To live on

I was surprised the other day to find that 3 authors had chosen to write adaptations of Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet". Here we are, more than 400 years later still living through the bitter-sweet tragedy.

The first is by the prolific Jackie French with 'I am Juliet'. It takes the well-known story of Juliet Capulet and her love for Romeo, with Juliet our heroine determined to choose her own destiny. It is also the story about the increasing helplessness Juliet feels as she realises that unlike young men her age, her life will effectively be determined and controlled by others, who see her having an arranged marriage of alliance and becoming a breeder of sons. 'I am Juliet' closely follows the well-known plot of the play, but we also see the point of view of Rob, the 13-year-old boy who is the first to play the Shakespearean role of Juliet on the Elizabethan stage. Like many young people today, he too is overwhelmed by 'all those words' that Shakespeare wrote. But Rob realises that the story of love and tragedy is a somewhat simple one and the words are there for their extraordinary beauty and meaning. He will be Juliet and let the power of the words sing - as they still do today.

The next is really two books - 'Juliet immortal' and its sequel 'Romeo redeemed' by Stacey Jay. With a supernatural bent, here contrary to legend, Juliet Capulet didn't commit suicide. She was actually murdered by her new husband, Romeo Montague, who made the sacrifice to ensure his own immortality. However, what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet too would be granted eternity, and become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For over 700 years, the souls of Romeo and Juliet have repeatedly inhabited the bodies of newly deceased people, locked in a battle to the death as sworn enemies for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Now, they meet for the last time as two Southern California high school students, as Juliet falls in love for the first time in centuries, Romeo schemes to destroy her fledgling relationship - yes it is different! 

But of course, it couldn't end there. There had to be 'Romeo redeemed'. Cursed to live out eternity in his rotted corpse, Romeo, known for his ruthless, cutthroat ways, is given the chance to redeem himself by traveling back in time to save the life of Ariel Dragland. Unbeknownst to her, Ariel is important to both the evil Mercenaries and the love-promoting Ambassadors of Light, and holds the fate of the world in her hands. Romeo must win her heart and make her believe in love, turning her away from her darker potential before his work is discovered by the Mercenaries. While his seduction begins as yet another lie, it soon becomes his only truth. Romeo vows to protect Ariel from harm, and do whatever it takes to win her heart and soul. But when Ariel is led to believe his love is a deception, she becomes vulnerable to Mercenary manipulation, and her own inner darkness may ultimately rip them apart. It isn't The Bard, but then you could have guessed that from the beginning.

Finally comes 'Prince of Shadows' by Rachel Caine. In the Houses of Montague and Capulet, there is only one goal: power. The boys are born to fight and die for honour and - if they survive - marry for influence and money, not love. The girls are assets, to be spent wisely. Their wishes are of no import. Their fates are written the day they are born. Benvolio Montague, cousin to Romeo, knows all this. He expects to die for his cousin, for his House, but a spark of rebellion still lives inside him. At night, he is the Prince of Shadows, the greatest thief in Verona - and he risks all as he steals from House Capulet. In doing so, he sets eyes on convent-bound Rosaline, and a terrible curse begins that will claim the lives of many in Verona...and will rewrite all their fates, forever.
These books were all written for the youth market, so abound with supernatural romance.