Review: A Modern Day Romeo and Juliet That Will Steal Your Heart
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 23, 2012
"...what could I have done?Could I have changed this song, alteredthis key? Or was this tragedyalready written, black notesof music on the page,a story in the stars? "With it's stunning verse narrative and star-crossed lovers, Defy the Stars is a modern day Romeo and Juliet that will steal your heart.I love books written in verse. I suppose I always have, but I didn't consciously realize that until I read Love and Leftovers late last year. So when the author asked me to review Defy the Stars, and mentioned it was written in free verse, I knew I had to read her story.Defy the Stars was so stunning, so beautiful, that I'm at a loss here. I always take notes while reading books for review, but I couldn't bear to stop and write down my thoughts. The fact that I didn't stop tells you how deeply I was drawn into Reed and Julia's story. I didn't want to interrupt the flow of the story. The way the author staggered the lines set up such a dramatic effect. At times, a simple word, precisely placed on the page, had the effect of a bomb dropping on my heart.Much like their inspiration, Reed and Julia are the ultimate star-crossed couple. Like Romeo and Juliet, familial ties conspire against them. Julia is a girl of privilege, content, but not quite happy. Her parents want the best for her, and are sometimes misguided in their attempts to lead Julia to what they deem best for her. But one crazy night, Julia gets to know the real Reed, not the boy who gets high, but the boy who is sensitive, kind, who loves to play guitar. He's a boy who has everything going against him: no parents, a drug dealing brother, a penchant for being numbed by drugs himself. Everything about them screams "wrong for each other". But the closer they become, they harder they fall for one another. Fate seems determined to bring the two together, altering their destinies forever.From it's dark prologue through the stunning conclusion, Defy the Stars is a story that hit me so, so hard. I read with such an impending sense of doom, yet remained hopeful throughout. I was left sobbing, heart-broken. But ultimately, I'm happy I read Defy the Stars. Not many books can inspire such an emotional response. If you're a fan of stories written in verse, stories with characters you will love and cry for, a story that will hit you square in the heart, then I can't recommend Defy the Stars highly enough.