Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet gets an extreme makeover with a feminist flavor. Set in Verona in 1595, this new take on the tragic tale of doomed young lovers and their feuding families stars Juliet’s 160-year-old cousin Rosaline and Romeo’s kinsman Benvolio. The liberated Rosaline vows to remain chaste to pursue a career as a healer. However, when Romeo sees Rosaline, he is instantly besotted. Rosaline readily rebuffs Romeo, who “is more in love with love than anything,” but soon falls for the kindly Benvolio. Meanwhile, Romeo quickly forgets Rosaline when he meets Juliet, and they rendezvous on her balcony. With Montagues and Capulets slicing and dicing one another on the streets of Verona, Rosaline and Benvolio try to save Romeo and Juliet. In the end, they fall in love and Rosaline is faced with the very modern choice of career or marriage. Deftly drawing on the play’s lyric language and heart-wrenching plot, Fiedler fleshes out her own engaging pair of star-crossed lovers, giving the timeless tale enough twists to engross Shakespearean fans and novices alike. (Fiction. 12-18)
