Shadows of Shakespeare flicker through this provocative new crop of books for teens.
Cat Winters (In the Shadow of Blackbirds) mines Shakespeare's Hamlet for the plot and characters in her excellent, spellbinding novel set in 1923 Oregon, The Steep and Thorny Way (Amulet). Hanalee Denney is the daughter of a white woman and an African American man. He may have been murdered, and is definitely now a ghost, sticking around to warn Hanalee about those who wish to harm her. As hate and intolerance boil over in the Klan-influenced town, Hanalee suspects foul play in her father's death, even on the part of her stepfather. Her search for answers makes for a powerful, painful story of love and courage.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear (Dutton) by Canadian author E.K. Johnston (The Story of Owen; A Thousand Nights) reflects aspects of The Winter's Tale. This gripping novel is about a popular high school senior and cheerleader named Hermione Winters "who went to camp and came back different." Summer cheerleading camp in Ontario is "a blur of acrobatics, jumps into the lake and napping"--until it turns into a nightmare, as Hermione is drugged, raped and left half-submerged in the lake. She refuses to define herself as a victim. Crisp engaging writing, strong characterization and a steady hand distinguish this thought-provoking novel about coping and community.
Is brevity really the soul of wit? The OMG Shakespeare series (Random House), including Macbeth #killingit by Courtney Carbone, takes classic Shakespearean plays and retells them with emoji-riddled texts. Example: "Macbeth: UGH! MALCOLM is Prince of Cumberland now? Well, that sux. It's gonna be a lot harder to become [crown emoji]. #AlwaysTheThane [sad-face emoticon]." There's "The 411" in the back, defining YOLO (you only live once), NBD (No Big Deal) and the like. A fun comparison exercise for cultural anthropologists.