I received this galley in consideration for an honest review.
YOLO Juliet by William Shakespeare, Brett Wright Published by Random House on May 26, 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Retelling
Goodreads
Romeo and Juliet, one of the greatest love stories ever told . . . in texts?!
Imagine: What if those star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet had smartphones? A classic is reborn in this fun and funny adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays!
Two families at war.
A boy and a girl in love.
A secret marriage gone oh-so-wrong.
and h8. The classics just got a whole lot more interesting. 😉 tl;dr A Shakespeare play told through its characters texting with emojis, checking in at certain locations, and updating their relationship statuses. The perfect gift for hip theater lovers and teens.
I received this galley in consideration for an honest review.
SRSLY Hamlet by Courtney Carbone, William Shakespeare Published by Random House on May 26, 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Retelling
Goodreads
Hamlet, one of the greatest stories ever told . . . in texts?! Imagine: What if Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, and the tragic Ophelia had smartphones? A classic is reborn in this fun and funny adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays! A kingdom on the brink of war. A stolen throne. A boy seeking revenge. and h8. The classics just got a whole lot more interesting. 😉 tl;dr A Shakespeare play told through its characters texting with emojis, checking in at certain locations, and updating their relationship statuses. The perfect gift for hip theater lovers and teens.
It’s not often that you are pitched a book that is written entirely in text conversations and emojis, so this review isn’t going to be conventional, but I think everything worked out ok. My English teacher friends often ask their students to put Shakespeare into the modern speak of teenagers as a classroom exercise. I always thought that it was an interesting project because not only would it be fun (yes, it would) but it would also force you to really understand what you are, in effect, translating. That is essentially what Brett Wright and Courtney Carbone did with these two books that deconstruct two of The Bard’s most famous works.
In short, they are both hilarious. It’s fun to see the interpretation of the material and the rather creative use of emojis, as well. I enjoyed both books. They would be really fun gifts for the Shakespeare fan in your life, but not a substitute for reading the real thing (got that?) but certainly a fun supplement. Random House was kind enough to let me post two pages from the book, so you can see the hilarity for yourselves. Enjoy!
A book written in texts is a genius idea! I bet more people will be interested in reading them now.
I don’t read much in this format, but good to hear it was funny
I saw this at Barnes and Noble and thought it looked adorable (short and sweet). Thanks for including screenshots, this would make a fun gift for all my teacher friends 🙂
BAHA. This would crack me up. I wouldn’t be able to read a long format book like this, but as a gimmicky gift book it would totally work.
haha this is awesome. I’m not sure I could make it through the whole thing, but cute idea.