“More like a mess,” I joined in.
“Nah,” Jill said, “you managed to impress.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Kayla said. “I’ve got a line for you. Wes, I have to stress how much I want to see you in various states of undress.”
“Shh,” I warned. “My parents are downstairs. You want them to flip out?” But that didn’t stop them.
Kayla threw a chocolate Kiss from earlier back at me. “You were the one who used caress and obsess.”
“Only because they rhymed and I couldn’t think of anything else!”
“How about this?” Jill chimed in. “Oh, Wes, you luminesce. ‘You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess.’”
“Hey, that last part was Taylor Swift,” I objected. “Mine would have sounded a lot better if I could have just used her lyrics!”
“Okay, I acquiesce,” she said, “but we di-gress with our chatti-ness. Let’s get down to busi-ness.”
She was right. I needed to get this done—to let Wes know how I felt, even if it was under slight duress.
I had no choice; it was time to find my voice.
For never was a story of more woe than crushing on a boy who doesn’t know.
A COFFEE DATE
between author Shani Petroff and her editor, Holly West
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
HW: Do you have an OTP, a favorite fictional couple?
SP: There are so many amazing fictional couples, but in ode to the Shakespeare references in this book, I’ll go with one from the Bard’s plays—Hermia and Lysander from A Midsummer Night’s Dream—but before the magic messes everything up! Fortunately, all’s well that ends well and everything turns out the way it’s supposed to for them! (I’ve always wanted to play Hermia on stage—it seems like such a fun part!)
HW: I was one of the Mechanicals in our college production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and will always have a fondness for that play. ☺ Do you have any hobbies? Other than writing, of course. Writing doesn’t count as a hobby when you are a published author.
SP: I’ve always loved acting and improv and try to do it whenever I can. My schedule has been insanely busy lately, so I haven’t been able to do it as much as I would like. Most of my free time is spent writing, volunteering for a nonprofit that I support, hanging out with family and friends, binge-watching my favorite TV shows, and having romantic (mis)adventures!
HW: And my favorite question—if you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?
SP: I’ve actually had long conversations about this! And after much debate, I decided that if I could pick any power it would be the power of persuasion. Want to get into the evil professor’s secret lab? No problem—someone will open the door right up for you. Want to be invisible? Just tell everyone they can’t see you and poof! Done. World peace? A couple of sound bites on TV, and we’re well on our way. There’s so much good you can do with it!
THE SWOON READS EXPERIENCE
HW: How did you first learn about Swoon Reads?
SP: Through the director of Swoon Reads, the lovely and talented Lauren Scobell. She had been talking about it and posted information on Twitter and Facebook.
HW: What made you decide to post your manuscript?
SP: I’ve always loved romantic comedies, and I had a short story that I wanted to turn into a full-length book. So after hearing really great things about Swoon Reads from Lauren and others, I decided to go for it!
HW: What was your experience like on the site before you were chosen?
SP: As it got closer to decision day, I was constantly logging on, reading comments, hitting refresh, and seeing what people thought of my work. It was a nail-biter but also exciting!
HW: Once you were chosen, who was the first person you told, and how did you celebrate?
SP: First, I called my crush at the time, but I got his voice mail, so I called my brother to celebrate! I also thought I told my mom, but she insists I didn’t. Oops!
THE WRITING LIFE
HW: When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
SP: I’ve always loved books and writing and thought I’d write something “someday.” And then several years back I decided it was time to get serious, and I made finishing a book a priority.
HW: Do you have any writing rituals?
SP: No rituals, but meeting deadlines is very important to me. So even though I procrastinate from time to time, when that due date approaches, I do what it takes to make sure it’s met.
HW: Where did the idea for Romeo & What’s Her Name start?
SP: The original idea was sparked from an incredibly embarrassing moment I experienced in high school. I had to recite a poem in French for a contest, but I didn’t give myself enough time to memorize the words. (I thought I’d be able to do it during the bus ride—boy was I wrong!) But I got up there and tried anyway. I basically spoke in gibberish with a bad French accent. I still cringe (and laugh) when I think back on it.
HW: At least you were brave enough to try! I think I would have chickened out. Do you ever get writer’s block? How do you get back on track?
SP: I definitely have moments when I’m at a loss. To get back on track, I have to force myself to sit down and just write. I tell myself it doesn’t have to be my best work—I just need to get something down, and then I can go back and fix it later. Deadlines also get me moving. I work well under pressure and that sense of urgency kicks me into gear.
HW: What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever heard?
SP: The one that sticks out to me right now is from Stephen King: “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Emily is forced to go on stage unprepared and forgets her lines. Have you ever been unprepared for something like that? How did you handle it?
2. Emily’s friendships with Jill and Kayla play a big role throughout this book. What does being a good friend mean to you? What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done for your friend?
3. Amanda was constantly picking on Emily. What would you do if you had been in Emily’s shoes?
4. Why do you think Amanda behaved the way she did?
5. Wes’s brother was having a hard time fitting in. If you went to school with him, how would you help him out?
6. Emily encountered some very embarrassing situations. Do you think she handled them well? What would you have done differently?
7. Emily eventually began to warm up to Shakespeare. How do you feel about his plays?
8. Besides (spoiler alert) going back on stage, what else could Emily have done to let Wes know she genuinely cared?
9. What are your favorite grand gestures—in literature and in real life?
10. A rhyming couplet is a pair of lines that not only rhyme and have the same meter but also complete a thought. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet ends with this one:
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.
To describe Romeo & What’s Her Name, we have been using this rhyming couplet:
For never was a story of more woe
Than crushing on a boy who doesn’t know.
What other rhyming couplets can you come up with to describe this book?
Don’t miss Shani Petroff’s next romantic comedy of errors…
My New Crush Gave to Me
You don’t need a Christmas miracle when you have a foolproof plan …
Charlotte “Charlie” Donovan knows exactly what she wants for Christmas: Teo Ortiz. He’s the school’s star athlete, in the National Honor Society, invited to every party, contributes to the school paper (where Charlie is co-editor), and is about to be featured as “One to Watch” in a teen magazine—basically, he’s exactly the type of guy Charlie’s meant to be with. The only problem—he barely knows she exists.
But C
harlie is determined to be Teo’s date to the Christmas ball. And she has a plan: to rig the paper’s Secret Santa so that she can win his heart with five perfect gifts. But to do that she needs help. Enter J.D. Ortiz—Teo’s cousin, and possibly the most annoying person on the planet. He’s easygoing, laid-back, unorganized, spontaneous, and makes a joke out of everything—the exact opposite of Charlie (and Teo). But he’s willing to provide insight into what Teo wants, so she’s stuck with him.
Yet, the more time Charlie spends with J.D., the more she starts to wonder: Does she really know what, or rather who, she wants for Christmas?
*** Coming October 2017 ***
“Today’s the day!” I clapped my hands together. “My plan to win over Teo Ortiz officially goes into motion.”
Morgan fiddled with the hem of her sweater. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
“Of course I’m sure. It’s practically all I’ve been able to think about.” I studied her face. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?” Morgan asked, averting her eyes to the ground.
“Like I’m going to mess this up!”
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to!” That was the thing with a best friend—you knew what was going on in their head, even when you wished you didn’t. “This is going to work, I know it.”
She gave me that look again.
“What!?” I cried.
“It’s just you don’t know how to break a rule. Any rule. Are you sure you can do this?”
“I’m not trying to hack into the computer system and change my grades, which FYI, I’m sure I could do if I really wanted, I’m RIGGING A SECRET SANTA drawing.” I slapped my hand over my mouth and glanced around the hall to make sure no one else heard me. I was in the clear. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Says the girl who broke down after taking an extra piece of candy from Mrs. Chevian’s doorstep on Halloween.”
“I was eight!” I screeched. I regretted ever telling her that story. When I was trick-or-treating in third grade, the Chevians left a bowl of candy on their stoop with a sign that said “take one.” I took two, but felt so guilty that by the end of the night I was in tears and went back the next day to apologize.
“Okay, then what about last year, the last day of school?” she asked.
I shrugged. “What about it?”
“Charlie!”
“Fine, yes, everyone who had final period study hall was skipping it to go get pizza. Except for me. I couldn’t do it. But this is different. The candy, the cutting class, that was doing something wrong. This isn’t. This is for love. And besides,” I said, giving her what I hoped was an endearing smile, “you weren’t there for either of those things. If you had lived in town when I was in third grade or were in my study hall last year, I would have been fine. But you’re here now. Nothing bad is going to happen. I’m sure of it.”
She shook her head. “Okay, I’m in. You know that. Let’s get you the boy of your dreams.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” I said and hugged my arms around my chest. This was so going to work.
Morgan may have still had her doubts, but that was okay. I had enough faith for the both of us.
Teo Ortiz was going to have the best Christmas of his life. And so was I. I was going to make sure of it.
SHANI PETROFF is a writer living in New York City. She’s the author of the Bedeviled series, which includes Daddy’s Little Angel; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Dress; Careful What You Wish For; and Love Struck, and the coauthor of the Destined series, which includes Ash and Ultraviolet. She also writes for television news programs and several other venues. When she’s not locked in her apartment typing away, she spends a whole lot of time on books, boys, TV, daydreaming, and shopping online.
Visit her online at SHANIPETROFF.COM, or sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Acknowledgments
Swoonworthy Extras
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by Shani Petroff
A SWOON READS BOOK
An imprint of Feiwel and Friends and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
swoonreads.com
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Petroff, Shani, author.
Title: Romeo & what's her name / Shani Petroff.
Other titles: Romeo and what is her name
Description: First Edition. | New York: Swoon Reads, 2017. | Summary: "An unprepared understudy is forced to take the stage with her secret crush in this romantic comedy of errors"—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016015522 (print) | LCCN 2016036744 (ebook) | ISBN 9781250111142 (paperback) | ISBN 9781250111135 (ebook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Love—Fiction. | Theater—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.P44713 Ro 2017 (print) | LCC PZ7.P44713 (ebook) | DDC [Fic] —dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016015522
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by e-mail at [email protected].
First trade paperback edition 2017
eBook edition February 2017
eISBN 9781250111135
Romeo & What's Her Name Page 17