The eighth grade's plan to get two reluctant "lovers" together by means of a classroom production of Shakespeare's play has some very unexpected results.

Behind the Book

Avi writes:

The characters in this book are the same ones that appear in SOR Losers. This book, however, is, I think, funnier.

Where did it come from? My older boys went to a school in which, during fifth grade, they did a Shakespeare play. A very abridged Shakespeare play. Hamlet usually takes about four hours to put on—at its longest. My boy’s fifth grade did the play in about twenty minutes. As I say, somewhat shorter.

They took it very seriously. I thought it hilarious. I took that idea, used the characters from SOR Losers to put on a production of Romeo and Juliet so as to get two shy kids—who liked each other—to actually kiss.

Great fun to write. And funny to read, especially if you ever saw the play—or even better, did a version in school.

The title, by the way, is one of my own favorites.