Many of the plot points and tropes of Picoult’s novel are reminiscent of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1597). In both narratives, a pair of teens is in love with one another. In Shakespeare’s play, the teens are offspring of two families—the Montagues and Capulets—who are bitter enemies. Because of their parents’ feud, Romeo and Juliet are forbidden to be with one another and must carry out their relationship in secret.

The Hartes and Golds begin as a reverse of the Montagues and Capulets—the two families are tight-knit friends, sharing a bond that appears indestructible. Emily’s death, however, creates a divide between them, severing the two families forever in a manner reminiscent of the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. In this way, Picoult plays with the trope of Romeo and Juliet’s desire to be united in death; here the two families are forever divided by the death of Emily and Chris’s role in it.

Similarly, Chris and Emily’s pact parallels the plan devised by Romeo and Juliet. Juliet fakes her death by drinking a potion that will make her appear deceased. Once she has been placed in a tomb, Romeo will be sent to secretly rescue her, and the two will be able to live as a married couple in secret.