Reading Response to The Difference Between You and Me by Madeline George

       This book is really interesting.  It is about two young girls that share a "forbidden love".  I have enjoyed reading it even though it is a little strange.  One girl, Jesse, cuts her hair with an army knife, and wears large rubber rain boots.  She has about two friends and doesn't care much about what people think of her.  The other girl, Emily, is student council vice president, very popular, really pretty, has beautiful soft hair, and a boyfriend.  These two kissed each other by accident and then sort of met up weekly from there on to hookup in secret.  Jesse would be fine if the whole world knew about them, but Emily on the other hand had a lot to lose and wanted to have a good reputation.  These girls are so different that they disagree on almost everything.  They especially disagree about a large company's involvement with their town.  The will to prove the other wrong about this company has given Jesse more confidence.  She finally earns the guts she needs to tell Emily that she is tired of hiding so they can't 'see' each other anymore if she wants to keep it a secret.
       In this book, The Difference Between You and Me by Madeline George, Jesse is blinded by her love and excitement as well as confusion and guilt for her relationship with Emily.  She doesn't notice how great the two friends she has are, and how they are there for her when Emily is not.  Jesse wants to tell her friends about Emily, but decides against it for Emily's sake.  I think it is for the best that their relationship didn't work out because Jesse deserved more respect then she was getting.  Her best friends, Esther and Wyatt, treated her so much better.  Emily felt that she had a power over Jesse just because she was pretty and popular, and Jesse believed her in a way.
       It was interesting to read this book because it has a slight hint of a Romeo and Juliet theme going on with the forbidden love and the meeting in accident.  I wonder if this is what the author intended or if just a coincidence.  Whether if it is supposed to have a Romeo and Juliet theme or not, it is still a great book and I would recommend it to students in middle or high school, or anyone that likes a little realistic fiction.