Mimi is a reluctant actress, forced into the profession by her mother to continue in her family legacy. Mimi would rather go to med school, but her controlling mother will hear none of it. It doesn’t matter that Mimi has stage fright. Her current torture is playing Juliet in her family’s theater.
Troy is a self-centered teenage pop star whose agent has decided that taking on the role of Romeo will be good for ratings, despite the fact that he’s not very good at acting.
Through some magical shenanigans, Mimi and Troy end up thrown into the world of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, only things are not as they are supposed to be. Simply being in the story has changed it, and Mimi decides that she’s going to change it for the better.
Some of the characters are a bit tropy – Troy is very self-centered, and is kind of a caricature of a teen pop star. But he handles certain situations well, and does open up a bit. I feel like he grows the most as a character. Mimi quickly finds the similarities between herself and Juliet and tries to help the girl. Juliet is the age she’s supposed to be and acts accordingly, albeit a bit more mischievous than Shakespeare indicates. There are also some absolutely ridiculous characters, like the hairdresser. Mimi knows that they are in a story, and that the world around them isn’t real. But she and Troy are still stuck there until they can figure out how to get out. Mimi gains confidence in herself and her abilities as the story goes on.
I mean, this isn’t a great work of high literature by any means. There are a few realistic moments, though. There is a bit of violence that may be disturbing or triggering for some people. And the reaction of both mothers doesn’t quite seem in character, especially Mimi’s mother. The end does move along quickly, like the class period was about to end and we needed to finish the lesson before the bell. But that goes along with the story being told from Mimi’s perspective, as well as the writing style being that of a college student at times. So not the best, but still an enjoyable read. It might be a fun accompaniment to the actual Shakespearean play, especially for a younger teen audience.
