Still Star-Crossed

The taciturn peace that the double suicide of Romeo and Juliet imposed on the citizens of Verona is tentative at the best of times as the tension generated by the long-standing feud between the Montagues and the Capulets continues to permeate the atmosphere - seeping into to everyone’s bones and tainting all that it contacts. Burdened by the responsibility of leadership and desperate to save his city, the young Prince Escalus concludes that the only way to truly squelch this nonsense is to SUCCESSFULLY marry a Montague to a Capulet. Unfortunately, the betrothed – Benvolio and Rosaline – are not the paragon of peace that he had hoped for. However, in banding together to undermine the fate they loathe, the couple not only broker peace and save the city but also discover that they are far more willing than either would have anticipated. This lovely blend of romance and mystery adheres to the spirit of Shakespeare’s writing, if not the letter. Taub breathes new life into the well-traversed world of thirteenth-century Verona as the Bard depicted it by developing the characters of Rosaline and Benvolio and contextualizing them in a setting where the characters of both Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing came of age at approximately the same time thereby allowing her to borrow Don Pedro of Arragon (and his plight) for a clever Deus ex machina. Taub’s tale truly offers something for everyone: for those who have become disillusioned with the original tragedy, it is reinvigorating; for those who have previously found Shakespeare’s writing oblique and impenetrable, it is quite accessible; and for those who fell in love with the original star-crossed lovers as they fell in love with each other, it is heavily laced with allusions that cheekily pay homage.

Still Star-Crossed by Melinda Taub
Secondary
Delacorte Press
342 pp.
Published 2013
978-0-385-74350-1
$16.99
Romance

Comments

Notes From the Field: Waltz Across Texas, First Dance

Originally published August 1, 2024 Library Developments Blog | Library Development and Networking Division Texas State Library and Archives Commission In July, I kicked off the first in a series of day-long turns around clusters of small public libraries to tour their spaces and chat about how the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) can best support their leadership. This round, the fancy feet of Continuing Education and Consulting Team Manager Katherine Adelberg accompanied me as we spun through New Braunfels Public Library, Seguin Public Library, and Martindale Community Library. New Braunfels Public Library New Braunfels is perched on the brink of the Hill Country, right between San Antonio and Austin on I-35. Spanning Comal and Guadalupe counties with its 105,000 residents, it’s not only one of the fastest-growing cities, but is also regarded as one of the best 50 places to live in the United States. Established in 1845, New Braunfels is known for its German...

Standing TALL: Choosing to Apply to the Texas Library Association's TALL Texan Leadership Institute

After having attended the Texas Library Association's TALL Texan Leadership Institute , another library worker reached out to me with questions about my experience. Below are the answers that I provided in response. *** Why did you apply to Tall Texans? Originally, I heard about TALL Texans as a new school librarian - within my first five years - and at the time it was described to me as an opportunity to gain meaningful leadership training in the field of librarianship that was specific to the Texas Library ecosystem. Thus, it was something that I'd aspired to for quite awhile. However, as time went on, I made my way toward leadership without having attended the institute and began to second guess the value of the investment. However, when I mentioned to my supervisor that I was mildly interested in attending, she strongly encouraged me to apply - stating that not only would the library pay for my tuition but that she believed I would particularly benefit from the con...

Decloaking Wakanda: Creating Space for BIPOC Nerds

On February 9, 2023, at the fourth Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC), I had the exhilarating experience of guiding a discussion that focused on the need to connect with nerd culture and create a welcoming environment for the BIPOC fandom. The soul of this session had been several years in the making and built on countless heart-to-heart moments. So, I couldn’t imagine a better venue for seeing it actualized than my first JCLC. Furthermore, for this session, I had the honor of being in conversation with fellow nerds and comics librarians Jean Darnell and Deimosa Webber-Bey . To my eternal amazement, our talk was met with a standing room only reception, and afterward we were repeatedly regaled with tales of being turned away at the door. In hopes of capturing a small portion of that day's magic, this post grew out of that discussion. *** For the past 30 years, BIPOC nerds have existed in the cringe-worthy shadow of Urkel. What if, instead, they’d had portrayals such as ...

CET Writes

Search This Blog