Romiette and Julio

“In the dream, I’m drowning…In deep water, like almost dying. It’s terrible, and I’m almost afraid to go to sleep…The water is so cold, and it’s hot.”

Romi’s recurring nightmare and her best friend Destiny’s belief in fate eventually manifest as reality. However, Romi is initially confused by her recurring nightmare of drowning. The water is both cold and hot, later revealed to be the result of her and Julio struggling in a freezing lake, having just escaped a boat set aflame by lightning. This dream sequence, a vision of the future, elevates Romi and Julio’s love as cosmic, an inexplicable force of nature.

“Gangs are going to be everywhere.”

Still angry over his parents’ decision to leave Corpus Christi, Texas, due to the presence of gangs, Julio asserts that gangs exist everywhere. Author Sharon M. Draper, having taught in Cincinnati public schools for more than 25 years, uses Thomas Jefferson High School to reveal the truth of Julio’s observation. For Draper, the problem with gangs in public schools cannot be addressed until it is first acknowledged.

“Why’d you help me? Why didn’t you just narc on me?”

In addition to his bond with Romi, Julio forms a friendship with Ben, an eccentric misfit. In his decision to protect Julio from trouble (despite Julio punching him out of frustration), Ben offers empathy in an otherwise toxic environment created by the Devildogs.

“Do you feel the soul of another calling to you? Do you know in your heart that your destiny and his were meant to merge in the cosmos?”

Rather than being a typical teenage romance grounded in physical attraction, the novel positions Romi and Julio’s relationship as something special. Destiny’s Scientific Soul Mate System kit seems gimmicky at best, but its elaborate ritual involving music and scented oil validates Romi and Julio as soul mates—a relationship that the cosmos seems to celebrate.

“Shakespeare is stupid.”

Draper, a high school English teacher for more than 25 years, points out on her website that she adapted Romeo and Juliet due to her students’ bias against William Shakespeare. This observation is what caused Draper to revisit Shakespeare and prove the relevancy of his vision and characters to a new generation of young readers.

“My name’s not Chico.”

Julio struggles to come to terms with the Devildogs’ dogma—that he is a threat simply because of his ethnicity. It is his first week of school, and he has yet to make enemies (as Ben forgave him for punching him). However, he is judged for being a “Chico,” a jab at his Latino identity. The name negates Julio’s individuality and mocks his proud heritage.

“I can’t wait to talk with him again. He’s not like any guy I ever met. He’s witty, he’s wise. And oh my goodness—he’s cute too.”

Romi tries to articulate her meeting Julio in the school cafeteria in a journal entry. This entry captures the rush of young love, as Romi lists what she likes about Julio and why he seems so different from other boys.

“Neither one of us noticed.”

When Destiny points out that Romi and Julio are of different ethnicities, Romi’s response reveals the transcendent power of young love. For Romi, Julio is a fascinating individual who loves music, swimming, and spicy food and whose smile makes her heart flutter. Their physical differences hadn’t even occurred to her, nor do they matter to her as the story progresses.

“We just escaped all those problems, and now, the first person you hook up with is some black kid.”

For Julio’s father, Romi poses a problem. Julio struggles with the fact that his father harbors the same racist logic that fuels the Devildogs. This quote reduces Romi to a stereotype, as Julio’s father sees no difference between Romi and the Black gang responsible for the death of his first girlfriend.

“It just seemed odd to see you giggling like a third grader with that kid that’s so obviously—let me see how I can put this—Spanish.”

Malaka Grimes, Romi’s former friend, is a member of the Devildogs who smokes, drinks, and very much acts unlike her younger self. As per the gang’s mentality, she reduces people to their race, dismissing Julio as nothing more than his Hispanic identity.

“Reality is a lot scarier.”

Romi and Julio struggle to handle the revelation that the Devildogs carry guns. Having watched West Side Story, a musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, Romi realizes that the musical’s stylized gang warfare is nothing like reality.

“I remember the feeling of young love. You feel as if you have found your dream. And you can’t stop smiling.”

Julio’s mother’s observation positions young love as more powerful than hatred. Unlike Julio’s father who reduces Romi to her race, Julio’s mother reveals the heart of the novel: how life-changing love can be. After their first meeting, both Romi and Julio cannot stop smiling, their lives forever changed by each other.

“What rules? Who made up these rules? How can he follow laws when he doesn’t know what they are?”

In this quote, Romi challenges the Devildogs’ expectation that she and Julio stop seeing each other because their relationship violates unspoken rules. Romi’s confusion is understandable, as the gang’s code is nothing more than a racist agenda.

“Powerful vibes we’re dealing with…I never question the stars—I simply trust them.”

A critical element of Romi and Julio’s budding romance is Destiny’s insistence that this love is sanctioned by the stars themselves. This cosmic, spiritual element elevates the friendship-turned-romance into something grand and important.

“I just want to tell you that it might be safer to walk alone, you know what I’m sayin’, instead of walking with whatever trash is blowin’ down the street, you know what I’m saying?”

In this quote, one of the Devildogs’ leaders threatens Romi, but ignores Julio because of his race. The key word of this quote is “safer,” as the Devildogs are starting to explicitly pressure Romi despite her being one of “theirs” (a Black girl).

“We’ve got to be smarter than they are. The four of us have got to be smarter than a bunch of thugs.”

Romi, Julio, Destiny, and Ben hatch a plan to bring down the Devildogs. The novel juxtaposes this friendship, born of acceptance and support, with the Devildogs, a gang that inspires paranoia and isolation. This alliance is a coalition of different personalities, ethnicities, and backgrounds—yet is bound together by courage.

“She inhaled slowly. His lips touched hers lightly, then the kiss became a flower that blossomed and bloomed in the dark.”

Romi and Julio’s first kiss is far from sensual. This kiss takes place as the two prepare to fight the Devildogs, a gentle, stolen moment full of promise. The image of a flower suggests growth, a natural evolution from friendship to romance. In other words, Romi and Julio belong together, regardless of others’ opinions.

“Our students do not have the same pressures as students in Los Angeles or New York, for example, and we are fortunate to be able to handle those problems in the schools through normal channels of discipline.”

This excerpt from the local news station’s reporting reveals the problem central to the novel: the unwillingness of the public to accept the reality of gangs in virtually every school district. The comfortable complacency of this reporting is set against Romi and Julio’s abduction by the Devildogs.

“The Montagues and the Cappelles. That’s funny. I remember those names from high school, or something very close to it—Shakespeare. Enemies, weren’t they? In Romeo and Juliet. Even your kids’ names are similar.”

The police captain’s remark regarding the missing Romi and Julio is flippant and unprofessional and is especially inappropriate considering it is directed at Romi and Julio’s parents—who know Romeo and Juliet ends with the titular teenagers’ deaths. The police initially dismiss the missing Romi and Julio as children being children, even pausing their search during a storm when Destiny and Ben continue to do so.

“Ben was glad that he was fairly dry, sitting in Destiny’s car, and experiencing the fury a storm with the faint scent of her hair spray in the air.”

Despite the horror of Romi and Julio’s kidnapping, Ben finds himself comforted by Destiny’s presence and falling in love with her. A counterpoint narrative to Romi and Julio’s cosmic love is the quieter love between Destiny and Ben—predicted by Destiny’s Scientific Soul Mate System kit.

“The voice called her one last time. It was Julio.”

This is the moment when Romi finally breaks free of her drowning dream. Her drowning has manifested as reality, and she finally links the unknown voice to Julio, who is determined to save her.

“Cornell offered his hand to Luis. Both hands were covered with mud and dirt from their long morning search. Cornell said clearly, ‘I would be proud if you’d consider me your friend, Luis.’”

The novel preaches the wisdom (and necessity) of cooperation and friendship between people of different races. This quote is one such moment of reaching out, between Romi’s and Julio’s fathers. They work together to search for their children and clear up their initial hostility.

“I don’t think even Shakespeare could have imagined this one!”

Romi, recovered from her near-death experience and reunited with Julio, voices the subversion of her and Julio’s story—as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet ended in death, despite the titular lovers’ plea for love. In contrast, Romiette and Julio ends with love triumphing over hate and hope triumphing over despair.