About this item

Twelve-year-old Mattie wrestles with her crush on Gemma as they participate in their school production of Romeo and Juliet in what School Library Journal calls "a fine choice for middle school libraries in need of accessible LGBTQ stories.". Twelve-year-old Mattie is thrilled when she learns the eighth grade play will be Romeo and Juliet. In particular, she cant wait to share the stage with Gemma Braithwaite, who has been cast as Juliet. Gemma is brilliant, pretty - and British! - and Mattie starts to see her as more than just a friend. But Mattie has also had an on/off crush on her classmate Elijah since, well, forever. Is it possible to have a crush on both boys AND girls? If that wasnt enough to deal with, things offstage are beginning to resemble their own Shakespearean drama: the cast is fighting, and the boy playing Romeo may not be up to the challenge of the role. And due to a last-minute emergency, Mattie is asked to step up and take over the leading role - opposite Gemmas Juliet - just as Matties secret crush starts to become not-so-secret in her group of friends. In this funny, sweet, and clever look at the complicated nature of middle school romance, Mattie learns how to become a lead player in her own life.



About the Author

Barbara Dee

Barbara Dee is the author of eleven middle grade novels published by Simon & Schuster, including MY LIFE IN THE FISH TANK (2020) , MAYBE HE JUST LIKES YOU (2019) , EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT YOU (2018) , HALFWAY NORMAL (2017) and STAR-CROSSED (2017) . Her books have earned several starred reviews and have been named to many best-of lists, including the Washington Post's Best Children's Books, the ALA Notable Children's Books, the ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, the ALA Rainbow List Top Ten, the NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, the Bank Street Best Children's Books, and Project Lit. Barbara lives with her family, their sweet rescue dog Ripley, and naughty cat Luna, in Westchester County, NY.



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