Next book

MACBETH #KILLINGIT

From the OMG Shakespeare series

Theater in general and Shakespeare in particular are notably protean, and the potential of this and its companions to...

Carbone continues her lively updating—or heretical butchery, depending on your point of view—of Shakespeare's plays.

Having previously brought into the 21st century/slaughtered Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet (srsly Hamlet and YOLO Juliet, both 2015), Carbone now turns to the Scottish play. "When do u witches wanna meet up next?" asks "witch #1" in a group text with her sisters. This sets the tone for the rest of the adaptation, which plays out in emoji-bedazzled text bubbles, supplemented by notifications, Facebook updates, notes, chat-room screenshots, and reminders ("12:00am / Time to kill Duncan"). The dialogue is a mix of kinda-Shakespearean rebuses and textspeak: after the murder, Macbeth frets, "All the [water emoji] in the [Hokusai-wave emoji] could not wash the blood off my [two-hands emoji]. I [ear emoji] knocking on the [door emoji]. some1 is comin to get me!" It's all ridiculous of course, but there's a method to its foolishness. Many conventions of the medium adapt surprisingly well: asides are rendered as undelivered texts, and stage directions are Foursquare updates. Rather than (just) pandering to its presumed teen audience, it provides a lens through which students can see dramatic possibilities. A Midsummer Night #nofilter publishes simultaneously.

Theater in general and Shakespeare in particular are notably protean, and the potential of this and its companions to inspire students to think outside the Globe is significant. (Graphic classic. 12 & up)

Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-553-53880-9

Page Count: 112

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015

Next book

THE SURVIVOR WANTS TO DIE AT THE END

Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.

When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.

In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.

Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)

Pub Date: May 6, 2025

ISBN: 9780063240858

Page Count: 720

Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025

Next book

POWERLESS

From the Powerless Trilogy series , Vol. 1

A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.

The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.

Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.

A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)

Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023

ISBN: 9798987380406

Page Count: 538

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023

Close Quickview