Could you ever imagine a famous play written by Shakespeare be turned into a teenage, modern, texting-obsessed, book? Well, you can definitely find it here! In this book, Brett Wright, uses the same story written by Shakespeare, but completely modernizes it by having all of the characters in group text messages. In this book, there are the four main love characters, Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius who are all fighting for each others love. There are also Bottom, Quince, Flute, Snout, Snug, and Starveling who are actors putting on a play. Finally, there are also the fairies, Oberon, Titania, Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Mote, and Mustardseed who cause a little misinformation in regards to some potions. With surprises and twists along the way, this book is a wonderful way to explore Shakespeare with personal connections to the modern day world.
I thought this book was hilarious and perfectly well written for teenagers and young children trying to understand the concept of Shakespeare. Even though this is a great way to get people more interested in Shakespeare, I do feel as if it modernizes Shakespeare a little too much. Shakespeare is known for his incredible writing, and I think that is a little difficult to see when all of this text slang is mixed into it. Also, even though it provides a lot of humor, it in a way promotes the idea of using bad grammar. If you are an individual who really wants a humorous book, then this is the book for you, but otherwise, I would keep on looking for another book.
I really think that the most memorable thing was how much I have a connection with the book. I text my friends all the time, so when I was reading the book, I imagined myself texting along with all of these characters. This style of writing really helped me understand Shakespeare a lot better.
Reviewed by Becca, Grade 8, Twin Hickory Area Library
HCPL TeenScene's Read + Review 