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Ronit & Jamil
This beautiful and lyrical novel in verse delivers a fresh and captivating retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that transports the star-crossed lovers to the modern-day Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza.
Ronit, an Israeli girl, lives on one side of the barrier fence. Jamil, a Palestinian boy, lives on the other side. Only miles apart but separated by generations of conflict—much more than just the concrete blockade between them. Their fathers, however, work in a distrusting but mutually beneficial business arrangement, a relationship that brings Ronit and Jamil together. And lightning strikes. The kind of lightning that transcends barrier fences, war, and hatred. Ronit and Jamil fall desperately into the throes of forbidden love, one that would create an irreparable rift between their families if it were discovered. But a love this big can be kept secret for only so long. Soon, the teenage lovers must face the fateful choice to save their lives or their loves, as it may not be possible to save both.
Ronit, an Israeli girl, lives on one side of the barrier fence. Jamil, a Palestinian boy, lives on the other side. Only miles apart but separated by generations of conflict—much more than just the concrete blockade between them. Their fathers, however, work in a distrusting but mutually beneficial business arrangement, a relationship that brings Ronit and Jamil together. And lightning strikes. The kind of lightning that transcends barrier fences, war, and hatred. Ronit and Jamil fall desperately into the throes of forbidden love, one that would create an irreparable rift between their families if it were discovered. But a love this big can be kept secret for only so long. Soon, the teenage lovers must face the fateful choice to save their lives or their loves, as it may not be possible to save both.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published February 21, 2017
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2602 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 430 reviews
February 13, 2017
When I do not see you
my heart is in a tomb.
The whisper of your words
I carry in my tomb.
The shadow of your smile
creeps out from the tomb,
the warmth of your body
without it, I am a tomb.
If I can’t be with you
bury me in the tomb.
Meh.
If you're anything like me, the promise of a book unlike anything you've ever read before is very enticing. So when I saw this book - a novel in verse, a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, about an Israeli girl and a Palestinian boy - I knew it was a must read. I haven't read any fiction about the Israel/Palestine conflict, never mind any YA about it. Unfortunately, though, Ronit & Jamil just didn't deliver.
It's a quick read, though I'm not sure that's a positive here. If you have an hour to spare, you can breeze through the entire book in that time. And it feels so... lacking in depth. The book takes on a serious political issue that is affecting people in the world today and doesn't give it the time and care it deserves.
For one, the verse is essentially pointless. If you're going to write a novel in verse, then you have to make that style choice count; it has to add something. Here, it feels lazy - a way to quickly tell a story without having to deal with careful sentence structure, character development, dialogue or setting. It allows the author to tell a story in fragments, which is what this feels like.
The verse alternates between the jarringly simplistic:
I live
at the bottom of the hills.
She lives
at the top.
I could just climb up
to see her.
I can smell
the flowers in her hair.
And the weird attempts at being deep and metaphorical:
I hate idle chatter
my sisters rumble with it:
hair and makeup.
I like natural
hair like a forest of greenery.
The relationship between Ronit and Jamil fails to convince, too. It seems they would cross lands and cultures and defy their families and wipe clean everything they've ever been taught about the other for... a shag? Okay, I'm being crude, but their relationship was never anything more than sex. It's all:
His gaze
makes me want to undress
so he can lift up
and see
what’s beneath
the dress.
I mean, sweet, you embrace that sexuality, girl! But isn't this book supposed to be a little bit more important than two horny teens? Whose perspectives are indistinguishable, I might add. It would have probably taken me thirty minutes to read this book if I didn't have to keep trying to work out who's POV we were on. It's really hard to tell sometimes.
The real problem, however, is just the oversimplification of everything. I cringed at those chapters where Ronit and Jamil take it in turns to remember what they've been taught about the Arabs/Israelis, but then in the same breath seem to shake it off so quickly and without consideration. The conflict is reduced to: “everyone says he throws bombs but, oh my, he has such pretty eyes” and “everyone says she’s a land stealer but, oh my, she has such pretty eyes”.
If that wasn't enough, it was also really hard to stay firmly in the setting of the story when the two teens kept throwing in Americanisms like "lame" and "ratted me out".
Just... so many things went wrong.
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April 16, 2017
Just look at that pretty cover!
I absolutely love it! So I had to read the little book for that reason alone since I'm not a huge fan of the Romeo and Juliet tale. Don't get me wrong. I loved it as a teenager. I thought there was nothing more beautiful in the world than dyingfor the together with one you love. Yes, sadly I was a silly teenager.
Then, as I grew up, I discovered that life doesn't end when a relationship does, and that love is a funny thing that can happen more than once. So I started asking myself why did Romeo and Juliet have to kill themselves. I'm sure they would have fallen in love again. As I said, silly teenagers.
But let us get back to Ronit and Jamil. I'm pleased with the ending the author thought to gave them. It made me not regret reading the book. Not that it takes long reading it. It's in verse and it has less than 200 pages, so you'll read it in no time. I see that the reviews are mostly negative, but I must tell you I'm glad I read it.
I also appreciate that the story is about an Israeli girl (Ronit) and a Palestinian boy (Jamil). It gives a believable context for why their relationship is so inappropriate in their families' eyes. And I believe there are real-life Ronits and Jamils out there. I am a romantic who likes to think love doesn't take notice of a person's nationality (or gender, or race). I hope the real ones get their happy endings whether that means for them to stay together or not.
What I'm trying to say is, please, give this little book a chance. It's not the best out there. It can be a little confusing. But I think it's worth your time.
I absolutely love it! So I had to read the little book for that reason alone since I'm not a huge fan of the Romeo and Juliet tale. Don't get me wrong. I loved it as a teenager. I thought there was nothing more beautiful in the world than dying
Then, as I grew up, I discovered that life doesn't end when a relationship does, and that love is a funny thing that can happen more than once. So I started asking myself why did Romeo and Juliet have to kill themselves. I'm sure they would have fallen in love again. As I said, silly teenagers.
But let us get back to Ronit and Jamil. I'm pleased with the ending the author thought to gave them. It made me not regret reading the book. Not that it takes long reading it. It's in verse and it has less than 200 pages, so you'll read it in no time. I see that the reviews are mostly negative, but I must tell you I'm glad I read it.
I also appreciate that the story is about an Israeli girl (Ronit) and a Palestinian boy (Jamil). It gives a believable context for why their relationship is so inappropriate in their families' eyes. And I believe there are real-life Ronits and Jamils out there. I am a romantic who likes to think love doesn't take notice of a person's nationality (or gender, or race). I hope the real ones get their happy endings whether that means for them to stay together or not.
What I'm trying to say is, please, give this little book a chance. It's not the best out there. It can be a little confusing. But I think it's worth your time.
January 23, 2021
1.5 Stars
Well I am sorry to say this was a very shallow book.
Verse novels can have a huge amount of depth, with dimensional characters, detailed settings, and engaging, intricately woven plots. This is why I was very disappointed with a book whose blurb promised so much. To me, taking R and J and transporting them to the modern day Israel-Palestine conflict would mean details about the conflict were actually part of the story telling. They were not. They were glossed over in favour of writing about two teens yearning for each others touch. Moreover, this story ended abruptly before the tragic events that really started Shakespeare's lovers on their doomed fates. Very disappointing.
Well I am sorry to say this was a very shallow book.
Verse novels can have a huge amount of depth, with dimensional characters, detailed settings, and engaging, intricately woven plots. This is why I was very disappointed with a book whose blurb promised so much. To me, taking R and J and transporting them to the modern day Israel-Palestine conflict would mean details about the conflict were actually part of the story telling. They were not. They were glossed over in favour of writing about two teens yearning for each others touch. Moreover, this story ended abruptly before the tragic events that really started Shakespeare's lovers on their doomed fates. Very disappointing.
March 28, 2017
This is the most lovely story. A modern Romeo and Juliet,but refreshing and not cliche. Highly highly recommend!! It is absolutely a new poetry favorite that I'll reread many times.
January 7, 2017
(I viewed an advance copy of this book for free. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
This was a YA contemporary retelling of Romeo and Juliet.
Ronit and Jamil were both okay characters, but at times it was really hard to know whose viewpoint I was reading from, as the chapters weren’t labelled with the character’s names.
The storyline in this was about Ronit and Jamil meeting once and having feelings for one another. They then found ways to meet in secret and began a romance. I did find the lack of the character’s names at the start of each chapter irritating though, and I lost interest as the story went on.
The ending to this was okay, and a non-traditional ending for a Romeo and Juliet story. I was pleased to be finished though.
6 out of 10
“so I know
she thinks of me
as a man
who would lift her skirt
and love her,
not the foolish boy
my Abi
thinks I am.”
This was a YA contemporary retelling of Romeo and Juliet.
Ronit and Jamil were both okay characters, but at times it was really hard to know whose viewpoint I was reading from, as the chapters weren’t labelled with the character’s names.
The storyline in this was about Ronit and Jamil meeting once and having feelings for one another. They then found ways to meet in secret and began a romance. I did find the lack of the character’s names at the start of each chapter irritating though, and I lost interest as the story went on.
The ending to this was okay, and a non-traditional ending for a Romeo and Juliet story. I was pleased to be finished though.
6 out of 10
May 8, 2021
israel’s occupation of palestine is not something that should ever be romanticised, what the fuck
February 1, 2020
This is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, set during the modern-day Israel-Palestine conflict.
I enjoyed the writing style and I also appreciated how the author included some quotes from the original play.
My main issues with the story were two. The first is that the conflict was not analyzed much, it gave me the feeling of being too simply explained, maybe it was just me. My other problem was that sometimes it was hard to understand who was talking and so this made the reading experience a bit confusing.
Other than these two things, it was an okay read and definitely a different retelling of such a famous play.
I enjoyed the writing style and I also appreciated how the author included some quotes from the original play.
My main issues with the story were two. The first is that the conflict was not analyzed much, it gave me the feeling of being too simply explained, maybe it was just me. My other problem was that sometimes it was hard to understand who was talking and so this made the reading experience a bit confusing.
Other than these two things, it was an okay read and definitely a different retelling of such a famous play.
May 24, 2021
I didn’t want to give colonizers my time of day (didn’t give them my money either, don’t worry) but I took a peek and let’s just say the one star is well-deserved. What the actual fuck.
May 24, 2021
Coloniser garbage
March 15, 2024
I don't know what to think . . .
I'm sad to be disappointed, I expected so much more from this story, but I guess it's my own fault.
I know it's a retelling, but the insta love was a bit cringy and because it's written in verse you can't see why exactly Ronit & Jamil fell in love with each other.
Then there is the fact that writing this story in verse made it even more difficult sometimes to understand what was going on, hard to understand who was talking. But the writing style was beautiful, that's something that can't be taken from the author and the story.
The Israeli-Palestinian 'conflict' (ie. war) is a bit too simplistic, probably because of the way it's written. I think that's my main problem: this story would have been so much better as a novel.
3.25
I'm sad to be disappointed, I expected so much more from this story, but I guess it's my own fault.
I know it's a retelling, but the insta love was a bit cringy and because it's written in verse you can't see why exactly Ronit & Jamil fell in love with each other.
Then there is the fact that writing this story in verse made it even more difficult sometimes to understand what was going on, hard to understand who was talking. But the writing style was beautiful, that's something that can't be taken from the author and the story.
The Israeli-Palestinian 'conflict' (ie. war) is a bit too simplistic, probably because of the way it's written. I think that's my main problem: this story would have been so much better as a novel.
3.25
May 25, 2017
Finished in less than an hour. This book tells a story about prejudice and hope. It's just not told very well.
WHY THIS BOOK FAILS
The character and romance development is barely there. It's instalove, of course. And the book didn't have ANY character work. Ronit and Jamil ended up being a complete message book.
But this book fails as a message book, as well. The issues here are all so... simplified. This story doesn't do anything new with the concept it started out with. There's just nothing new in execution or plotting or ANYTHING. There's not much depth, and what depth the author tried to infuse feels forced and incredible fake.
It's also impossible to tell who is speaking. I know that's the point, but it didn't work for me. It just makes the book feel confusing and childish, rather than imparting any message.
* I received a copy of this via my local bookstore. This does not impact my review in any way.
WHY THIS BOOK FAILS
The character and romance development is barely there. It's instalove, of course. And the book didn't have ANY character work. Ronit and Jamil ended up being a complete message book.
But this book fails as a message book, as well. The issues here are all so... simplified. This story doesn't do anything new with the concept it started out with. There's just nothing new in execution or plotting or ANYTHING. There's not much depth, and what depth the author tried to infuse feels forced and incredible fake.
It's also impossible to tell who is speaking. I know that's the point, but it didn't work for me. It just makes the book feel confusing and childish, rather than imparting any message.
* I received a copy of this via my local bookstore. This does not impact my review in any way.
Read
February 6, 2017I wanted to love this retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but with Ronit, our female lead, being Israeli and Jamil, our male lead, being Palestinian. But I didn't. It's unnecessarily attempting to be Literary in terms of its writing -- the verse doesn't work -- but the real challenge is that it's hard to distinguish who is who without cues at the top of the pages. The voices, which Laskin says she made sound similar purposefully (I get it), get muddled and confused and as a reader, I was frustrated by page 15. There was also a line that Ronit used that something was "lame" and it struck me as really jarring. Hypothetically, if these teens weren't native English speakers (they weren't, according to the text!), then that interpretation of what Ronit said is...too contemporary, too American, and also just straight up poor wording.
It became more engrossing for me further along, though I wondered the whole time why the two were attracted to one another, aside from wanting to get it on. Which, fair, but it seems like there are too many stakes on the outside for that to be the sole reason. It needed a lot more depth and the verse and brevity made that impossible to happen.
It's a quick read, but not particularly memorable and might be a hard sell for teen readers.
It became more engrossing for me further along, though I wondered the whole time why the two were attracted to one another, aside from wanting to get it on. Which, fair, but it seems like there are too many stakes on the outside for that to be the sole reason. It needed a lot more depth and the verse and brevity made that impossible to happen.
It's a quick read, but not particularly memorable and might be a hard sell for teen readers.
December 7, 2019
”Her eyes
are mine,
they are fueled
by fear
and longing;
they suffer
silently
watching the forbidden fence
between our people
and our bodies.”
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book waiting for it to live up to people’s failed expectations. However, this book took the prize, because it was just as awful as all the reviews say it is.
Look, I’m a total sucker for forbidden romance. It’s one of those tropes that I just can’t seem to stay away from. There’s something about the stakes that a romance of that nature entails; it’s like catnip to me. So when I heard about this book and how it was about two teenagers falling into the throes of a forbidden love in modern day Israel/Palestine, I was all for it.
Then the reviews started coming in, and they were pretty much unanimously awful. Yeah, it made me nervous, but I try not to judge a book by people’s reviews because who knows? You could have a totally differing opinion than the general population.
Sadly, I am in the majority of reviewers when it comes to my opinion of this book, because it was pretty much awful.
The novel is told in verse, a genre of novel that still confounds me. While they’re easy to get through, I just don’t see much point in them, or how it gives the novel anymore edge than if it hadn’t been written in verse. I’ve only found one instance where it worked, and that was Bull by David Elliott. With this book, it came off more like the author was trying to be this hip 1950s beatnik poetry artist who would be reciting this at a café and she would want everyone to snap their fingers at the end. She tried way too hard to make her writing sound poetic, making the main character’s love soliloquys sound more like something a melodramatic tweenage girl would be writing in her diary, not publishing it in book form.
And some of it simply made no fucking sense.
Yes, I know that this book is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, I am well aware that those two youngsters were the original horny teenage lovers. But even they weren’t quite this bad. And maybe it’s the Shakespearian language they were speaking, but they didn’t sound nearly this… stupid.
Apart from the horrible writing style, this book lacked any real story or tension. As several other reviewers pointed out, Ronit and Jamil’s relationship didn’t really have any stakes to it, or even real romance; it was just a lot of heavy petting and sex. It never really felt like they were in any danger during the entire novel, even though they were in the middle of a very conflict heavy area. The story just kind of begins and plops us right in the middle of the action with no background or explanation; it just expects us to figure out what’s going on and be done with it. The book went nowhere, and fast (especially for being such a short little thing).
While I get what this author was trying to do, it failed massively. The writing was horrible, the plot went nowhere, the characters were bleh, and it felt like the author was trivializing a real, painful conflict for the sake of her story about two kiddos who just happened to fall into lust. I wanted to be in the minority of reviewers and love this book, but it was just as bad, if not even worse, as they said it was.
are mine,
they are fueled
by fear
and longing;
they suffer
silently
watching the forbidden fence
between our people
and our bodies.”
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book waiting for it to live up to people’s failed expectations. However, this book took the prize, because it was just as awful as all the reviews say it is.
Look, I’m a total sucker for forbidden romance. It’s one of those tropes that I just can’t seem to stay away from. There’s something about the stakes that a romance of that nature entails; it’s like catnip to me. So when I heard about this book and how it was about two teenagers falling into the throes of a forbidden love in modern day Israel/Palestine, I was all for it.
Then the reviews started coming in, and they were pretty much unanimously awful. Yeah, it made me nervous, but I try not to judge a book by people’s reviews because who knows? You could have a totally differing opinion than the general population.
Sadly, I am in the majority of reviewers when it comes to my opinion of this book, because it was pretty much awful.
The novel is told in verse, a genre of novel that still confounds me. While they’re easy to get through, I just don’t see much point in them, or how it gives the novel anymore edge than if it hadn’t been written in verse. I’ve only found one instance where it worked, and that was Bull by David Elliott. With this book, it came off more like the author was trying to be this hip 1950s beatnik poetry artist who would be reciting this at a café and she would want everyone to snap their fingers at the end. She tried way too hard to make her writing sound poetic, making the main character’s love soliloquys sound more like something a melodramatic tweenage girl would be writing in her diary, not publishing it in book form.
There is nothing but the bodyThe hell is this?
built of bones,
when I find myself beside you
I rise like bones;
from the dead and my desire
it grows like bones.
I dream of you daily
where I’m in your bones.
They can bury us together
and we’ll share bones.
And some of it simply made no fucking sense.
”When Ronit invades my sleepUmm……
she crossed into my river.”
Yes, I know that this book is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, I am well aware that those two youngsters were the original horny teenage lovers. But even they weren’t quite this bad. And maybe it’s the Shakespearian language they were speaking, but they didn’t sound nearly this… stupid.
Apart from the horrible writing style, this book lacked any real story or tension. As several other reviewers pointed out, Ronit and Jamil’s relationship didn’t really have any stakes to it, or even real romance; it was just a lot of heavy petting and sex. It never really felt like they were in any danger during the entire novel, even though they were in the middle of a very conflict heavy area. The story just kind of begins and plops us right in the middle of the action with no background or explanation; it just expects us to figure out what’s going on and be done with it. The book went nowhere, and fast (especially for being such a short little thing).
While I get what this author was trying to do, it failed massively. The writing was horrible, the plot went nowhere, the characters were bleh, and it felt like the author was trivializing a real, painful conflict for the sake of her story about two kiddos who just happened to fall into lust. I wanted to be in the minority of reviewers and love this book, but it was just as bad, if not even worse, as they said it was.
April 24, 2019
"so he must stay
down below
dreaming me
up above"..First, she wrote the prologue as if the book is a romantic book misnamed by "the retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet". It showed as if the Israeli are better than the Palestinians which is a kind of discrimination. It aslo talked as if the problem is between "Arab and Jewish" which isn't -and it shouldn't be- but it is between Arab and Israeli. Anyways, it was a direct insult to Palestinians/Muslims. Honestly,I don't like books that contain any type of discrimination.
down below
dreaming me
up above"..First, she wrote the prologue as if the book is a romantic book misnamed by "the retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet". It showed as if the Israeli are better than the Palestinians which is a kind of discrimination. It aslo talked as if the problem is between "Arab and Jewish" which isn't -and it shouldn't be- but it is between Arab and Israeli. Anyways, it was a direct insult to Palestinians/Muslims. Honestly,I don't like books that contain any type of discrimination.
May 11, 2021
Israel's occupation of Palestine should never be romanticized what the fuck is this
June 30, 2020
I don't understand why this book has such a low rating, tbh.
I almost didn't picked it up because of the rating, but I'm so glad I did!
I almost didn't picked it up because of the rating, but I'm so glad I did!
May 20, 2017
See this review and more bookish things on my blog!
This rating is not what you think.
Or maybe it’s not what I would think it to be; usually, for me, one-star reviews mean that the reviewer didn’t just dislike the book they’re reviewing–they hated it.
But I didn’t hate this book. I was just underwhelmed by it.
Ronit & Jamil is pitched as a retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in the midst of the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Not only is this conflict a current issue–it’s divisive, and it’s affecting both ethnic relations between Arabs and Jews and U.S. foreign policy. So divisive, current, and important–but not widely covered. Not in YA literature, at least. I’m also part Syrian, and my heritage has partially influenced my cultural interactions with others whose families are involved in this conflict.
So I was really looking forward to this story, both as a unique approach to Shakespearean retellings and as a provoker of discussion. This story promised to address the question posed in its first pages: Whose land is it, really? And is there ever hope for peace in a two-state solution?
This story doesn’t answer those questions. There are mentions of peace and conflict and bombs (although, some of this might be metaphorical; kind of difficult to tell when the book is written verse [I’ll come back to that]). There are moments where Ronit and Jamil question why coexistence is so impossible, and why enmity between the two nations has become so prevalent and potent, it’s practically its own family tradition. But these questions are not developed more–they are touched on briefly, and then left to dissolve in to the backs of readers’ minds.
It seems what I’m trying to say is that this story’s priorities were focused more on the romance than on an important contemporary socio-political issue. But what I’m trying to say is that…actually, I don’t know. I’m really not sure where this story’s priorities were, and I think that’s one of its major faults.
Am I supposed to focus on the romance? It’s barely developed. Ronit and Jamil go from acknowledging the others’ existence to having the hots for each other and running away together. Their connection is so brief and underdeveloped that I have no idea why they fell for each other, or why either loves the other so much they would run away from their former lives and their family. I also had difficulty telling the two of them apart; despite their different ethnicities and the variations that result (different ways of addressing their parents/talking about food, etc.), their voices were almost identical. What makes it even more confusing is that Ronit is the girl here, and Jamil is the boy; I thought at least I could rely on the beginning letters of their names to distinguish who was who (R=Romeo, J=Juliet), but here, it’s swapped, I think. Even now, I don’t know. I barely remember the characters themselves.
Am I supposed to focus on the conflict between Israel and Palestine? This book acknowledges that conflict exists, but more words are wasted describing food, running errands, and kissing than on covering this conflict. If you’re going to include an issue like this as a springboard for discussion, please use it for something. Conflict is conflict–it is meant for causing change. Conflict is a force, not a setting. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict should not be mitigated to a backdrop for two lovers if you’re not going to address the nuances that make this conflict so messy. You could set this book anywhere else, and very little would need to be changed to tell the same story.
Ronit & Jamil's failure to develop both its characters and its conflict as real, engaging, and relatable renders this story ineffective–as commentary, as a retelling, and even as a book of good poetry; nothing about the prose in this book grabbed my attention. It’s a very quick read (I finished it in about two hours), but it’s forgettable–the last thing a book featuring such an important issue should be.
This rating is not what you think.
Or maybe it’s not what I would think it to be; usually, for me, one-star reviews mean that the reviewer didn’t just dislike the book they’re reviewing–they hated it.
But I didn’t hate this book. I was just underwhelmed by it.
Ronit & Jamil is pitched as a retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in the midst of the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Not only is this conflict a current issue–it’s divisive, and it’s affecting both ethnic relations between Arabs and Jews and U.S. foreign policy. So divisive, current, and important–but not widely covered. Not in YA literature, at least. I’m also part Syrian, and my heritage has partially influenced my cultural interactions with others whose families are involved in this conflict.
So I was really looking forward to this story, both as a unique approach to Shakespearean retellings and as a provoker of discussion. This story promised to address the question posed in its first pages: Whose land is it, really? And is there ever hope for peace in a two-state solution?
This story doesn’t answer those questions. There are mentions of peace and conflict and bombs (although, some of this might be metaphorical; kind of difficult to tell when the book is written verse [I’ll come back to that]). There are moments where Ronit and Jamil question why coexistence is so impossible, and why enmity between the two nations has become so prevalent and potent, it’s practically its own family tradition. But these questions are not developed more–they are touched on briefly, and then left to dissolve in to the backs of readers’ minds.
It seems what I’m trying to say is that this story’s priorities were focused more on the romance than on an important contemporary socio-political issue. But what I’m trying to say is that…actually, I don’t know. I’m really not sure where this story’s priorities were, and I think that’s one of its major faults.
Am I supposed to focus on the romance? It’s barely developed. Ronit and Jamil go from acknowledging the others’ existence to having the hots for each other and running away together. Their connection is so brief and underdeveloped that I have no idea why they fell for each other, or why either loves the other so much they would run away from their former lives and their family. I also had difficulty telling the two of them apart; despite their different ethnicities and the variations that result (different ways of addressing their parents/talking about food, etc.), their voices were almost identical. What makes it even more confusing is that Ronit is the girl here, and Jamil is the boy; I thought at least I could rely on the beginning letters of their names to distinguish who was who (R=Romeo, J=Juliet), but here, it’s swapped, I think. Even now, I don’t know. I barely remember the characters themselves.
Am I supposed to focus on the conflict between Israel and Palestine? This book acknowledges that conflict exists, but more words are wasted describing food, running errands, and kissing than on covering this conflict. If you’re going to include an issue like this as a springboard for discussion, please use it for something. Conflict is conflict–it is meant for causing change. Conflict is a force, not a setting. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict should not be mitigated to a backdrop for two lovers if you’re not going to address the nuances that make this conflict so messy. You could set this book anywhere else, and very little would need to be changed to tell the same story.
Ronit & Jamil's failure to develop both its characters and its conflict as real, engaging, and relatable renders this story ineffective–as commentary, as a retelling, and even as a book of good poetry; nothing about the prose in this book grabbed my attention. It’s a very quick read (I finished it in about two hours), but it’s forgettable–the last thing a book featuring such an important issue should be.
May 2, 2018
2/5
It was a little bit weird - those comparision between sex and nature (branches as arms/legs???)
I think it's important discussion, especially now but it this book didn't impress me.
It was a little bit weird - those comparision between sex and nature (branches as arms/legs???)
I think it's important discussion, especially now but it this book didn't impress me.
June 7, 2022
Shallow as fuck .
The concept is heart-wrenching and eye catching ,though the execution ? MEH
The concept is heart-wrenching and eye catching ,though the execution ? MEH
November 21, 2017
My main problem here was that I had trouble really often to distinguish the voices of the characters. That got really distracting and confusing.
As far as retelling go, this one was okay-ish. But since it's supposed to be a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, the fact that it's set in modern day kind of takes away from the "dramatic" side of the story: cell phones would do that to a story whose main dramatic point relies on the inefficiency of communication when there's no immediate means. Oh well.
Another thing that didn't quite click with me was that the voices sounded a bit younger than they were supposed to be (or at least that was my impression).
On top of everything, either because of the format or the length, I couldn't get fully invested in the characters as individuals- and I also wish their relationship had a bit more development.
On a positive note, the writing was indeed beautiful. There were some sentences that I found myself rereading cause they were so pleasingly formed...
As far as retelling go, this one was okay-ish. But since it's supposed to be a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, the fact that it's set in modern day kind of takes away from the "dramatic" side of the story: cell phones would do that to a story whose main dramatic point relies on the inefficiency of communication when there's no immediate means. Oh well.
Another thing that didn't quite click with me was that the voices sounded a bit younger than they were supposed to be (or at least that was my impression).
On top of everything, either because of the format or the length, I couldn't get fully invested in the characters as individuals- and I also wish their relationship had a bit more development.
On a positive note, the writing was indeed beautiful. There were some sentences that I found myself rereading cause they were so pleasingly formed...
did-not-finish
December 21, 2017Threw it across the room after 65 pages. Overwrought and heavy handed, clearly written to Teach A Lesson. Introduction, reader’s note, AND fucking footnotes! Calm down, Pamela. I feel like the reason this book was published was so that it would sell to English teachers who want to throw it into the Romeo and Juliet unit so that they can show the students how down they are with YA. Please don’t do that, English teachers. There is legit YA out there. Bleh.
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September 1, 2017I seldom DNF books, but after reading a sizable chunk of this one, it had nothing that would make me want to keep on reading. Flat poetry, many cultural inaccuracies, the parallelism between the characters doesn't work, the plot is simplistic in the extreme.
My complete review is now available on Bogi Reads the World: http://www.bogireadstheworld.com/shor...
My complete review is now available on Bogi Reads the World: http://www.bogireadstheworld.com/shor...
October 31, 2023
This was a HARD but quick read. I found the style to be more distracting than anything. I wish the formatting would have clarified the voices more in the verses that didn’t include the names. I loved the concept but the execution made it difficult to enjoy.
August 10, 2019
This is a weird book to rate. There's some BEAUTIFUL lines in this but it's such a clunky compilation as a whole. I'm also kinda confused why you would go "Romeo and Juliet" in Israel-Palestine and not have it end like a Shakespean tragedy and be very surface level about the geopolitical conflict. It just seemed a little rushed. I don't know why it's so short. This could've been really interested if it was doubles in size and actually developed the geopolitical conflict.
August 15, 2017
this book was just not for me.
February 20, 2019
I don't often read poetry or verse books. I did enjoy this Romeo and Juliet retelling. I don't know much about Israel or Palestine, but my interest is now piqued. Perhaps I will do as the author did, and read Arab and Jewish works to familiarize myself with it.
August 2, 2019
I don't normally do verse but I loved this little book. Maybe not so much the love story but the setting and politics made it a very interesting version of Romeo and Juliet.
May 3, 2021
Ok. I'm not sure what to even say about Ronit & Jamil except for: what in the world am I reading? I felt so confused by (a) the relationship between Ronit and Jamil (b) the novel-in-verse format that was used in this book (c) the way the sentences broke off for this novel-in-verse (d) and finally, the whole plot of the story.
I reached about 62% and was just ready to move on to a new book. I've read better novel-in-verses before and Ronit & Jamil was just not that great.
The romance was so random. Yes it was pretty much the whole plot point, except, it was just so unnecessary with the story. It felt so stilted and honestly it would have been better if their relationship was not romantic. Sometimes I felt that Ronit & Jamil would have been better with no romance and just a boy and girl from two very different worlds and combining it through friendship. Because Ronit & Jamil definitely would have been better as a friendship rather than a romance.
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I reached about 62% and was just ready to move on to a new book. I've read better novel-in-verses before and Ronit & Jamil was just not that great.
The romance was so random. Yes it was pretty much the whole plot point, except, it was just so unnecessary with the story. It felt so stilted and honestly it would have been better if their relationship was not romantic. Sometimes I felt that Ronit & Jamil would have been better with no romance and just a boy and girl from two very different worlds and combining it through friendship. Because Ronit & Jamil definitely would have been better as a friendship rather than a romance.
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June 25, 2022DNF
It wouldn't be fair to give Ronit & Jamil a rating because I barely got through it.
I finished my English final really early so I read the first 50ish pages during the rest of the class.
Its told from both perspectives of the main characters. It was really confusing because their entries weren't labeled with their name and there was nothing really distinguishing between the characters, so it was hard to tell who was talking.
Pretty much each perspective change practically had the same words, just changed a little to fit the other gender. There was no creativity to it. It's supposed to be a retelling of Romeo and Juliet but the author made it way too much like the actual play.
I've only DNFd one book before. That's saying a lot about this.
It wouldn't be fair to give Ronit & Jamil a rating because I barely got through it.
I finished my English final really early so I read the first 50ish pages during the rest of the class.
Its told from both perspectives of the main characters. It was really confusing because their entries weren't labeled with their name and there was nothing really distinguishing between the characters, so it was hard to tell who was talking.
Pretty much each perspective change practically had the same words, just changed a little to fit the other gender. There was no creativity to it. It's supposed to be a retelling of Romeo and Juliet but the author made it way too much like the actual play.
I've only DNFd one book before. That's saying a lot about this.
March 26, 2017
This was interesting. I would probably give it 2.5 stars.
I think this may have been "it's not you, it's me" kinda book.
I went in expecting poignant lines like Brown Girl Dreaming. Or something that would make me feel deeply. Though there were a few moments of that, it wasn't as much as I wished.
I think this may have been "it's not you, it's me" kinda book.
I went in expecting poignant lines like Brown Girl Dreaming. Or something that would make me feel deeply. Though there were a few moments of that, it wasn't as much as I wished.
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