cover image Romeo and/or Juliet

Romeo and/or Juliet

Ryan North. Riverhead, $20 (400p) ISBN 978-1-101-98330-0

North follows up on his previous choose-your-own-adventure Shakespeare, To Be or Not to Be, with another zany tale. North begins by explaining that this is the original work that Shakespeare plagiarized; it was "lost until recently" but that the author found it "just over there... Someone had put a coat over it." The reader can choose to follow Shakespeare's story, which is told in modern teen-speak sprinkled with more classical phrases and occasional extended passages of amazing iambic pentameter. Choosing this path, of course, leads to the untimely death of both protagonists in a crypt in Verona, but other paths lead to "happily ever after in Mantua," patrolling the streets of Verona in giant mechanical suits, or dying at the hands of ninjas and punks. The possibilities are certainly vast and there are great illustrations by a panoply of talented artists to tempt readers down other plot lines. There are even chances to play as other characters, and to choose your own sex scene. This book will provide readers with hours of somewhat twisted Shakespearean fun. (June)