Ed not only has to wear a frilly tuxedo to his job at Reel Life Movies video and DVD rental, he’s got a hand-me-down nametag. His pseudonym “Sergio” inspires him, however, to impress the gorgeous Ellie with a fake Brazilian accent. This only annoys his best friend Scout, who secretly has a crush on him, and complicates relations with his other friend Quark, who secretly has a crush on Scout. Begin to see the setup? The very loose allusions to A Midsummer Night’s Dream end around there. The alternating voices that convey the narrative in a variety of forms are uneven instead of engaging: Though Ed and Scout are convincing enough in their roles as totally-regular guy and gal, Ellie and Quark never rise beyond their stereotypes of lonely, brilliant beauty and geek. Mediocrity of storytelling aside, the romantic tension is palpable, there is a Shakespearean climax replete with costumes and kissing, and thus-inclined readers will find here at least a few hours of satisfying, if fleeting, romance. (Fiction. 12 & up)
