O,Juliet by Robin Maxwell

I read this book a few weeks ago, because on a whim I thought it looked good on the shelf of the "new books" at my library. Now, I am an avid lover of Shakespeare, and always have loved the story of Romeo and Juliet...however, this book is different. Not only does Maxwell make the story set in the "real world" but she makes the characters come to life. She gives them known Italian family names, and even makes the families of the two lovers be friends with the Medici family that is famous in Italy. The characters also follow the social norms that would have been normative during this time. I guess what I'm saying is that if you are like me, and loved the story of Romeo and Juliet, then you should check it out? I found it much more believable to real life events, and also found the ending to be much more enjoyable. I hate how the end is just death in the original Shakespeare play. The other interesting thing about Maxwell is that she lets you know the reasoning behind her choice to re-write a classic story, and also tells you about the origins to the story. She gives this in a question and answer section at the end of the book, which I found extremely interesting. And...as a teacher, I find that this would be a wonderful book to eventually bring into the teaching of Romeo and Juliet. If you decide to read it, let me know what you think :)