beautifully poetic, but the story is just too damn nauseating. I do happen to love retellings of classic stories. So when I saw this on sale for one dollar, I said why not? Oh, I'll tell you why not... Where do I even begin? The writing is amateur, there is a complete lack of character development, and the plot was just... Dull. Not to mention ridiculous. But I do give the author props on doing the near impossible. S...more
I thought that it was interesting the way the author worked in more plays by adding Characters from both "Twelvth night" and "The Taming of the Shrew." Though it is true that Patruchio is indeed from Veronia anyway and so was not hard to work in.
But I did not like the lack of Continuity. Juliet's sleeping potion is the same one from Fiedler's earlier book "Dating Hamlet." But in that book the potiion needed a waking potion to counteract it; instead in this book Juliet merely awakens on her own....more
But I did not like the lack of Continuity. Juliet's sleeping potion is the same one from Fiedler's earlier book "Dating Hamlet." But in that book the potiion needed a waking potion to counteract it; instead in this book Juliet merely awakens on her own....more
1 like · like · see review
The writing was excellent. I especially liked when Rosaline was telling the story.
The problem was, rather than being Rosaline's story, it ended up being overshadowed quite often with Romeo and Juliet's. The changes in point of view didn't help, certainly not when Romeo or Tybalt were involved. Except for Romeo early on, which was about Rosaline, the rest was all about Juliet. Tybalt's ghost followed Juliet around, not Rosaline. I actually have some issue with Tybalt's ghost's point of view...
Fie...more
The problem was, rather than being Rosaline's story, it ended up being overshadowed quite often with Romeo and Juliet's. The changes in point of view didn't help, certainly not when Romeo or Tybalt were involved. Except for Romeo early on, which was about Rosaline, the rest was all about Juliet. Tybalt's ghost followed Juliet around, not Rosaline. I actually have some issue with Tybalt's ghost's point of view...
Fie...more
As long as you don't take it too seriously, it's a very enjoyable book. Lisa Fiedler does an admirable job of keeping true to the original story while still making the characters her own, but their stupidity, even Rosaline's, is pretty impressive, which makes my character-driven side irritated. But I really did like Benvolio, and Rosaline did get some sense near the end.
I really wanted to adore this book, but it ended up just being mediocre. I somehow got the image in my head of Rosaline being a...more
I really wanted to adore this book, but it ended up just being mediocre. I somehow got the image in my head of Rosaline being a...more
Aug 10, 2011
Ariel Koch
added it
I thought that Romeo's Ex: Rosaline's Story was a very interesting book. It showed a different side to the story of Romeo and Juliet and how Rosline reacted to the death of her friends and family. It also explained why Rosaline rejected Romeo and the many reasons for her rejecting him. I though that the romance between Rosaline and Benvolio was an interesting twist. I also thought that this was a very good book and I thought it had interesting concepts. I would definatly reccomend this book to m...more
A kiss unkissed, and sorely missed.
To the moss we topple backward, falling gently, head o'er heels.
Mayhap to land so safely on such softness is the way love truly feels.
And now the sky accepts me; earth recedes, I meet the sun.
Dying becomes death at last, and I am done.
I wish I read this book after reading Romeo and Juliet in class last year. But then again, I wouldn't have recognized the other Shakespearean characters Fiedler wove into the story. I loved Rosaline and Benvolio and how their...more
To the moss we topple backward, falling gently, head o'er heels.
Mayhap to land so safely on such softness is the way love truly feels.
And now the sky accepts me; earth recedes, I meet the sun.
Dying becomes death at last, and I am done.
I wish I read this book after reading Romeo and Juliet in class last year. But then again, I wouldn't have recognized the other Shakespearean characters Fiedler wove into the story. I loved Rosaline and Benvolio and how their...more
One of the better "reimaginings-of-Shakespeare-from-the-viewpoint-of-a-marginalized-female-character" genre. I always wondered what happened to Rosaline. She was clearly smarter than Romeo, ("O, she well knew thy love did read by rote, that could not spell".) I had this fantasy that while R&J were embracing the "love-devouring death" thang, Rosaline was secretly reconnoitering with Benvolio. Think about it: they are the only clear-eyed, level headed rationalists in a play full of melodrama q...more
One of the funnest things about this book was the way the author was able to capture and sustain a very Elizabethan voice. The characters spoke their lines as they did in Romeo and Juliet, and continued to speak in the same manner when they weren't speaking Shakespeare's words.
I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes approach as well as the re-interpretation of the dynamics of this famous tragedy. I also enjoyed the cameo appearances of other of Shakespeare's characters in the story. It was a very intere...more
I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes approach as well as the re-interpretation of the dynamics of this famous tragedy. I also enjoyed the cameo appearances of other of Shakespeare's characters in the story. It was a very intere...more
Sep 14, 2008
Cindy
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who wanted to feel okay about going blind and not being able to read books any more.
Recommended to Cindy by:
nobody -- the misleading cover made it sound interesting
What's most impressive about this book is how many of my pet peeves it manages to combine in one place. The despicable "romantic" hero who has slept with every woman in town but says it will be different with this girl because now it's not just about sex, the obnoxious "plucky" heroine who anachronistically wants to have a career before starting a family, the incredibly annoying first-person, present-tense narration with shifting narrators, the pseudo-profound imagery that immature writers erron...more
A good YA book with a hint of what Shakespeare's play might mean to the critic. Worth reading but kind of jerky. The contrast between modern language and Elizabethan language not done particularly well and that would not be much of a complaint but it is a little jarring in this instance.
However, I will be reading her Hamlet knock off before the end of the month. I guess that means I found it readable. Also, a Jr. High boy told me the earlier book was better. I always believe random preteen book...more
However, I will be reading her Hamlet knock off before the end of the month. I guess that means I found it readable. Also, a Jr. High boy told me the earlier book was better. I always believe random preteen book...more
This book was an interesting take on the Romeo and Juliet story, with added twists and turns that could have fit into the behind the scenes of Shakespeare's original, without the audience ever knowing it. Though I liked the idea and most of the twists, the characters all had the same issue: they were totally un-rounded. This really bothered me, but I put up with it. Over all, I think it was a worthwhile read, if for no other reason, because I learned what not to do with my own book characters :)
Romeo's Ex is a fun book, although not a particularly good book. I first read it in ninth grade after reading Romeo and Juliet for the first time. I thought it was clever and liked the creativity of the concept. Having reread it six years later, I find it to be a bit silly. The writing style was forced and wavered throughout the novel. The plot had a lot of cliches and nonsense strewn in. Plus from what would be Act III onward, the book is practically unreadable from a plot standpoint. Despite t...more
This book was amazingly interesting to read. No, Shakespeare didn't write this one, but Lisa does an amazing job making it seem as though he had. Maybe this had been what was in the back of his mind when he had written Romeo and Juliet. It goes behind the scenes of the actual stories lines and makes everything seem just a bit more reasonable. Although most of the story is told in Rosaline's point of view it does shift sometimes and makes it very fun to read. In my opinion this was better then th...more
Do you really understand Romeoand Juliet's story? This book really lets you understand what happened with Romeo and Juliet, with twist added to cook up about the best book you could ever imagine. The first time I tried it I put it down because I couldn't understand it with the Old English. Five minutes later I picked up the book and substituted out the Old Enlish with words it could have meant. If you have trouble readin it the first time, try my strategy
For those who love Shakespeare and those who have no idea who he is, this story is just a plain fun read. Delightful for its use of Shakespearan characters and dialogue, but giving those same characters new life and new adventures. I loved seeing the glimpses of other plays and characters, like Sebastian and Viola, Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew, etc.
The consistency of the dialogue and period details wavered a tad, and I did not feel as connected to the main characters as I generally like,...more
The consistency of the dialogue and period details wavered a tad, and I did not feel as connected to the main characters as I generally like,...more
Wow! I expected so much more out of this one! While I still do think that the cover art is absolutely gorgeous, the text inside is rather pitiable. While I respect the attempt, using quasi-Shakespearian language half the time mixed in with more modern sounding dialogue was a lost cause. It came off as ridiculously funny, which I rather fancy was unintended ("'Tis not thou...'tis I" (pg. 20) -- laughable, yes?). Too, in my opinion, one should either stick closely to Shakespeare's story or be very...more
This was a fun, quick read. It told the story of Romeo and Juliet from the perspective of Rosaline. I did enjoy the Rosaline character, and I like the author's idea of making the female characters in Shakespeare's plays more powerful. I think I would have gotten more out of this, however, if I either remembered the details of Romeo and Juliet better or had read it more recently. It was a fun book though, and I'll probably check out Fiedler's retelling of Hamlet.
I read this book in a couple of hours and I thought it was awesome. I love the pairing of Rosaline and Benvolio. There were a few things that I thought were a little weird, but other then that I would recommend this book to anyone. This book sticks pretty close to Shakespeare's original and even has a few qoutes from 'Romeo and Juliet' in it. Over all this book is great for a rainy afternoon with a cup of tea by the fire.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The title of the book is wrong and inaccurate, which is bizarre because the title is RIGHT THERE ON THE BOOK COVER. Can someone change it? | 1 | 1 | May 18, 2013 09:34am |
Anne
Sep 20, 2010 07:06pm
Sep 21, 2010 07:47am