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'Forbidden Boy'—Book Review

Falling in love? Summer romances? Please, life can't possibly be that simple...

By Kristen BarenthalerPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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Overall, I greatly enjoyed reading Forbidden Boy. The basic plot line runs along the theme of a modernized Romeo & Juliet. A young girl, living in her family beach house, meets a charming boy at a party and they fall in love after a few weeks of dating. Meanwhile, a rich family, next to her house, is trying to make her family sell their home so that the rich family can have a gym on the waterfront. Turns out, that the young boy is the son of the thieving, rich family. Neither of the families is happy about the young couple’s relationship, but they still continue seeing each other in secret. The difference between Romeo & Juliet and Forbidden Boy is that at the end of the novel that families accept the children’s love and they live happily ever after, whereas in the play the young lovers kill themselves to be together and only then do the families accept each other.

The connections do not stop at the plot line. This novel has a lot of symbolism for Romeo & Juliet. First off, the young lovers’ names are Julianne and Remi. The “J” and “R” matched perfectly with the beginning letters for Romeo and Juliet. I highly doubt that was a coincidence. Especially because later in the novel Abbott writes, “Neither Jules nor Remi was sure what, exactly, would happen if their respective families found out that they were together, but they were both sure that it would turn their summer romance into a Shakespearean tragedy.” Abbott comes right out and states that the romance between Julianne and Remi was based on the love between Romeo and Juliet.

Abbott’s use of language within the novel is also very modern. Many times within the text, she talks of current music and slang. For example, Abbott writes about Julianne going out for the night with some friends. While at the club, Julianne and her friend, Lucy, dance to “Sexy Back” by Justin Timberlake. Abbott also mentions music by The Killers, Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Fergie, Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, and many others. This use of modern culture helps young readers connect to the novel. Most teenagers do not want to read boring old plays, like Romeo & Juliet, but they will sit down and read an engaging, contemporary novel.

If you enjoy Forbidden Boy, Abbott has also written many other young adult, romance novels, including a series called Summer Boys on summertime romances. First released in 2009, Forbidden Boy has received mixed reviews for its young adult writing. It is overall a good story, but is simplistic and often seems corny and unrealistic, but that’s to be expected in a Romeo & Juliet rewrite, isn’t it? No one falls in love that quickly and the chances of not knowing the people your family has been in a huge fight with are pretty slim. It’s fiction and being able to realize that the world you’re reading about isn’t real is part of what makes it so compelling. However, to be completely honest in this review, the Amazon reviews for Forbidden Boy range from Emily Rose’s 4-stars saying “Great road trip book. Short, and an easy ready. Its interesting enough to keep your attention too. Great for teens into love stories!” to Jill’s 1-star review of “I don't really know where to begin, but I'm going to try and keep this short and professional. Even though I'm raging on the inside and want to rant for the rest of my review.” Ultimately, this is one of those books that only speaks to a certain type of audiences, so if you like young adult, simplistic, romance novels, give it a try. If not, I suggest skipping to the next choice on your wish list.

literature
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About the Creator

Kristen Barenthaler

Curious adventurer. Crazed reader. Archery fanatic. Amateur author. Librarian.

Instagram: @kristenbarenthaler

Facebook: @kbarenthaler

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15101108.Kristen_Barenthaler

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