Book Review (Canon): Romeo and/or Juliet

Romeo and/or Juliet: A Chooseable-Path Adventure

Written by Ryan North in 2016

The Raccoon: This choose-your-own-adventure book takes Shakespeare’s classic play and transforms it into a game with hundreds of options.

UNMASKED: Romeo and/or Juliet is one of only three books that I have not finished after starting them (the other two being Cat Warren’s "What the Dog Knows" and Emily Bronte’s "Wuthering Heights").  So what did I dislike about this book so much?

Nothing.  It’s just that one lifetime is not enough to explore an entire world.

North displays a vision of the star-crossed lovers entirely separate from Shakespeare's, including a Juliet who, forced to stay at home her entire life, has developed a passion for weightlifting. The line “You kiss by th’ book” actually refers to an entire collection:

• “Kiss It Better!  What YOU Can Learn from the World’s Greatest Kissers”
• “Reminiscing About Kissing: Sixty-Six Years of Sexy Smooches”
• “Basorexia!”
• “How to Press the Bacteria-Rich Outer Edge of Your Digestive Tract Against the Bacteria-Rich Outer Edge of Someone Else’s Digestive Tract and Exchange Fluids”

While some readers may not appreciate just how much liberty was taken with the exalted original work, I loved how every page brought a new surprise and all of the questions I was left with after reading the play were answered, albeit probably not in the way Shakespeare intended (for example, it is possible to overdose on Friar Lawrence’s sleep potion, and his other potions also last exactly 42 hours).

Romeo and/or Juliet is STUFFED with humor, and not a single word is wasted.  North also has ensured that every choice is rewarded with an expanded story, or raised eyebrows about my questionable morals on certain paths.  While I may never see all of the possibilities within this book, I’m already looking forward to picking it up again.

Strong Points:

• I actually laughed out loud at many of the jokes, and there are certain choices specifically intended for comedic effect (for example, ‘Learn more about eating’ and ‘Actually wish to be that glove’) that provide the opportunity for even wilder paths without taking away from the rest of the story.
• Every ending has a drawing, done by a different artist, which gives the novel a comic book feel and creates images even more funny than the text.
• The drawing of Romeo and Juliet’s iconic first kiss is a surprisingly effective tool for centering the reader and giving them a sense of accomplishment for reaching this point.

Weak Points:

• The book makes very little sense if you haven’t previously read Shakespeare’s play.
• The beginning is repetitive.  By my sixth run, I memorized the page of the first meaningful choice and started skipping to there.
• This book takes a lot of work to complete.  Certain paths take ages to branch out, and there is an entire Midsummer Night’s Dream section within the book that I haven’t found out how to get to.  The reader has to be willing to repeat sections multiple times to find the subtle entrances to new paths.
• Alternatively, another strong point earned for the fact that there is an entire Midsummer Night’s Dream section.

Rating: 19/20 points in Nurse Quest

Ideal Setting: Read this in front of your English professor or anyone who says that Shakespeare’s work is the zenith of the English language.  Shove it in his/her face.  There is an entire world of more interesting possibilities than what’s written in the play.