A story of star-crossed urban love by two-time National Book Award finalist Walter Dean Myers.

Have you ever loved someone from the wrong side of the tracks? Damien has everything going for him. His family wants him to date Roxanne. He falls for Junice, whose life is totally messed up. But Junice tells him that he's the one who needs the reality check.

Sometimes the greatest obstacle to finding true love is ourselves.

Harlem meets Shakespeare in this fresh, original free-verse novel by Michael L. Printz.

Reviews

Gr 8 Up-The swift flow of these short poems carries readers along in thoughts, conversations, and scenes as Damien and Junice's romance begins. He is a high achiever who has been accepted to Brown University and is expected to go far. Junice has just lost her mother to prison and is trying to keep her younger sister and her grandmother together as a family. Damien and Junice question who they are and who they will become. Hip-hop-style phrases feel like Shakespeare telling of these African-American teens in Harlem, struggling to keep it together. Intellect meets Street as true love conquers all. This is a quick and satisfying read, simple and timeless.-Corinda J. Humphrey, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

An array of characters are linked by a couple from different backgrounds in what PW called a "compellingly readable" novel in verse. Ages 12-up. (Nov.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

"This deeply felt, poignant story is told in deft strokes, with memorable language." -- KLIATT (starred review)