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A review by ghosthermione
Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan

dark emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I can't lie, I'm a sucker for Shakespeare rewrites, and I'm a sucker for Romeo and Juliet - but it rarely hits the mark, really. This book, though! I had a blast listening to the audiobook! The voice actors really embody the characters, and Ridley especially. The poor kid has panic attacks and the writer and actor both did a wonderful job portraying that.
There's a lot in this story about mental health, and family abuse and what it does to you, so it comes with trigger warnings - but the writer really did justice to the topic, showing how it's really overwhelming sometimes and how those dynamics eat at you - but also how there are roads to recovery and ways to build support systems even if you think there aren't. 
It's also really, really funny and geeky in the best of ways, and it's a love letter to independent comicbook stores, and to queer kids. Most of the cast is queer in some way, including the main f/m relationship - which is very unusual and as a bi girl I found it really refreshing. It does a good job of portraying the anxiety that comes with navigating relationship as a bi/pan/...  person too, but remains very positive on that front. I don't normally read contemporary  YA, but I absolutely loved this one and would absolutely recommend it!

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