Literature
A Review of the Fake Dating Romance Rollercoaster: This Time It’s Real
By Allison Lai
Editor’s Note: Views expressed in this article are
solely the author's opinions and beliefs
Fake dating and teenage romance, what could go wrong? Chinese-Australian writer Ann Liang delivers a touching fake dating romance novel to young adult readers. The sweet, funny story, This Time It’s Real, is centered around Eliza Lin, a 17 year old girl, who writes an essay about meeting the love of her life, which unexpectedly goes viral. After trending on the Internet, Eliza is presented with a career-launching internship opportunity with her most aspiring writer landing in her lap. The only problem is that the whole story is entirely made up; she doesn’t have a boyfriend. As many of us probably have, she just wrote some random things to have something to turn in for her school assignment. With this predicament, Eliza crafts a plan to convince her actor classmate Caz Song to pretend to be her boyfriend. Everything ends up working out, except Eliza starts to not only develop her acting skills but also her feelings for Caz.
As Ann Liang takes you on the journey of this novel, you feel a flurry of exciting and gut-wrenching emotions. Liang harps on taking risks as a teenager to see where those paths may lead you in life’s opportunities. While it is fiction, she incorporates all the awkwardness and mixed “situationship-like” feelings teenagers experience in high school. It’s a rollercoaster ride of what teenagers experience, sprinkled with extremely uplifting family moments and friendships. In this novel, it is impossible for any character to have a hate train for them; they are all genuinely so lovable and relatable.
To nobody’s surprise, reading about Eliza’s perspective of Caz’s small “boyfriend-material” actions creates butterflies in your stomach. From Caz picking up Eliza’s wandering eyes to tanghulu (candied fruits) and buying them for her, to him playing silly childish games with Eliza’s sister, he is indeed one of the “book boyfriends”.
However, despite the romance, one of my favorite moments was when Eliza and her best friend Zoe experienced a loss of connection. Eliza expresses that Zoe is her best friend but also her only real friend, considering she moves from place to place. Eliza compares her relationship with Zoe to be different from other past relationships because, unlike all of her other friends who broke their promises to keep in touch when she moved away, Zoe made the effort to maintain a connection. Her description of how Zoe was the only one to have ensured to continue their friendship through Facetime calls displays the warm friendship between the two characters. Yet, throughout the story, Zoe begins to show similar patterns to all of Eliza’s past friends.
Nonetheless, in the last couple of chapters, Zoe remains the best friend figure that she has been since we were first introduced to her. She listens to Eliza and gives advice on how to approach her problems. The reason why this particular part is flagged as a favorite is because it reveals how friendships between people who are apart can struggle to remain involved in each other’s lives, but are always there unexpectedly when you may need it most. Reading Eliza’s narrative of how she felt that she had lost her best friend to someone else who was always there for her was truly emotional and heartwarming.
This book certainly opens up various emotions for readers, but overall is a fun and easy read. Any teenager can open up to any page in this novel without context and find a piece of themselves within the characters. That being said, I recommend this novel to all teenagers, specifically calling out the secret hopeless romantics and Swifties!
Shakespeare: Author Behind Romeo & Juliet
By Makala Sanichar
Editor’s Note: Views expressed in this article are
solely the author's opinions and beliefs
Early into his career, William Shakespeare wrote the tragedy Romeo and Juliet, which is about the relationship between the two Italian lovers from rival backgrounds. Along with Hamlet, it was one of Shakespeare's most performed plays during his lifetime and is still played frequently today. The main protagonists are now thought of as typical youthful lovers. Romeo and Juliet are part of a long history of tragic love stories.
The scenario is based on a Matteo Bandello story that Arthur Brooke translated into poetry in 1562 as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, and used by William Painter in 1567 as Palace of Pleasure. Shakespeare took a lot of inspiration from both, but also added new elements to the story by creating a cast of supporting figures, especially Mercutio and Paris. The story of Romeo and Juliet has had several adaptations created in theaters, on screen, in musicals, and operas. William Davenant brought it back to life and made significant revisions during the English Restoration. The version of Romeo and Juliet by Georg Benda deleted most of the action and utilized a joyful ending, while David Garrick's version from the 18th century changed several scenes and eliminated content that was then deemed offensive.
Shakespeare, also known by the pen names, Bard of Avon and Swan of Avon, was an English poet, dramatist, and actor who was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, and died there on April 23, 1616. He married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18, and had twins Hamnet and Judith in addition to Susanna. Between 1585 and 1592, he started a prosperous career in London. He appears to have retired to Stratford at the age of 49 (about 1613), where he passed away three years later. He is frequently referred to as the English national poet and is widely regarded as the greatest dramatist of all time.
Shakespeare holds a special place in literary history. Shakespeare's plays, which were written in the late 16th and early 17th centuries for a small repertory theater, are now performed and read more frequently and in more countries than ever before. Other poets, like Homer and Dante, and novelists, like Leo Tolstoy and Charles Dickens, have also transcended national boundaries. Shakespeare's most well-known works were created between 1589 and 1613. His early plays, which were mainly comedies and histories, are thought to be among the best in their respective genres. Up until 1608, most of his works were tragedies, including Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, which are all regarded as some of the best in the English language. He collaborated with other playwrights and composed tragicomedies, usually referred to as romances, in the latter stages of his life.
Romeo, who is infatuated with Rosaline in the opening scene, is one of the Montagues, who are introduced to the audience. Romeo's pals Benvolio and Mercutio take him to a Capulet feast, where he meets Juliet, in an effort to cheer him up. They experience love at first sight and have a passionate balcony exchange.
Romeo and Juliet is a drama that examines a wide range of issues, such as love, hate, fate, and the fallout from rash decisions. Shakespeare's poetic verse, as well as the play's use of metaphor and imagery, are all well-known aspects of its use of language.
