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rigel's review against another edition
3.0
Well this was chaotic as hell but I'm pretty sure it's meant to be. I'll never read the original though ๐
beammey's review against another edition
5.0
So, I thought this was super cute and had me laughing out loud at parts. This is a good way to get a tween into Shakespeare, I suppose, but I wouldn't suggest this be the only way, have them read some actual SP too, yeah? Over all very good and I did enjoy it. 5 out of 5 stars.
julshakespeare's review against another edition
3.0
EGEUS: Anyway, can I exercise my right as her father and make her obey me? Either she listens to me and marries Demetrius ๐... or I have her killed, TBH. ๐
HERMIA: DAD! You know you started a group chat, right?
I can see everything you're writing. INCLUDING KILLING ME. ๐ข
3.6/5 stars
Plot: 4/5 - As this book is the entirety of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, retold in "chatspeak"... it would be pretty hard to mark it down points for plot. Brett Wright stuck very true to the original story, just simplifying certain plot points/motivations. Not really any complaints here because the original is my favorite of Shakespeare's comedies. I love the mixed-up lovers, the fairy shenanigans, the annoyingly bad troupe of actors, it's all good fun.
Characters: 3/5 - Again... characters are pretty much the same and they're already ones that I enjoy. With the simplified language and quicker pacing it was a bit harder to connect with any of them (there just wasn't any time!) but they were all there and accounted for. Titania and was especially true to character, I loved her modernized lines. And Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius are always my favorite part.
Pacing: 4/5 - Given the format, I thought the length of this book was perfect. It would have been kind of insufferable to read these texts for more than 100 pages, so kudos for brevity. That being said, I did take it down to four stars just because it was a little faster than I would have liked, I thought there were a few scenes that could have lasted longer and given us more time with the characters and the wacky situations.
Writing: 2/5 - I'll give it this- there were a handful of moments that were funny enough to make me actually laugh out loud or share with a friend. That being said, we're going from the bard to cringe-worthy text lingo that sounds VERY FORCED and VERY MUCH like it was written by someone's dad. It was weird to see every single acronym capitalized, as well as perfect punctuation with such casual language. Almost no one texts like that, and I doubt Hermia would. There was also a glossary in the back of the acronym and emojis, as though one couldn't possibly figure out what they meant! Except of course, for the two acronyms I've never seen anyone use in my life and I'm fairly certain he made up. HDU Brett!! (That's how dare you. Did you know? Because I did not.) There was also one case where the emoji made no sense... it was a frying pan with an egg and I'm pretty sure they wanted a magnifying glass lol. That's more of an editing note but I digress. Lastly it was odd to me that sometimes he chose to use emojis in lieu of words (i.e. "I'm in ๐ with you!") and other times just very redundantly (i.e. "Meet me in the woods! ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ณ"). In my opinion, emoji usage is like, an art form, and your emojis are helping to convey the mood of your message, not just repeat what you're talking about. There were a few instances where this was done perfectly (Titania's "I can't even with you. โ๏ธ" and Hermia's "I should fight you too! ๐ ") but those were diamonds in the rough. Most of the book was like my former examples.
Enjoyment: 5/5 - Look, I'll make fun of this book but it was really amusing and I genuinely enjoyed reading it. It was especially hilarious to imagine the scenes happening, like Helena is three yards behind Demetrius as she stalks him through the woods and he's texting her "stop following me!!"... it's fantastic. Overall, for a bonus book from a LitJoy Crate and for a fun addition to my Shakespeare shelf, I'm not mad I read this.
renatasnacks's review against another edition
3.0
This one was maybe not quite as funny as [b:Macbeth #killingit|25387441|Macbeth #killingit|Courtney Carbone|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1445274126s/25387441.jpg|45137990] and [b:srsly Hamlet|23743761|srsly Hamlet (OMG Shakespeare)|Courtney Carbone|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418767865s/23743761.jpg|43357974]--I think the tragedies are funnier in emojis. ([skull emoji]) This was still pretty entertaining though. Like with the others, I think would be best paired with the actual text in classrooms or read by real nerdy nerds.
abbeyleec's review against another edition
3.0
OK so it's last day of the OWLS and I was so not going to finish my last read so I needed a book written by two authors and this was the smallest thing I had and I think it works being Brett Wright and SHAKESPEARE haha I was desperate!
I've actually had this book for a long time and I hadn't picked it up so I'm glad I finally did. I didn't know the play that well so I googled a summary and then read this but it's the play but told through text messages and emojis and it was actually pretty funny.
I've actually had this book for a long time and I hadn't picked it up so I'm glad I finally did. I didn't know the play that well so I googled a summary and then read this but it's the play but told through text messages and emojis and it was actually pretty funny.
nmoriconi's review against another edition
2.0
The plot for this one doesn't work so well for text messages.
librarysteph's review against another edition
4.0
This was amusing and clever. I love how the author translates Shakespeare's text into social media. It's not only a clever idea, but it's executed well too. I think it's a great way to deliver the bard to teenagers who might otherwise be reluctant. From an experienced Shakespeare reader, you can see the thought behind how the author chose to relay different ideas by choosing different social media delivery. I want to read more of this series!
jilljemmett's review against another edition
5.0
I love this series of Shakespeare plays told through texts.
It can be difficult to read Shakespeare. I was introduced to his plays in elementary school, so Iโve always loved them. However, I find that modern adaptations can be a great tool to help kids decipher classics. A Midsummerโs Nightโs Dream is a complicated story, with lovers getting mixed up by magic. This book is a fun way of telling the story through texts and social media.
I even learned new things while reading this story. There is a glossary of emojis and abbreviations at the back of the book. I had to look up a couple of the abbreviations while reading, because I had no idea what they meant. Still, this was a fun and hilarious book!
I highly recommend this book to fans of Shakespeare, and to people who struggle to understand his plays.
It can be difficult to read Shakespeare. I was introduced to his plays in elementary school, so Iโve always loved them. However, I find that modern adaptations can be a great tool to help kids decipher classics. A Midsummerโs Nightโs Dream is a complicated story, with lovers getting mixed up by magic. This book is a fun way of telling the story through texts and social media.
I even learned new things while reading this story. There is a glossary of emojis and abbreviations at the back of the book. I had to look up a couple of the abbreviations while reading, because I had no idea what they meant. Still, this was a fun and hilarious book!
I highly recommend this book to fans of Shakespeare, and to people who struggle to understand his plays.
ki4eva's review against another edition
4.0
This was hilarious. Loved the mix of emojis and text messages. You need to read the actual play before you read this book.