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A review by stephen_arvidson
Just Juliet by Charlotte Reagan
3.0
Texas author Charlotte Reagan debuts with a coming-out/coming-of-age tale of a struggling bisexual teenager from a conservative household.
Seventeen-year-old Lena Newman is an intelligent, well-adjusted student and daughter of a middle-to-upper-class family. She bears all the trappings of a typical teenage existence, right down to her football-player boyfriend. As her senior year draws to a close and she finds herself on the precipice of college, the normally unflappable Lena questions her future—but when she crosses paths with the titular Juliet James, Lena begins to question everything. Outside of proclaiming her love for Princess Jasmine at the age of five, Lena has always been heterosexual. As she struggles to come to grips with her sexual identity, Lena finds solace in Juliet’s household, which is home to her live-in cousin, Lakyn, and his beloved boyfriend, Scott. Juliet’s father, Mr. James, albeit a largely peripheral character, is graciously accepting of their same-sex feelings; a sharp contrast to the prickly tolerance of Juliet’s parents and the backbiting rejection by Scott and Lakyn’s respective guardians. Juliet, while private and withdrawn, represents an untapped world of excitement and happiness that’s been sorely lacking in Lena’s life. Reagan takes readers on an intimate journey exploring the complexities of Lena’s relationship with Juliet and her path into adulthood.
Just Juliet is, at its core, a love story. While society’s intolerance of homosexuality isn’t at the forefront of the novel, Reagan acknowledges the hardships facing LGBTQ teens as well as the tribulations of adolescent identity. Just Juliet realistically depicts some of the shades and inflections of coming out, the sundry reactions by heterosexual friends, and the breadth of the spectrum between familial acceptance and disownment; however, the book would’ve benefitted from tighter editing. Reagan writes with an unrefined style that’s nearly all tell and no show; the rhythm of text flows much like a personal journal, deceptively sparse and simple, and should especially attract those teens for whom reading isn't a transformative experience. As to the more sophisticated readers, they shouldn’t be too deterred by the conversational language.
Both the novel’s tone and trajectory trill from the pages with honest and endearing characterization. The romance between Lena and Juliet is so sweet that the chemistry is felt from the imagery of their twinning hands or the absentminded tracing of fingers across one another’s flesh. Aside from garden-variety coming-out angst and conditional parental love, there’s decidedly minimal conflict. And yet, by the time audiences reach the final chapter there’s just enough emotional substance to make an impact. A rushed epilogue assures readers that the relationship between Lena and Juliet will endure the test of time. Reagan ultimately delivers a portrait of a seemingly transcendent love between two young girls who find the strength it takes to become the persons they want to be.
Seventeen-year-old Lena Newman is an intelligent, well-adjusted student and daughter of a middle-to-upper-class family. She bears all the trappings of a typical teenage existence, right down to her football-player boyfriend. As her senior year draws to a close and she finds herself on the precipice of college, the normally unflappable Lena questions her future—but when she crosses paths with the titular Juliet James, Lena begins to question everything. Outside of proclaiming her love for Princess Jasmine at the age of five, Lena has always been heterosexual. As she struggles to come to grips with her sexual identity, Lena finds solace in Juliet’s household, which is home to her live-in cousin, Lakyn, and his beloved boyfriend, Scott. Juliet’s father, Mr. James, albeit a largely peripheral character, is graciously accepting of their same-sex feelings; a sharp contrast to the prickly tolerance of Juliet’s parents and the backbiting rejection by Scott and Lakyn’s respective guardians. Juliet, while private and withdrawn, represents an untapped world of excitement and happiness that’s been sorely lacking in Lena’s life. Reagan takes readers on an intimate journey exploring the complexities of Lena’s relationship with Juliet and her path into adulthood.
Just Juliet is, at its core, a love story. While society’s intolerance of homosexuality isn’t at the forefront of the novel, Reagan acknowledges the hardships facing LGBTQ teens as well as the tribulations of adolescent identity. Just Juliet realistically depicts some of the shades and inflections of coming out, the sundry reactions by heterosexual friends, and the breadth of the spectrum between familial acceptance and disownment; however, the book would’ve benefitted from tighter editing. Reagan writes with an unrefined style that’s nearly all tell and no show; the rhythm of text flows much like a personal journal, deceptively sparse and simple, and should especially attract those teens for whom reading isn't a transformative experience. As to the more sophisticated readers, they shouldn’t be too deterred by the conversational language.
Both the novel’s tone and trajectory trill from the pages with honest and endearing characterization. The romance between Lena and Juliet is so sweet that the chemistry is felt from the imagery of their twinning hands or the absentminded tracing of fingers across one another’s flesh. Aside from garden-variety coming-out angst and conditional parental love, there’s decidedly minimal conflict. And yet, by the time audiences reach the final chapter there’s just enough emotional substance to make an impact. A rushed epilogue assures readers that the relationship between Lena and Juliet will endure the test of time. Reagan ultimately delivers a portrait of a seemingly transcendent love between two young girls who find the strength it takes to become the persons they want to be.