Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oh to be 18 and a student again..., 3 May 2001
By A Customer
Junio & Juliet encapsulates and evokes memories of long forgotten student life. Impossible to read without the characters reminding you of one or other of your own student acquaintances. At several points I actually laughed aloud while reading.At its heart this book is a very witty and gentle romance. It reclaims the very ephitet 'romance' from the tacky airport shelf and puts it where it righfully belongs: between the covers of an intelligently written, humane novel. Do yourself a favour and bring it on holidays this summer. It will gladen your heart.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
if only more novels were like this..., 21 Jun 2001
This is a fine, lovely, charming book. It has more warmth, humanity and intelligence than most of this year's first novels put together. If you are dithering, wavering, thinking about buying it, please do so now. This book will make your heart sing.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A witty and clever look at sisters starting college life., 25 April 2001
By A Customer
Twin sisters Juno and Juliet step off a bus in Eyre Square and plunge straight into their new lives as college freshmen. Eager to shake the Tipperary dust from their feet, they embrace independence with unfettered energy, looking for love, lust, and adventure. Real life is finally about to begin, things will never be boring again, and they will emerge at the other end of their courses like two beautiful butterflies shaking off a dusty cocoon. After all, that's the whole point of college, isn't it? Juliet is the book's narrator, and the story takes on her perceptive, funny, and slightly angst-ridden tone as it unfolds. Juno, her sister is sunnier, steadier, the one regarded as the prettier of the two, though both are apparently stunning. So, what happens? Well, not a lot really, but as this is a character driven book it doesn't matter much one way or the other. They meet a few guys, they fall in love, they go home for Christmas, survive exams, and deal with a stalker. I know, the stalker isn't exactly average, but it's not a very big part of the book, and for me anyway, it's the least successful part. It jarred with the flow of the story and came across as slightly gimmicky and wholly unecessary. The characters could easily have reached the same conclusion without stretching the reader's credibility or the author's talent even a millimetre. It's an oft-repeated piece of advice to new writers - "write about what you know" and while you might wonder what that says about science fiction writers, this book works best where it appears to relate to the author's own experience. His descriptions of university life are vivid , authentic, and very funny, as is his treatment of the return home at Christmas. He perfectly captures the maelstrom of egos and hormones that fuels university life, while the small-town characters are just as insane and predictable as they are in reality. The relationship between the two sisters is less satisfactory, with Juno remaining a little bit shadowy, more a foil for Juliet's waspishness than a stand-alone character in her own right. Juliet herself is always interesting, and it is her engaging take on life that carries the flow of the narrative along. I have to confess I found the ending a bit lame, and I would have edited out a few characters along the way, but all in all, it's an impressive debut from a fresh young writer. MARGARET HANNIGAN
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