Juliet Dove, Queen of Love: A Magic Shop Book [Hardcover]

Bruce Coville (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Magic Shop Book

Juliet Dove is a girl who doesn't like to be noticed. But though she may be shy, she has a wickedly sharp wit. Whenever someone does take notice of her, she tears into the person with a savagery that's earned her the nickname Killer.
Juliet ends up leaving Mr. Elives' magic shop with Helen of Troy's amulet--that is, a virtual man magnet. Juliet doesn't know what she's got, but the boys in her class do--they start to notice her. Soon every boy in town is swoony for her. Yet, much as she'd like to lose all the unwanted attention, she can't: The amulet won't come off!
A sidesplittingly funny, heartbreaking whirlwind of a book about the high cost of loving, from the award-winning author of My Teacher Is an Alien and The Unicorn Chronicles.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-Juliet Dove is a painfully shy middle school student who is inadvertently lured into a mysterious shop, where she is given an amulet. Once on, it cannot be removed and Juliet realizes she has gotten herself trapped in a story that must be finished before she can be free. With the help of two talking rats who are friends of the elusive shop owner, she learns that the necklace was given to her by Eris, the goddess of discord. It is the same amulet worn by Helen of Troy and was the true cause of the Trojan War because it makes its wearer irresistible to the opposite sex. Embarrassed by the increasingly large group of boys following her wherever she goes, Juliet nonetheless manages to unfold the mystery of why she was meant to wear the necklace. Ultimately, she is instrumental in reuniting the tragically parted mythological lovers Cupid and Psyche. Although humorous, the story has surprising depth, with musings on honor, power, strength, courage, and, above all, love. Juliet's journey through the tale in which she finds herself helps her to achieve a greater appreciation for herself, her family, and friends. "Every love story needs an ending" and this tale has an optimistic and open one, with possible future adventures indicated. Coville capably interweaves mythological characters with realistic modern ones, keeping readers truly absorbed.
B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-8. What could be worse for a shy middle-school girl than to be under a love spell? When Juliet runs off after hurling vicious insults at a girl who's teasing her, she finds herself in Mr. Elives' mysterious magic shop, where a strange woman presses her to take an amulet to wear around her neck. Over the next few days, Juliet starts attracting boys by the dozens. By the time she realizes the amulet is somehow responsible, she can't take it off. Two talking rats appear to help her out of her jam, and as the impossibilities pile up, she discovers that she's caught up in a story-- not just any story, but the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche. The love god himself is trapped in the amulet, and Juliet needs to find the way to release him before the chaos gets out of hand. Coville's easy style works well in a tale that has it's share of both humor and heartache. Fans of the Magic Shop series will enjoy this latest installment. Louise Brueggeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152045619
• ISBN-13: 978-0152045616
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,795,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bruce Coville was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1950. His family lived in farm territory, about twenty miles north of Syracuse. Bruce grew up around the corner from his grandparents' dairy farm, where he spent a great deal of time as a child, dodging cows and chores to the best of his ability. As a young reader he loved Mary Poppins and Dr. Dolittle, and still has fond memories of rising ahead of the rest of his family so he could huddle in a chair and read THE VOYAGES OF DR. DOLITTLE. He also read lots of things that people consider junk (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and zillions of comic books). His only real regret is the time he spent watching television, when he could have been reading instead. (A mind is a terrible thing to waste!)

His first book, THE FOOLISH GIANT, was published in 1978. It was illustrated by his wife, Katherine, whom he had married in 1969. This was followed in 1979 by SARAH'S UNICORN, also illustrated by Katherine. After a long period of working separately, the Covilles began collaborating again with SPACE BRAT and GOBLINS IN THE CASTLE, both published in 1992.

Before getting published Bruce earned his living as a toymaker, a gravedigger, a cookware salesman, an assembly line worker, and finally as an elementary school teacher (second and fourth grades). He left teaching in 1981 to devote himself to becoming a full time writer - though it took another five years to achieve that goal!)

Bruce has published nearly 100 books, which have appeared in over a dozen countries around the world and sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN, INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS, and THE MONSTER'S RING. In 2001 he founded Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company dedicated to creating unabridged, full cast recordings of the best in children's and young adult literature.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Juliet Dove Queen of Love, May 11, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Juliet Dove, Queen of Love: A Magic Shop Book (Hardcover)

You might think Juliet Dove Queen of Love is a lovey dovey book just for girls. It's actually a very interesting book.
The author is Bruce Coville. The genre is fiction adventure. The main characters are Juliet Dove, Jerome, Roxanne,and a lot of different goddesses. Juliet Dove has an amulet that she can't get off. So all these boys start following her because they become in love. You have got to read it!!

In the beginning of the story Juliet Dove goes to a magic shop and a lady gives her this amulet. She doesn't want to leave it so she puts it on. In the middle of the story Juliet gets into all of these adventures trying to find out how to get the amulet off because it starts to tighten. Read this book to find out about the rest of her adventures.


The theme of this book is never talk to strangers. This book reminds me of someone I know in the middle school because boys are always chasing after her too. This book is great for girls in grade 2-5.

Mor-Mor in Annapolis

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Audio Book, September 29, 2004

By 

Rebecca "becah" (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Juliet Dove, Queen of Love: A Magic Shop Book (Hardcover)

The reading of this book on CD was wonderful, using a full cast. Even my 4 year old grandson liked listening to the parts with the voices of Jerome and Roxanne the talking rats. Very entertaining, and good story.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I think this book was great!!, October 25, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Juliet Dove, Queen of Love: A Magic Shop Book (Paperback)

I think it was a pretty cool book but sometimes it grossed me out. I think anybody that liked adventure would like it. It was funny sometimes, and I liked the whole "Mr.Toe" thing. It made the book a lot funnier. Anyway like i said if you like adventure and can think of great pictures in your head, then I think you should read "Juliet Dove: Queen of Love".