I REALLY wanted to hate this, but.... (2008-02-07) I wanted to dislike this book. I mean, how can "But wait, what's that light in the window over there?" ever compare to "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?" It can't, and the translator doesn't even try. The modern prose version is flat and unexciting, and when you compare it to Shakespeare's words it can lead to some good belly laughs. I was prepared to come on line and write a scathing one star review- not just for the aweful 'translation', but for the lack of explanitory footnotes that makes other editions so useful. But then I read the other reviews. One of the reviewers actually said that they read both the original text and the translation concurrently, and gained a greater appreciation for Shakespeare's actual words. For that, and that alone this book deserves more than the one star I had planned. I still fear that most kids who read this will just read the translation and ignore the original text entirely- and lose out on some of the most perfect prose in the English language. It's true, Shakespeare isn't easy for most people at first. I was lucky enough to have a teacher long ago who told us that Shakespeare was meant to be read aloud, and that you couldn't really appreciate it without hearing it aloud or at least imagining the words being spoken. Try doing that with this new translation though will just lead to boredom.

Item As Promised (2008-01-18) The item was as promised and arrived in perfect condition. Delivery was slower than expected but that could have been because of the holidays. Item did arrive in time for the holidays.

Wonderful!!! (2007-11-21) When my eighth grade english teacher announced we were reading Romeo and Juliet, I was a bit apprehensive, and then she handed out the only copies our school had. The version I was handed was written for inner-city kids (with words such as "peeps" or "hatah"). And my teacher realized that they were not working to hot. But unfortunately, my school is semi-private, and doesn't have money falling everywhere. So she suggested buying our own. I ended up finding this at Barnes and Nobles.I was VERY impressed. Before this copy, the story just was not clicking, but now it makes so much sense!And I love the story, although it did have some annoying spots.

No Fear Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet (2007-03-08) I purchased this book for my freshman daughter, who is in Pre-AP English class. She says it has made reading and understanding Romeo and Juliet easy.