Initially my interest was piqued by the new take on Romeo and Juliet - a modern adaptation from the point of view of Rosaline, the girl Romeo was desperately in love with until the moment he spotted Juliet. Having recently rewatched Romeo + Juliet and being put in an angsty teen mood, I decided to give When You Were Mine a go. But Rose was soon driving me nuts; she had basically no personality and depended upon her best friend, Charlie, to dictate her thoughts, feelings and actions. Every second line was, "Charlie says this" or "Charlie thinks that". Frustrated, I went looking for reviews to see what other people thought. While there were a fair few positive ones, what struck me were two quite negative, but thoughtful reviews by Emily May and Ashleigh Paige. I had a feeling I'd have the same reaction to the book as them, and came very, very close to DNFing.
I'm glad I stuck with it, because in the end I did like it - quite a lot, actually. While I think the criticisms that Emily, Ashleigh and others have made are valid, I thought that there was a good amount of growth over the course of the novel. Rob was a total dirtbag douchcanoe for ditching Rose the second her cousin Juliet comes to town, and while Rose still loved him, she did blame him as well as Juliet. Granted, Juliet got the brunt of the blame, but as Mandee points out, the slut-shaming aspect of this, though not ideal, is certainly true to life. That is how teen girls - and indeed, many adult women - act towards a girl who "steals" their guy. That doesn't mean the author endorses this behaviour as positive. It is simply true to life. I think what really helped was the way Juliet was given more layers and agency. I felt for her in the end, along with Rosaline. I still hated Rob, but I was sad about what happened. It's not spoiling anything to say this has a sad ending - it is an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet after all. I really liked the way Serle developed the tragic aspect of the story, and gave it a unique spin while maintaining an emotional punch.
Although When You Were Mine is heartbreaking at times, it does have quite a few lighthearted moments. The humour came primarily from Rose's friends, Charlie and Olivia. OK, so Charlie was a cow at times, and said some pretty awful things, but she was fiercely protective of Rose and not just a one-dimensional mean girl. Olivia was totally like Karen from Mean Girls, as Mandee mentions, which provided some entertaining moments. Then there was Len, the lovely, funny nerd who saw the real Rose and encouraged her to be herself and stand up for herself. He was very cute and a nice foil for the knobsticle Rob.
I don't think this book is for everyone, but I enjoyed it and found it to be a refreshing take on a done-to-death (no pun intended) story.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Eye Candy
Coz I watch way too much trashy teen drama:
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| Ashley Benson as Juliet |
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| Penn Badgley as Len |
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| Tyler Posey as Rob |
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| Lucy Hale as Rosaline |
Published: April 2012, Simon & Schuster
Get It: Fishpond
My opinion of this book is a bit closer to Emily May and Ashleigh Paige's opinions as I really liked the little bit of Juliet I saw (and interpreted in a more positive way than is presented by the author) and found Rose really annoying. Glad for you that by persevering you ended up finding some redeeming features.
ReplyDeleteI can totally see that side of it. I was prepared not to like it - maybe that allowed my expectations to be exceeded.
DeleteI love that instead of just adapting Romeo and Juliet that the author took a different character to focus on. It sounds like a really interesting book and I'm glad that you eventually liked it. I find that more and more I end up not liking the first part of a book, but enjoying the second half immensely.
ReplyDeleteIt was a really great concept, I can't believe it hasn't been done before now!
DeleteAs a huge Shakespeare fan, I can certainly appreciate the updated and unique take on the whole Romeo & Juliet story. It always pays off to not DNF questionable books because sometimes they are totally able to turn it around in the end. Perhaps I'm the bookish optimist for thinking this way though.
ReplyDeleteI think you totally have a point on the slut-shaming thing, Belle. This is precisely how many women act toward one another and its sad that that reaction has become the norm in these situations. It still would've been nice to see Serle step outside the box and take the opposite stance even if this is the norm, expecially since the book seems more geared toward a YA audience.
I used to hate DNF but I'm trying to get better at it because I have sooooo many books to read. But I'm glad I persevered with this one.
DeleteDid Rose stay personality-less or did she grow as the book went on? It's kind of interesting to read someone who lets someone else totally define them - I guess that is a personality of sorts.
ReplyDeleteShe does grow and steps out from Charlie's shadow. I think that's why I liked it in the end.
DeleteI'm really glad you gave this book a go despite the negative reviews. It really surprised me, and I appreciated the small amount of humour along with all the heartache.
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning my review xox
Thanks Mandee! I loved your review, it was great.
DeleteLove your review, Belle :) I've seen really varied reactions to this book so it's interesting to see another take on the novel. Great casting, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rey!
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