Staff Picks
Borrowed from The Bard
- Kei G.
- Thursday, April 07, 2022
Collection
William Shakespeare’s plays have influenced television, cinema, and literature for centuries. From Romeo and Juliet, to The Taming of the Shrew, and Hamlet, Shakespeare masterfully and poetically captures the comedic and tragic drama of teen relationships. Enjoy these titles which highlight the timelessness of The Bard’s genius through modern retellings of his works.
That Way Madness Lies
Fifteen of William Shakespeare's Most Notable Works Reimagined
Published in 2021
A collection of reimaginings of Shakespeare's plays and poetry by young adult authors.
Saving Hamlet
Published in 2016
"Fifteen-year-old Emma is acting as stage manager for her school's production of Hamlet when she finds herself transported to the original staging of Hamlet in Shakespearean England"-- Provided by publisher.
Saving Hamlet
Published in 2016
Emma Allen couldn't be more excited to start her sophomore year. Not only is she the assistant stage manager for the drama club's production of Hamlet, but her crush Brandon is directing, and she's rocking a new haircut that's sure to get his attention. But soon after school starts, everything goes haywire. Emma's promoted to stage manager with zero experience, her best friend Lulu stops talking to her, and Josh--the adorable soccer boy who's cast as the lead--turns out to be a disaster. It's up to Emma to fix it all, but she has no clue where to start. One night after rehearsal, Emma stays behind to think through her life's latest crises and distractedly falls through the stage's trap door . . . landing in the basement of the Globe Theater. It's London, 1601, and with her awesome new pixie cut, everyone thinks Emma's a boy--even Will Shakespeare himself. With no clue how to get home, Emma gamely plays her role as backstage assistant to the original production of Hamlet, learning a thing or two about the theater, and meeting an incredibly hot actor named Alex who finds Emma as intriguing as she finds him. But once Emma starts traveling back and forth through time, things get really confusing. Which boy is the one for her? In which reality does she belong? Will Lulu ever forgive her? And can she possibly save two disastrous productions of Hamlet before time runs out?
Foul is Fair
Published in 2020
"This revenge fantasy is as brutal as it is beautiful...An absolutely gorgeous retelling, artistry on every page, Oscar-worthy if it were a film." ? NPR Hannah Capin's Foul is Fair is a bloody, thrilling revenge fantasy for the girls who have had enough. Golden boys beware: something wicked this way comes. Jade and her friends Jenny, Mads, and Summer rule their glittering LA circle. Untouchable, they have the kind of power other girls only dream of. Every party is theirs and the world is at their feet. Until the night of Jade's sweet sixteen, when they crash a St. Andrew's Prep party. The night the golden boys choose Jade as their next target. They picked the wrong girl. Sworn to vengeance, Jade transfers to St. Andrew's Prep. She plots to destroy each boy, one by one. She'll take their power, their lives, and their control of the prep school's hierarchy. And she and her coven have the perfect way in: a boy named Mack, whose ambition could turn deadly. A Macmillan Audio production from Wednesday Books
Foul is Fair
Published in 2020
After being drugged and gang-raped while crashing a St. Andrew's Prep party on her sixteenth birthday, Jade leads her friends in exacting a horrific revenge on the golden boys who attacked her.
Roman + Jewel
Published in 2021
A hip-hopera version of Romeo and Juliet is racing towards Broadway and Jerzie Jhames is cast as the understudy below R & B megastar, Cinny. That would be amazing, but Jerzie had been told the lead was hers -- and when a video of her rehearsing with the leading man is leaked, the internet seems to agree! How much power can Cinny wield to keep the lead and leading man for herself?
The Last True Poets of the Sea
Published in 2019
Inspired loosely by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, teenaged Violet is shipped off to Maine after her brother's hospitalization, where she searches for the lost shipwreck that her great-great grandmother survived and for answers about her family's long struggle with mental illness, all while falling in love.
The Last True Poets of the Sea
Published in 2020
From a stunning new voice in YA literature comes an epic, utterly unforgettable contemporary novel about a lost shipwreck, a missing piece of family history, and weathering the storms of life. The Larkin family isn't just lucky-they persevere. At least that's what Violet and her younger brother, Sam, were always told. When the Lyric sank off the coast of Maine, their great-great-great grandmother didn't drown like the rest of the passengers. No, Fidelia swam to shore, fell in love, and founded Lyric, Maine, the town Violet and Sam returned to every summer. But wrecks seem to run in the family: Tall, funny, musical Violet can't stop partying with the wrong people. And, one beautiful summer day, brilliant, sensitive Sam attempts to take his own life. Shipped back to Lyric while Sam is in treatment, Violet is haunted by her family's missing piece-the lost shipwreck she and Sam dreamed of discovering when they were children. Desperate to make amends, Violet embarks on a wildly ambitious mission: locate the Lyric, lain hidden in a watery grave for over a century. She finds a fellow wreck hunter in Liv Stone, an amateur local historian whose sparkling intelligence and guarded gray eyes make Violet ache in an exhilarating new way. Whether or not they find the Lyric, the journey Violet takes-and the bridges she builds along the way-may be the start of something like survival. Epic, funny, and sweepingly romantic, The Last True Poets of the Sea is an astonishing debut about the strength it takes to swim up from a wreck. "Tender and incisive, profound and page-turning, warm and beautifully written, and very funny." "At once hilarious, insightful, and swashbuckling, Drake's debut is a lyrical adventure like no other." "Witty, surprising…A warm, wise, strange meditation on developing the strength to be vulnerable." "Drake has drawn all her characters richly, easily enabling readers to identify with Violet, Sam, and their struggles. The seaside setting is vividly evoked, and readers will feel fully transported to the small town of Lyric." "An authentic and romantic tale…that shows that life can be embraced again even after enduring a tragedy." "Drake's suspenseful novel offers three strands of high drama…{and} Violet emerges as a genuine, sympathetic protagonist struggling to create something new from the wreckage of her life." "Wry, quick-witted, and filled with deep grief and fathomless joy in equal measure…Precisely and profoundly maps the ebbs and flows of surviving through trauma." "Tavia Gilbert's expressive narration shows careful attunement to the emotions of sixteen-year-old Violet…Gilbert deftly portrays secondary characters and gradually shows Violet thawing through her uncle's kindness, the friendship of locals, and her investigation of her ancestral past…Gilbert smoothly differentiates Violet's nuanced feelings, deepening her emotions as she falls in love for the first time." "As warm and bright as a beach bonfire on a hazy summer night, The Last True Poets of the Sea will lift you up on a tide of love and lyricism, and carry you away, laughing and crying." "An immersive, emomtional, and deeply honest story about family, friendship, mental health, and all the different forms of courage. A powerful and beautifully told paean to living among wreckage and finding home-and hope-inside ruins."
These Violent Delights
Published in 2020
Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane , this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River. The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery. A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang?a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette's first love...and first betrayal. But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns?and grudges?aside and work together, for if they can't stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.
These Violent Delights
Published in 2021
The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery. A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang-a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette's first love . . . and first betrayal. But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns-and grudges-aside and work together, for if they can't stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.
These Violent Delights
Published in 2020
In 1926 Shanghai, eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, heir of the Scarlet Gang, and her first love-turned-rival Roma Montagov, leader of the White Flowers, must work together when mysterious deaths threaten their city.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear
Published in 2016
Veronica Mars meets William Shakespeare in E.K. Johnston's latest brave and unforgettable heroine . Hermione Winters is captain of her cheerleading team, and in tiny Palermo Heights, this doesn't mean what you think it means. At PHHS, the cheerleaders don't cheer for the sports teams; they are the sports team?the pride and joy of a tiny town. The team's summer training camp is Hermione's last and marks the beginning of the end of...she's not sure what. She does know this season could make her a legend. But during a camp party, someone slips something in her drink. And it all goes black. In every class, there's a star cheerleader and a pariah pregnant girl. They're never supposed to be the same person. Hermione struggles to regain the control she's always had and faces a wrenching decision about how to move on. The assault wasn't the beginning of Hermione Winter's story and she's not going to let it be the end. She won't be anyone's cautionary tale. "E.K. Johnston has a seemingly limitless range.... This is realistic fiction at it's best." ?The Globe & Mail ? "Johnston's clever?but never precious?update of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale is unflinching but not at all graphic in its treatment of sexual violence.... Middle and high school readers will pass this powerful, engaging story around and around." ? Kirkus Reviews, starred review ? "Fierce and gorgeously drawn, this is a rape story that doesn't focus on victimhood." ? Booklist, starred review ? " A beautifully written portrait of a young woman facing the unthinkable, this is a must-buy for high school collections." ? SLJ , starred review From the Hardcover edition.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear
Published in 2016
Veronica Mars meets William Shakespeare in E.K. Johnston's latest brave and unforgettable heroine . Hermione Winters is captain of her cheerleading team, and in tiny Palermo Heights, this doesn't mean what you think it means. At PHHS, the cheerleaders don't cheer for the sports teams; they are the sports team?the pride and joy of a tiny town. The team's summer training camp is Hermione's last and marks the beginning of the end of...she's not sure what. She does know this season could make her a legend. But during a camp party, someone slips something in her drink. And it all goes black. In every class, there's a star cheerleader and a pariah pregnant girl. They're never supposed to be the same person. Hermione struggles to regain the control she's always had and faces a wrenching decision about how to move on. The assault wasn't the beginning of Hermione Winter's story and she's not going to let it be the end. She won't be anyone's cautionary tale. ? "Johnston's clever?but never precious?update of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale is unflinching but not at all graphic in its treatment of sexual violence.... Middle and high school readers will pass this powerful, engaging story around and around." ? Kirkus Reviews, starred review ? "Fierce and gorgeously drawn, this is a rape story that doesn't focus on victimhood." ? Booklist, starred review ? " A beautifully written portrait of a young woman facing the unthinkable, this is a must-buy for high school collections." ? SLJ , starred review From the Hardcover edition.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear
Published in 2016
At cheerleading camp, Hermione is drugged and raped, but she is not sure whether it was one of her teammates or a boy on another team--and in the aftermath she has to deal with the rumors in her small Ontario town, the often awkward reaction of her classmates, the rejection of her boyfriend, the discovery that her best friend, Polly, is gay, and above all the need to remember what happened so that the guilty boy can be brought to justice.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear
Published in 2016
At cheerleading camp, Hermione is drugged and raped, but she is not sure whether it was one of her teammates or a boy on another team--and in the aftermath she has to deal with the rumors in her small Ontario town, the often awkward reaction of her classmates, the rejection of her boyfriend, the discovery that her best friend, Polly, is gay, and above all the need to remember what happened so that the guilty boy can be brought to justice.
Lady Macbeth's Daughter
Published in 2009
In alternating chapters, ambitious Lady Macbeth tries to bear a son and win the throne of Scotland for her husband, and Albia, their daughter who was banished at birth and raised by three weird sisters, falls in love, learns of her parentage, and seeks to free Scotland from tyranny in this tale based on Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Love Disguised
Published in 2013
After a mixed-up courtship with the Hathaway sisters ends badly, eighteen-year-old Will Shakespeare jumps at the chance to go to London, where he can pursue his dream of becoming an actor and where he is about to meet the girl who will change his life forever.
Ophelia
A Novel
Published in 2006
In a story based on Shakespeare's Hamlet, Ophelia tells of her life in the court at Elsinore, her love for Prince Hamlet, and her escape from the violence in Denmark.
Love Disguised
Published in 2013
After a mixed-up courtship with the Hathaway sisters ends badly, eighteen-year-old Will Shakespeare jumps at the chance to go to London, where he can pursue his dream of becoming an actor and where he is about to meet the girl who will change his life forever.
We Were Liars
Published in 2014
"Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart, We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable." - John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends'the Liars'whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth. We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. Read it. And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE. From the Hardcover edition.
We Were Liars
Published in 2014
Spending the summers on her family's private island off the coast of Massachusetts with her cousins and a special boy named Gat, teenaged Cadence struggles to remember what happened during her fifteenth summer.
We Were Liars
Published in 2014
Welcome to the beautiful Sinclair family. No one in the family is a failure. No one is a psycho. No one is a criminal. The Sinclairs have vacationed on private Beechwood Island for generations. Not one of Granddad's precious daughters has ever missed a summer, nor have any of his grandchildren. Until Cadence Sinclair Eastman. Two years ago she fell in love and had a serious accident. Now she is fragile. Cadence thought she knew her own story, but now, back on Beechwood Island, she suspects that she knows nothing. In fact, nothing is what it seems.
Ophelia After All
Published in 2022
A teen girl navigates friendship drama, the end of high school, and discovering her queerness in Ophelia After All, a hilarious and heartfelt contemporary YA debut by author Racquel Marie. Ophelia Rojas knows what she likes: her best friends, Cuban food, rose-gardening, and boys ? way too many boys. Her friends and parents make fun of her endless stream of crushes, but Ophelia is a romantic at heart. She couldn't change, even if she wanted to. So when she finds herself thinking more about cute, quiet Talia Sanchez than the loss of a perfect prom with her ex-boyfriend, seeds of doubt take root in Ophelia's firm image of herself. Add to that the impending end of high school and the fracturing of her once-solid friend group, and things are spiraling a little out of control. But the course of love?and sexuality?never did run smooth. As her secrets begin to unravel, Ophelia must make a choice between clinging to the fantasy version of herself she's always imagined or upending everyone's expectations to rediscover who she really is, after all. "Ophelia Rojas is the type of character that leaps off the page and directly into your heart? Ophelia After All is a queer delight through and through." ?Leah Johnson, bestselling author of You Should See Me in a Crown
Ophelia After All
Published in 2022
Seventeen-year-old Ophelia Rojas, well known for her rose garden and her dramatic crushes on every boy in sight, begins to question her sexuality and sense of self when she starts to fall for cute, quiet Talia Sanchez in the weeks leading up to their highschool prom and graduation.
Foolish Hearts
Published in 2020
When Claudia accidentally eavesdrops on the epic breakup of Paige and Iris, the couple at her school, she finds herself in hot water with prickly, difficult Iris. Thrown together against their will in the class production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, along with the goofiest, cutest boy Claudia has ever known, Iris and Claudia are in for an eye-opening senior year. Smart, funny, and thoroughly, wonderfully flawed, Claudia navigates a world of intense friendships and tentative romance in Foolish Hearts, a young-adult novel about expanding your horizons, allowing yourself to be vulnerable, and accepting - and loving - people for who they really are.
Foolish Hearts
Published in 2017
Claudia agrees to coach actors in her high school's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," leading to new friendships--and maybe even new love.
The Tragedy of Dane Riley
Published in 2021
"In this necessary tale grappling with some of the prickly parts of life?mental health, loss, friendship ? Spears proves once again that she's a master, not just of the teenage voice, but also of carefully crafting stories with both heart and teeth. Stories that bond themselves to readers and live with them?in them?far after the last page." ?Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestselling author of Stamped and Long Way Down A teen confronts his feelings about his father's death, his new family, and the girl next door in this emotional young adult novel from critically-acclaimed author Kat Spears Dane Riley's grasp on reality is slipping, and he's not sure that he cares. While his mother has moved on after his father's death, Dane desperately misses the man who made Dane feel okay to be himself. He can't stand his mother's boyfriend, or the boyfriend's son, whose favorite pastime is tormenting Dane. Then there's the girl next door: Dane can't quite define their relationship, and he doesn't know if he's got the courage to leave the friend zone. An emotional novel about mental health, and dealing with grief and growing up, The Tragedy of Dane Riley is the story of a teenager looking to make sense of his feelings in the wake of tragedy, and finding the strength he needs to make life worth living.
The Tragedy of Dane Riley
Published in 2021
"A teen confronts his feelings about his father's death, his new family, and the girl next door in this emotional young adult novel from critically-acclaimed author Kat Spears Dane Riley's grasp on reality is slipping, and he's not sure that he cares. While his mother has moved on after his father's death, Dane desperately misses the man who made Dane feel okay to be himself. He can't stand his mother's boyfriend, or the boyfriend's son, whose favorite pastime is tormenting Dane. Then there's the girl next door: Dane can't quite define their relationship, and he doesn't know if he's got the courage to leave the friend zone. An emotional novel about mental health, and dealing with grief and growing up, The Tragedy of Dane Riley is the story of a teenager looking to make sense of his feelings in the wake of tragedy, and finding the strength he needs to make life worth living"-- Provided by publisher.
The Taming of the Drew
Published in 2016
Cass McKay has been called stubborn, temperamental, difficult, and that word that rhymes with "witch" more times than she cares to count. But that's all about to pay off. She has finally landed the role she was born to play-Kate, in The Taming of the Shrew-in the summer apprentice program of a renowned Shakespeare theater company in the forests of Vermont. But Cass can barely lace up her corset before her troubles begin. Her leading man, Drew, is a complete troll, and he's going to ruin Cass's summer. Even worse, Cass's bunkmate Amy has somehow fallen head over heels for Drew. Cass can't let Amy throw herself at a total jerk, so she comes up with a genius plan to give Drew the personality makeover he so desperately needs: they'll tame Drew just as Petruchio tames Kate! But as Shakespeare's classic plays out offstage, Cass finds it harder and harder to resist falling for Drew herself. -- adapted from book jacket.
As I Descended
Published in 2016
Tapping a dark power to prevent the favorite candidate of a distinguished educational prize from winning, school power couple Maria and Lily unleash fatal energies that blur the lines between reality and madness.
If You Come Softly
Published in 2006
Jeremiah feels good inside his own skin. That is, when he's in his own Brooklyn neighborhood. But now he's going to be attending a fancy prep school in Manhattan, and black teenage boys don't exactly fit in there. So it's a surprise when he meets Ellie the first week of school. In one frozen moment their eyes lock and after that they know they fit together ? even though she's Jewish and he's black. Their worlds are so different, but to them that's not what matters. Too bad the rest of the world has to get in their way.Reviewers have called Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson's work "exceptional" ( Publishers Weekly ) and "wrenchingly honest" ( School Library Journal ), and have said "it offers a perspective on racism and elitism rarely found in fiction for this age group" ( Publishers Weekly ). In If You Come Softly , she delivers a powerful story of interracial love that leaves readers wondering "why" and "if only...."
If You Come Softly
Published in 2018
After meeting at their private school in New York, fifteen-year-old Jeremiah, who is black and whose parents are separated, and Ellie, who is white and whose mother has twice abandoned her, fall in love and then try to cope with people's reactions.