Romeo and Juliet Together and Alive at Last

by Avi

Pete Saltz, the pudgy poet from S.O.R. Losers, has fallen hard for Anabell Stackpoole, and she likes him, too. But both are much too shy to do anything about it.

It's Pete's friend Ed Sitrow to the rescue, as he and other eighth-graders at South Orange River School cook up a scheme to give the budding romance a boost. The school production of Romeo and Juliet stars the bashful pair in the leading roles -- and everybody's waiting for the kissing scenes. What they get is more action than Shakespeare ever imagined, in the funniest, most disastrous...and most romantically successful production ever!

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Romance, Young Adult, Childrens, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Avi is a pen name for Edward Irving Wortis, but he says, "The fact is, Avi is the only name I use." Born in 1937, Avi has created many fictional favorites such as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Nothing but the Truth, and the Crispin series. His work is popular among readers young and old.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first thought when I came across an Avi book as a kid was—“Superheroes write books?” Hehe…I had a thing for masked crusaders (still do). Something about the single name screamed SUPER and in many ways Avi is a superhero. He captivates readers left and right with humor, hijinks, mystery, chills, intelligence, and fun. The man can do it all!

Sooooo when I spotted this gem at a book sale over the weekend, I scooped it up, ran home, and read it cover to cover in one giggle-fest sitting. :)

This tale of love and woe revolves around how much work, confusion, and fun can be had in a school production of Romeo & Juliet and first love. Ed Sitrow is determined to help his best friend, Saltz, overcome his shyness and actually talk to the girl of his dreams. It’s pretty hard to talk to a girl when you can’t even look at her yet. What better way for love to bloom than to have the potential love birds play Romeo and Juliet in the play. They have to look at each other then, right? *giggles*

Once the curtain went up on this chaos filled production, my smiles and laughter never stopped! An adorable story filled with drama on the stage and off with scene stealers, swash buckling villains, costume malfunctions galore, swords, smashes, crashes, crushes, mohawks, pyromaniacs, kisses, and first loves! Phew…who knew love could be so complicated and messy? :D

This hilarious, laugh out loud, fast paced plan to get two shy classmates together showcases the power of teamwork, friendship, love, and Shakespeare!

Before I go, I have to share this laugh. *shakes head* Boys! Saltz, nervous about his first kiss on stage, turns to his best friend for advice:

”You put your mouth on…hers.

What if she spits?

Will you listen!

Or burps. I mean, it’s weird, isn’t it.

Can’t be.

Why?

Because people—most of them—like it.

Maybe they just say that. Maybe it’s just a fad. There are always fads. They go away.

Saltz, it’s in the play. You have to do it.

It’s going to be hard.

I thought for a moment. Does your sister have a Cabbage Patch Kid?”

*gasps* A bit horrifying, but hilarious at the same time! :D

There is so much fun to be had here!

[Stacy Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot of drama in this book because the worst things that could possibly happen in a school play, just ganged up and plopped themselves into the plot of this book. It was really entertaning, and a fun read though.

[Waffle...♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

LoL It was pretty okay.. I kinda got bored at some parts but this book is pretty much about a wrecked up Romeo and Juliet stage play :D Probally all the worst things that could happen during a play.. lol.. I loved the ending though! <33 :P

[Ragan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute and laugh out loud funny book. I read this to my husband out loud and we both enjoyed it. A bunch of kids put on the play Romeo and Juliet to try to maneuver their two friends into kissing each other.

[Sholape C. Tinubu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I legitimately laughed out loud.

[Zev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two and a half stars. This was cute and a little stupid. It makes for a good, quick, fuzzy read if a person's having a bad day or needs to be lifted out of a reading slump. I liked how the kids had obviously memorized their lines, but constantly said the words wrong. "Lemon table day" instead of "lamentable day" was my favorite. It was realistic mistakes and had me giggling.

[Lavanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't laughed this much in years :-)

[Allie Outhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly but sweet.

Don't like that it encourages children to lie to explore burgeoning sex drive.

[Tionna Cheeks]

The Book author is AVI. The book title is Romeo and Juliet together (and alive) at last. The star rating that i give this book is a 3. I recommend you read this book if your're a love story reader. The setting of this book is at South Orange River Middle School , in the 8th grade, at the lunch room. The plot or the claim is the boy named Pete Saltz is wanting to be a pretty girl named Anabell's Boyfriend.

[Kate M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

wait this is a sequel
i only reread this for the last six chapters (though i did read the whole thing ! but the last ones are the only good ones)

[Kathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m usually an Avi super fan but this story while cute in some ways did not live up to his usual standards. Glad I read it though. It would make a cute kids comedy movie.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly premise with a funny, slapstick-filled production of Romeo and Juliet

[Elle Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was SO funny and very cute. I remember having to do a reading of the play a million years ago in 9th grade which made this even more funny.

[Deana Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute! This is a must read! It is a short one.

[Amanda Holmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am reading the book Romeo and Juliet Together (and alive) at Last. I think that it is a really good book so far. It is about two people, one of them is Peter Saltz. Perter is in love with a girl named Anabell Stackpoole and is sad to admit it to her because she doesn't ever notice him. Then Peter's friend Ed hosts a play to get Saltz and Stackpoole together, it is the play Romeo and Juliet and of course they have to kiss. Then Ed get's a lot of his friends together and tell them who to vote for. For Romeo he told them to vote for Saltz and of course if Romeo is Saltz then Juliet has to be Stackpoole. So Ed has to go ask the principal if they could do the play and he said yes. When Ed is setting up the play she finds out that the spotlight needs to be operated by a person. Ed was desperate so he had to ask hays's sister (she has a crush on Ed). The first practice did not go well because they were both really nervous so the director cut the play practice short. Later that night Saltz called Ed and asked him if he could ask Ed a question. Ed said yes and he said it was about the play and he said anything. Then Saltz asked him about how to kiss because Saltz did not know how to kiss. So Ed told him that you have to scrunch your lips and suck. Then you put them up to her face and just do it. He still didn't understand so he just hung up. The next day on play practice it came to the part where they had to kiss. Every time they had to kiss Saltz either had to tie his shoe or Stackpoole had to blow her nose. Then when play practice was over Stackpoole had a question about the play. She said she didn't think she was good and Ed said she was great but she wanted to be better that what she is. My favorite character would have to be..... Stackpoole because I can kind of relate to her. Meaning that I like to read a lot and so does she. Well that is really all I can say about this book. Thank you for reading bye.

[Pandora · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sequel to S.O.R losers in which Peter Saltz has fallen in love with Anabell. The problem is the two are so shy they will not even look at each other much less talk to each other. Ed Sitrow comes up with the solution of having the two star in production of Romeo and Juliet. Trouble ensures because they have only two weeks to put on the production and their Tybalt is not acting the enemy of Romeo he is the enemy of Peter.

It was fairly funny but, I have read funnier books. Some of the humor seems more adult than children. The book is also dated with a reference to Dallas and Miami Vice that I am not sure this generation will get. One good thing S.O.R. Losers and this book can be read independtly of each other.

"The one girl in class to carry a hair dryer in her lunch box, Lucy not only thinks she is the prettiest girl in class, she is."

"They wouldn't even LOOK at each other. To watch them was like looking at two teams who never got on the field."

"Being desperate is when you think a friend's kid sister who has a crush on you might be helpful."

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Pete tells his best friend Ed that he (Pete) is in love with the mousy Annabell Stackpoole, but neither of them can even look at each other, much less talk, Ed decides to do something about it. The 8th grade is reading Romeo and Juliet, so Ed decides that he and his classmates should stage an abbreviated version of the play, casting Pete as Romeo and Annabell as Juliet, so they'll have to kiss. What could possibly go wrong?

Since our school staged this last fall and I have all those visuals in my head, I don't know that I can make an adequate judgement about the book just as a book. It's simpler than the play, which recaps Romeo and Juliet, and has next to no description of any setting except the auditorium. It's certainly funny and fast-moving, and I think kids would get a kick out of it, though I don't think 8th graders are this innocent anymore! (The book was written in 1987.)

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pete Saltz, Ed Sitrow's best friend, loves Anabell Stackpoole. Unfortunately, Pete and Anabell’s shyness keeps them apart. So, Ed teams up with classmate Lucy Neblett who also wants to help the ill-fated romance. While studying "Romeo and Juliet" in literature class, Ed and Lucy decide that the eighth-grade should put on the play with Pete cast as Romeo and Anabell as Juliet. Then, the two star-crossed lovers would not only have to look at each other and talk, they would have to kiss! With the principal’s permission, Ed and Lucy write a shorter version of Shakespeare’s classic and bribe Pete and Anabell into taking the lead roles. Things go smoothly until opening night. At the last minute, Albert Hamilton, the class bully, decides that he should be Romeo. When Ed refuses, Albert sabotages the set. Is all of Ed and Lucy's work for naught?
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We laughed ourselves sick. This book is a juvenile fiction book about some 8th graders who are trying to be matchmakers for their very shy friends. The scheme is to set the two up as Romeo and Juliet in a shortened version of Shakespeare's famous play. The kids do the play entirely on their own--absolutely no adult supervision, and write, rehearse and produce their play in 2 weeks. If you are familiar with the actual dialogue of the original Romeo and Juliet, you will laugh yourself silly. I will never think of something as "lamentable" again without picturing a "lemon table." Also, anyone who has ever been involved in a play will relate to how badly things can go wrong in a production.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

It sounded like a good idea at the time ... it really did. You see, my best friend Saltz was head over heels for Annabelle Stackpoole. Only problem was he couldn’t even talk to her he was so in love. So, I devised this brilliant plan. What if the 8th grade class did a production of Romeo and Juliet — with Saltz and Stackpoole in the lead roles. Then they HAVE to talk to each other. They would even have to kiss each other! Brilliant, right? Everyone thought so. But directing a play isn’t as easy as you might think it would be. Boy, I had no idea how things could get out of hand so fast!

One of my all time favorite Avi books!

[Lisa the Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

A follow up to S.O.R. Losers. I liked this slightly better because the children are working on their own project with their own ideas. It might help that this is about a play and I am way more of a drama person than a sports person.

I liked the inventiveness of the students and the persistence that the "show must go on" despite the disasters they experience. Bravo!

Not Avi's best work but cute.

My one complaint is that while the writing level is about 4th grade the subject matter touches on middle school.

[jacky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in early middle school. Unlike all the other young adult books that were recommended for me or classics assigned to me, this book was easy and light. It didn't contain any heavy topics like drug abuse or kidnapping. It was just a fun little romance story. I really enjoyed that wasn't teaching me about some big issue, that it was short and easy to read, and that it was about shy people, because I was shy, but interested in romance.

[Amanda Fashbaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theater and young love from an eighth grade boy's POV? Sign me up! Written at a level that any adult can finish it in less than an hour, this book is worth a read for the program of the play alone. It helps if you know Romeo and Juliet a little, because some of the mistakes are funniest when compared with the solemnity of the source material.

[Palorca]

The reason why i like this book is because it is about love and because romeo the main character dies with Juliet just because he says he couldn't live without the love of his life and so he preferred to die with her. One thing i don't like about this book is that their love was to obsessive and i think it is too much. Also some of the characters in this book prohibit Juliet to be romeo.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a signed copy of this young adult novel, and I thank Avi every day for writing this tale of junior high love acted out on the stage. It created a drive in me to learn more about theatre, and formed the impressions that allowed me to believe anything is possible through this particular art form. Thanks, Avi, you don't know it, but you gifted me my career.

[Carol Hardesty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty cute book. It kinda reminded me of the "Hey Arnold!" episode where Helga and Arnold play the lead roles in their school's production of "Romeo & Juliet" (anyone else?). The part I remember most was the kiss scene when the balcony falls apart and 'Juliet' falls on top of 'Romeo'. And all 'Romeo' can say is, "That was some kiss!" =D

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story was a bit weak and predictable, with the laughs not quite hitting the mark in my opinion. It was amusing, but just. It touches on the character's crushes on each other very gently, which would make it a decent read for a younger audience. All in all I feel there are better books to read out there, including many of Avi's.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

So funny! I would consider having students read this (or at last parts of it) after studying the play "Romeo and Juliet." Often times, the actors in the play fumble up the original lines. Its both entertaining and also educational as kids could maybe try to catch as many lines as they could.

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually really liked this book. It was laugh out loud funny! If you want a quick read with a light hearted storyline chose this. It is about a group of 8th graders who find out two of their friends like each other but won't admit it. They put on a play so they will kiss.

[Stephanie Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious through and through. I could not stop laughing the entire time I was reading this! And when I'll have to read it in 9th grade, I'll probably be laughing in my head then, remembering this book.