LONG STORY SHORT

What better way to prove to your parents that you can be a regular teenager than to enroll in Shakespeare camp?

Sixteen-year-old math genius Beatrice Quinn has been home-schooled her entire life, avoiding socializing and studying hard to secure her dream of attending the University of Oxford. When she confesses to her parents—sex therapists who share a practice—that she not only applied to Oxford, but was accepted to attend in the fall, they worry she is not prepared to move to another country by herself. Agreeing to do whatever it takes to convince them she’s ready, the White Berkeley teen agrees to spend her summer at the Connecticut Shakespearean Summer Academy with a parentally assigned list of so-called normal teenage experiences she must check off, including making a friend, engaging in small talk, hugging people, doing something outdoorsy, and pulling a prank. But no amount of research can prepare socially anxious Bea for the reality of theater camp, where she faces firsts like acting on stage, attending secret parties, and partaking in a Shakespeare-off. The cast members, varied in race and sexual orientation, may at first seem to conform to familiar types, but the characters are redeemed by backstories revealing their depths. Anyone who has also hardened their shell to protect their heart will be moved by Bea’s growth in self-love as she sincerely navigates friendship and romance.

Charming repartee and plenty of heart make for a delightful debut.