A radical reimagining and avant-garde interpretation of Shakespeare.
Ranging from grim and gritty to starry-eyed and futuristic, these 15 stories retell the Bard’s works as they’ve rarely been presented before.
As noted by editor Adler, these tales—by a range of noted YA authors including Adler, Amy Rose Capetta, Cory McCarthy, Kiersten White, Tochi Onyebuchi, Samantha Mabry, and others—are designed to subvert the lack of diversity in the canon. While the plots mostly adhere to predetermined arcs, the characters and settings diverge wildly, with most protagonists recast as LGBTQ+ and people of color. Some authors play with format—retelling Romeo and Juliet through text messages—while others blend genres—Hamlet leans on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Much Ado About Nothing goes SF. While the major comedies and tragedies appear, lesser-known and less-performed works like Coriolanus and problematic plays like The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice—which can be uncomfortable to modern audiences—also get a shot at the spotlight. Although all are engaging, some of the stories feel incomplete; with the first acts and finales left unexplained, readers must interpolate from the source material; this volume will be best appreciated alongside the originals. Still, many of the comedies abound with energy and enthusiasm and the tragedies with current-day woes. These tales aim to and succeed at introducing brave new worlds and creating spaces for those previously omitted, maligned, or silenced in Shakespeare’s works.
A radical reimagining and avant-garde interpretation of Shakespeare. (about the authors, about Shakespeare) (Anthology. 14-18)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-75386-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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