When You Were Mine

History forgot Rosaline, the girl Romeo loved before Juliet, and the clever premise of this underdeveloped but still satisfying romance is an updated imagining of Rosaline's story. Rose Caplet lives next door to Rob Montag, her male best friend who becomes something more as they begin senior year at their posh Southern California private school. But then Rose's estranged cousin, Juliet, and her family move back to town, and Rob is instantly smitten. The cousins were close before their families had a falling out for reasons Rose later discovers, and Rose is devastated by Juliet's betrayal. Serle's debut mirrors the plotting of the original play, but events are filtered through Rose's perspective, with Rob and Juliet kept at a distance. Tapping into familiar Shakespearian devices, Serle places Rob and Juliet in a school production of Macbeth; Rose's role as a stagehand enables her to eavesdrop on their stormy interactions. Though Rob and Juliet are disappointingly one-dimensional, Rose's pain and growth feel legitimate, and her love interest, Len, is distinctive. But it's Rose's longtime friendship with girlfriends Charlie and Olivia that form the heart of the story. Ages 14%E2%80%93up. Agent: Mollie Glick, Foundry Literary + Media. (May)