Name: Just Juliet
ISBN: 9781537547572

Charlotte Reagan

"Lena Newman is 17, her best friend's a cheerleader, her boyfriend's a football player, and as far as everyone is concerned, her life is sorted. But that's before she befriends the new girl. Juliet is confident, slightly damaged, drop-dead gorgeous and a lesbian. Lena realizes that her interest goes beyond just friendship. She sets off on a path of self-discovery where the loyalty of those closest to her will be tested."--from back cover.

Just Juliet

Melissa Benavente

The end was so beautiful... The book is good and easy to read I love the way they talk about sexuality good book rlly

Grace O'Callaghan

This was a very boring coming out story with an unbelievable romance.

Lena has everything - good grades, friends and a boyfriend. That is until the new girl, Juliet, makes her feel things she hasn’t felt in a while. 

Firstly, Lena. Boring. That’s all she was. She had zero personality and was basically a self insert character.
Juliet was a little more fleshed out, but not much more really.

The relationship was also extremely rushed at the beginning. Juliet and Lena go from barely knowing each other, to best friends in the blink of an eye. Some time passes, but we don’t get to see them getting to know one another, so it was never believable.

The way that POC were treated in this novel was also not good. They have no character development and are walking stereotypes. Lacey is the loud and carefree black girl who’s sometimes a bitch and says homophobic/biphobic things so that the white people can educate her. Yeah. 

There wasn’t much of a storyline besides Lena coming out to her friends and family. I appreciated that she didn’t ‘turn gay’ and said she was bisexual. But other than that, this was a whole lot of nothing.

All in all, a boring coming out story with poor treatment of POC characters. I can see how some people may have felt seen in this book and identified with Lena’s coming out story, but there are so many coming out stories that are far better.

Jolie

This book probably should be THE book a teenager (or actually anyone) reads if they are questioning their sexuality or want to come out to loved ones. It showcases the good, the bad and the ugly….without glossing anything over. Take for instance Scott’s coming out to his parents. For me, that is the worst case scenario. It is the bad and the ugly all rolled into one and I was in tears reading it. Not to get preachy but you loved your child before he/she was born….why should that change because of who THEY love or what gender they identify with? Maybe I am in the minority but if my son or my daughters came up to me and said “Hey, Mom, I think I am gay/bisexual/trans (just sticking to the basics here but you get my gist)”, I wouldn’t be throwing them out. I wouldn’t be screaming at them “I didn’t raise a faggot or a dyke” or assaulting their SO’s (like Scott’s father did to Lakyn). Like I said above, they are your children. You carried them in your body and molded them into who they are. I can’t understand WHY anyone would choose to act like that to their own flesh and blood. Strike that, I do and its called IGNORANCE and FEAR.

Ok now that I went off that tangent, let’s continue with the review….lol.

Juliet’s father, for me, was the best case scenario. He knew his daughter was a lesbian and could really care less. Actually, Juliet did explain why he was so tolerant but you need to read the book to find out why (I know, I’m a shit).

I honestly didn’t connect with Lena, at first. I don’t know why, she just didn’t really jive with me….at first. I think it was that while she was very attracted to Juliet, she didn’t know how to express herself to her (as weird as that sounds). But once she did, and oh boy was that scene funny, she all of a sudden got more likeable and by the end of the book, I loved her. Her coming out scene to her parents was bittersweet, especially after what Scott told her about how his parents reacted.

Juliet, I absolutely loved. She was that girl that everyone stopped to look at because she commanded attention and she didn’t take anything from anyone (the scene at the football game stands out in my mind the most). She was out and proud and I loved it. While she was definitely more experienced than Lena, she slowed it way down and to it at Lena’s pace.

The secondary characters totally made the book too. Lakyn, Scott, Lacey (OMG, she had me in tears laughing at points in the book and you couldn’t have asked for a better best friend).

The ending was great. It really wasn’t a HEA per say but it was close to it.

How many stars will I give Just Juliet? 5

Why? It is just a really well written book that explores all sides of coming out to parents and friends. It is also a book about first love.

Will I reread? Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends? Yes

Age Range: Teen

Why: No sex but some scenes of making out, language.

**I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**

Just Juliet

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