Favorite of "Contains Shakespeare"

I've read plenty of books that are inspired by, based on, or contain a Shakespeare play in one form or another. Here are five of my favorites:

1. Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev (contains the fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Ariel from The Tempest, and various other theatrical characters) 

A truly magical and beautifully written novel with an awesome sequel too. I'm excited that I finally have book three in my possession for I can't wait to see what happens to Bertie, Nate, Ariel, and the rest of the gang. (But mostly Nate.) 

2. My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman (contains [and is based on, I believe] As You Like It)

Hilarious, sarcastic, ridiculous, but smart-- aka, all my favorite things in one. 

3. Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman  (based on Much Ado About Nothing) 

I'm automatically inclined to like books that feature baristas, as that is one of my favorite words, but it doesn't hurt that it's pretty funny and sweet too. 

 

 4.  The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (contains Puck and various fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream)

Puck is my favorite of this series, so it only makes sense that book one shows up here.  

5.  Chasing Windmills by Catherine Ryan Hyde (cheating with this one since it's based more on West Side Story than anything, but West Side Story is based on Romeo and Juliet so it totally counts) 

Because I hadn't even seen West Side Story yet when I first read this book (if I had, I would have been rather biased toward liking it) my love for it seems all the more true.

Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

[description from goodreads]

When Lupita discovers Mami has been diagnosed with cancer, she is terrified by the possibility of losing her mother, the anchor of their close-knit Mexican American family. 

In the midst of juggling high school classes, finding her voice as an actress, and dealing with friends who don’t always understand, Lupita desperately wants to support her mother by doing anything she can to help. While Papi is preoccupied with caring for Mami, Lupita takes charge of her seven younger siblings. Struggling in her new roles and overwhelmed by change, Lupita escapes the chaos of home by writing in the shade of a mesquite tree, seeking refuge in the healing power of words. 

Told in evocative free verse, Lupita’s journey is both heart-wrenching and hopeful. Under the Mesquite is an empowering story about the testing of family bonds, the strength of a teenage girl navigating pain and hardship, and the kind of love that cannot be uprooted.

Review:

This book is another prime example of my horrible procrastination habits-- it took me months to finally read it, which was a silly choice on my part for Under the Mesquite is a beautifully written, emotional novel despite its brevity.

However, its brevity still prevented me from loving this book completely. It's about 250 pages long, but considering it's written in verse and covers so many years, it seems even shorter. This short length often prevents certain characters from being well developed, because they either leave Lupita's life after one year or seem to change completely in the time that she doesn't cover. In the grand scheme of things, though, this qualm is a bit insignificant in comparison to the wonderful development of Lupita and her writing. Poetry inherently makes everything simply sound more emotionally charged, but the detail and thought Lupita puts into her words elevate her writing even further, making it easy to connect to her situation. Her detail helps showcase her harried feelings about her mother's condition and her family, and coupled with just as wonderfully described moments of joy that inevitably occur, the narrative is truly something beautiful and heart wrenching.

It's not a flashy or action-packed book, and it fell too flat with certain characterization for my liking, but the intense emotion and lovely writing make Under the Mesquite worth a read.

Book details: Lee & Low Books/Hardcover/$17.95


Source: sent by publisher for review

Waiting on Wednesday

 Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. Descriptions and such from goodreads.

Today I'm waiting on:

 The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life by Tara Altebrando

An all-day scavenger hunt in the name of eternal small-town glory.

With only a week until graduation, there’s one last thing Mary and her friends must do together: participate in the Oyster Point High Official Unofficial Senior Week Scavenger Hunt. And Mary is determined to win. 

Mary lost her spot at Georgetown to self-professed “it” bully Pete Lembo, and she’s not about to lose again. But everyone is racing for the finish line with complicated motives, and the team’s all-night adventure becomes all-night drama as shifting alliances, flared tempers, and crushing crushes take over. As the items and points pile up, Mary and her team must reinvent their strategy—and themselves—in order to win.

 ---

I totally enjoyed Tara Altebrando's  Dreamland Social Club and have been eager to read another book by her. I also have a inexplicable fondness for scavenger hunts and tales of college angst so I'm doubly excited to read this one.

Released July 5.

Leverage by Joshua C. Cohen

[description from goodreads]

The football field is a battlefield.

There's an extraordinary price for victory at Oregrove High. It is paid on - and off - the football field. And it claims its victims without mercy - including the most innocent bystanders.

When a violent, steroid-infused, ever-escalating prank war has devastating consequences, an unlikely friendship between a talented but emotionally damaged fullback and a promising gymnast might hold the key to a school's salvation.

Told in alternating voices and with unapologetic truth, Leverage illuminates the fierce loyalty, flawed justice, and hard-won optimism of two young athletes.

Review:

Every time my friend Jordyn of the blog Ten Cent Notes recommends a book, I take a horribly long time to finally get around to reading it even though I always end up loving her recommendations. This might be the worst instance of my procrastination because, my goodness, this is one heck of a book.

"Enjoyed" is not exactly the word I would use to describe my feelings on this book, for it's far too horrific and intense for it to be a pleasurable reading experience-- my love for this book is definitely more on the masochistic side. From the very beginning of the novel, when the awkward gymnast Danny meets the stuttering football player Kurt, it's obvious that even though they don't have much of a relationship early on, the interactions between their two teams are not going to be pretty. It's the stars of the football team that appear (and remain) the most horrific people, but as the novel progresses, everyone has their awful moments. The actions the boys take are just sick, immoral, horrifying, heartbreaking, and demand the question of why anyone would do such stupid and disgusting things. On more than one occasion I had to text the aforementioned Jordyn exclaiming shock and horror at what I was reading because some things were just too graphic and intense for me to not freak out over.

However, despite all the horror occurring, the book doesn't use them purely for shock value, as evidenced by the care in developing the characters as well. While some of the minor characters, like the football captains, seemed a bit flat in that they do most of the same things throughout the story, the other leads are simply wonderful, especially narrators Danny and Kurt. Danny is so very unassuming and that's part of his charm; although his father does not care much about his sport and there's better people on the team, he tries his hardest and when he doesn't do the right thing, his guilt and torment are painfully evident. I love Kurt even more because even though it hurts to see him stutter and struggle over the scarring events of his past, watching him move past those things and figure out what exactly he should be doing is so very moving, especially in the book's conclusion.

Leverage is hard to read because of its horrifying events, but it's so wonderfully written and developed that the emotional havoc it wreaks is well worth it.


Book details: Dutton/Hardcover/$17.99


Source: bought

Quote Post!

Because I don't have an In My Mailbox for today and quotes are my favorites: 

  “Remember that at any given moment there are a thousand things you can love.” 

- The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan

“Time passes too quickly when you're getting ready to do something you don't want to do.” 

- Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

“Nothing ever really goes away--it just changes into something else. Something beautiful.”

 - Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

“Sometimes the facts in my head get bored and decide to take a walk in my mouth. Frequently this is a bad thing.” 

- So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld (Underrated book!)

Fairy Bad Day by Amanda Ashby

[description from goodreads]

While most students at Burtonwood Academy get to kill demons and goblins, fifteen-year-old Emma gets to rid the world of little annoying fairies with glittery wings and a hipster fashion sense. She was destined to be a dragon slayer, but cute and charming Curtis stole her spot. Then she sees a giant killer fairy - and it's invisible to everyone but her! If Emma has any cha...moreWhile most students at Burtonwood Academy get to kill demons and goblins, fifteen-year-old Emma gets to rid the world of little annoying fairies with glittery wings and a hipster fashion sense. She was destined to be a dragon slayer, but cute and charming Curtis stole her spot. Then she sees a giant killer fairy - and it's invisible to everyone but her! If Emma has any chance of stopping this evil fairy, she's going to need help. Unfortunately, the only person who can help is Curtis. And now, not only has he stolen her dragon-slayer spot, but maybe her heart as well! Why does she think it's going to be a fairy bad day?

 

Review: 

 

Although I tend to shy away from paranormal stories like they're the plague, I can handle them when they're a bit more fantasy and wrapped up in a light package; hence, I enjoyed Fairy Bad Day immensely. 

 

The premise of this book is a bit ridiculous-- hipster fairies! -- but that's part of this book's charm.  I love the wide variety of creatures included and that all of them, no matter their level of danger, are slayed; it doesn't get much better than murder. I wish there was more of an introduction to the other creatures, techniques, and school because Emma's friends all are assigned to slay different things and they don't get as big a chance to shine. But, at least the main villains, the fairies, were nicely developed-- I wish the worst of the worst appeared sooner and wasn't so over-the-top, but hey, at least it was fun. I had a blast reading Emma's adventures in finding out just what she was up against, because as she digs deeper, she's forced to confront some hard-hitting truths about herself, her family, and her slaying way of life. 

Just like my feelings about the plot and premise, my thoughts on the characters lean toward both wishing they were better developed and not really minding since they're so entertaining anyway. Emma, as anyone else in this story would, does not handle her fairy assignment with grace, but as she gets used to dealing with the creatures, she becomes hilariously snarky and simultaneously tough. I wish her love interest, Curtis, was as nicely developed and amusing because although there are some delightful twists involved in his life that make the fantastical aspects of this world all the more interesting, he does not particularly stand out. Everyone else is also a bit interchangeable for me; I remember people's habits, like Emma's friend's penchant for horoscopes, much more than I remember names, but that may just be my poor memory failing me once again.

It's no award winner or stunning piece of work, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Fairy Bad Day is one insanely fun, adorable read.

Book details: Speak/Paperback/$7.99

Source: sent by publisher for review

In Darkness by Nick Lake

[description from goodreads]

In darkness I count my blessings like Manman taught me. One: I am alive. Two: there is no two. In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake a boy is trapped beneath the rubble of a ruined hospital: thirsty, terrified and alone. 'Shorty' is a child of the slums, a teenage boy who has seen enough violence to last a lifetime, and who has been inexorably drawn into the world ...more
"Shorty" is a Haitian boy trapped in the ruins of a hospital when the earth explodes around him. Surrounded by lifeless bodies and growing desperately weak from lack of food and water, death seems imminent. Yet as Shorty waits in darkness for a rescue that may never come, he becomes aware of another presence, one reaching out to him across two hundred years of history. It is the presence of slave and revolutionary leader Toussaint L'Ouverture, whose life was marred by violence, and whose own end came in darkness. What unites a child of the slums with the man who would shake a troubled country out of slavery? Is it the darkness they share . . . or is it hope?

Raw, harrowing, and peopled with vibrant characters, In Darkness is an extraordinary book about the cruelties of man and nature, and the valiant, ongoing struggle for a country's very survival.

Review:

In Darkness is a rather ambitious book because it attempts to cover three stories: Shorty's time in the now ruined hospital, Shorty's life before hospitalization, and the life of Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture. I appreciated the equally unique and compelling stories but the combination of the three left me feeling a bit ambivalent about the book as a whole.

But, to start with the positives: Shorty's life is full of so much danger and cruelty that it was impossible for me not to keep reading his story. He covers pretty much his whole life during the narrative, which could have easily made the novel a superficial summary, but enough emphasis is given to the most important and climactic bits that the dangerous Haiti he inhabits comes to life. Because he does not shy away from describing the despicable aspects of gang life and his own past, the story he tells is simultaneously compelling, horrifying, and emotional. The time he spends describing his time in the hospital ruins manages to be just as attention-grabbing, because despite the short amount of time he spends on his current situation, each included snippet manages to have such power and emotion that his writing seems just as suffocating and eerie as the darkness around him.

However, there is one glaring thing that left my feelings on this book more calm than enthusiastic: Toussaint L'Ouverture. I can see why every other chapter was devoted to the story of the leader, but to be quite honest I personally did not really care to find out what happened in his life. It's an interesting story, at the very least, but it never elicited any emotional reaction from me so I was more annoyed than anything about having to read through his chapters before returning to Shorty's.

Although half the chapters centered on a story line I did not really care to read about, the rest of In Darkness impressed me with its realism, power, emotional intensity, and unique premise.

Book details: Bloomsbury/Hardcover/$17.99


Source: sent by publisher for review