Romeo Redeemed

By: Stacey Jay
Publisher: Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 2012
ISBN: 978-0-385-74018-0
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor 
Review Date: October 4, 2012

When the ‘greatest love story ever told’ found a new path to take, readers were treated to Juliet Immortal. Now comes the sequel where readers find themselves standing by the side of Romeo, who has found himself buried inside a rotting corpse.

You see, Romeo was taken in by a religious man and believed every word that was told to him - a move that ended up ruining his life and killing his only love. This time around, however, an ‘Ambassador’ appears who offers Romeo a way out. All he has to do is go back to the present, slip into the body of a boy named Dylan, and somehow romance a girl named Ariel who, at one time, was the reason why Dylan drove off a cliff and died. (I know, this may sound confusing, but the author has done a tremendous job of writing so well that you will not be lost for a second).

As Dylan, Romeo finds himself with three days to romance Ariel which means his work is cut out for him. This young girl with a big heart is used to being teased because she’s been called the school freak for years. You see, long ago there was a bit of an accident that caused Ariel to end up with scars; those, along with the strange seizures that show her another world of pain and agony, make Ariel fodder for her fellow students.

Ariel has no idea why a popular guy like Dylan all of a sudden wants to date her, and when she believes it to be nothing more than a joke, her heart is broken. Soon, Romeo is doing his absolute best to make Ariel forgive and forget what the original Dylan did to her, and proves with every step he takes that he is the love of her life.

Oddly enough…Romeo does a fine job and Ariel is soon in love with him. But as the players come together and the two worlds collide, Ariel may just have to become a patron of 1300’s Verona in order to survive. At every turn there’s something new to the story - including Juliet rising from her tomb and the once heartless Romeo finding himself madly in love and battling to save a girl…for the very first time.

Quill says: This well-known tale brought back to life is a fantastically entertaining and unforgettable story!