Juliet Dove, Queen of Love

Author: Bruce Coveille
Published: October 1, 2003 (Harcourt)
Category: YAFantasy
Rating: 7/10

It was hard to rate this one because I have to consider that this is a YA book. I've read two of Coville's other Magic Shop books, and my favorite was Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. To me, that title was 100% fantasy. Juliet Dove pulls elements straight out of Greek myth and fairytales, specifically the one with the girl who's kind to a beggar in the forest and is gifted with jewels and roses spilling from her mouth whenever she spoke.

Juliet Dove is the shyest of the Dove children, often teased by her classmates to the point where she lashes out at them in brief moments of fiery words, earning her the nickname of "Killer." One day, she's running away from the girls who dislike her the most and stumbles upon Elives' Magic Shop. It's a wondrous place filled with magic supplies and genuine magical objects. The Mr. Elives we know from previous Magic Shop books isn't at the counter, but a strange woman is, and she gives an amulet to Juliet.

This amulet makes Juliet irresistible to boys and she finds she has a crowd of adoring fans following her everywhere. For a shy girl, this is very bad, and the attention of the girls who resent Juliet's new appeal is also unwanted. We later learn that this amulet was not a part of the magic shop's stock, and Mr. Elives is rather worried about any potential consequences of wearing it. He sends two of his helpers to guide Juliet, and they happen to be Jerome and Roxanne, talking rats from Jennifer Murdley's Toad, another Magic Shop book.

We later find out that the amulet is tied to the story of Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world and that goddess beauty contest that led to the whole Trojan War debacle. Athena and Hera have given their blessing to Juliet, saying that she has to find her way out of the story. Eris, the goddess of discord is still powerful on Earth while the other goddesses have faded away from reality, and she plans to use the amulet to create plenty of discord.

Aside from the goddess beauty contest, the book also draws on the myth of Cupid and Psyche, the lovers who are united at the end of the story. As a YA book, it does a good job of showing that Greek myths aren't old and dusty things that we'll never see after reading about them in history class.