Review: YOLO Juliet by William Shakespeare and Brett Wright

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: YOLO Juliet by William Shakespeare and Brett WrightYOLO Juliet by Brett Wright, William Shakespeare
Series: OMG Shakespeare
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on May 26, 2015
Pages: 112
Format: Hardcover
Source: the publisher
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five-stars

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.

A glossary and cast of characters are included for those who need it. For example: tl;dr means too long; didn’t read.

I’ve always been fascinated by Shakespeare’s plays. But, like many, I find them confusing and hard to understand. I’ve taken classes on Shakespeare, purchased “Shakespeare for Dummies,” Googled translations and even watched the movies. But I still have a hard time grasping the language. And Romeo & Juliet is by far one of the most well-known of Shakespeare’s plays. There are so many retellings and adaptions based off it – not to mention the fact that the concept of “star-crossed lovers” pretty much originated with Romeo & Juliet and can now be found all over the place in books, movies/TV shows and plays.

With that said, YOLO Juliet was hilarious and entertaining. I sped through it in roughly an hour and a half. It took something complex and broke it down into an easy-to-understand language that teens today will be able to connect with. It made Romeo & Juliet fun to read, even with the tragic events that take place in the play. My brother teaches English and he definitely wants to add these to his classroom library – something I think every teacher should do! It will make teens WANT to read the classics because they’ll be entertained and amused, rather than bored and confused.

Also, can we talk about how hilarious and ironic that title is, considering how the play ends?

So, whether you want to learn Shakespeare or teach Shakespeare, I highly recommend this book. You’ll never view Romeo & Juliet in the same way, ever again! And you’ll enjoy reading it!

five-stars

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