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khylabevibin's review against another edition
4.0
Two winters
I didn’t know what to expect when I started this book. My initial reaction was “wow cool plot” and …it was accurate. This was such a cool read people!
Now this book is a retelling of Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” so I just wanna say that I’ve never read/seen/heard of it. I’m a creole woman guys- acclaimed European literature is not my thing. That being said- perhaps someone who actually likes Shakespeare may have a different view on it.
My view though is, Lauren Emily did a good job at this! A book split into two half’s in two different times is always a tricky thing to write that I often see authors struggle with, but Lauren did fine!
The first half of the book starts in 1997 and introduces us to Mia, Tesla, Paulina and Xander. Mia, pregnant, Tesla, the father and Paulina the main narrator, an in the closet bisexual. Xander isn’t really that big of a part of this but he does have a crush on Mia and is actually important to part 2 of the book.
The second half of the book follows the daughter of Mia. Now year 2014, after being given up by Mia, Perdita is at that point in her life where she’s wondering about her biological mother. Little did she know that Fenton, improv director, would lead her to her biggest clue.
I really enjoyed Paulina’s stream of consciousness in her narration which is actually a rare for me since I hate first person point of views however the same cannot be said for Perdita’s. I suspect this is due to the authors attempt to draw contrast between 1997 vs 2014, this attempt fell short for me. It may be accurate, I’m not sure 2014 was 7 years ago but it did manage to make the book awkward for me. Honestly I don’t know why the author didn’t just make Perdita a college student, I could definitely imagine myself being more comfortable with a more mature version of her.(I have no idea if this was to keep up with the 1997 age of her biological mother or if it has anything to do with Shakespeare, I suspect the former which does make sense but still perhaps a more mature mind would’ve been more settling)
The second half of this book could’ve used a bit more length to be honest. I didn’t feel any chemistry between Fenton and Perdita which could be attributed to the pacing of this short second half. Also I felt like this situation could’ve been more strung out! More buildup to the actual reveal. I did like the ending but again, more buildup would’ve been amazing! . Unless this was intentional to match the pacing of a Shakespeare play which again, not much of a Shakespeare fan so I wouldn’t know.
So I guess my only real and logical complaint is wasted potential.
4 stars! But mostly for the first half, I did not enjoy the second half as much as I did the first.
Do I recommend? Sure! This is an okay read.
Thank you NetGalley for the arc in return for the honest review!
I didn’t know what to expect when I started this book. My initial reaction was “wow cool plot” and …it was accurate. This was such a cool read people!
Now this book is a retelling of Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” so I just wanna say that I’ve never read/seen/heard of it. I’m a creole woman guys- acclaimed European literature is not my thing. That being said- perhaps someone who actually likes Shakespeare may have a different view on it.
My view though is, Lauren Emily did a good job at this! A book split into two half’s in two different times is always a tricky thing to write that I often see authors struggle with, but Lauren did fine!
The first half of the book starts in 1997 and introduces us to Mia, Tesla, Paulina and Xander. Mia, pregnant, Tesla, the father and Paulina the main narrator, an in the closet bisexual. Xander isn’t really that big of a part of this but he does have a crush on Mia and is actually important to part 2 of the book.
The second half of the book follows the daughter of Mia. Now year 2014, after being given up by Mia, Perdita is at that point in her life where she’s wondering about her biological mother. Little did she know that Fenton, improv director, would lead her to her biggest clue.
I really enjoyed Paulina’s stream of consciousness in her narration which is actually a rare for me since I hate first person point of views however the same cannot be said for Perdita’s. I suspect this is due to the authors attempt to draw contrast between 1997 vs 2014, this attempt fell short for me. It may be accurate, I’m not sure 2014 was 7 years ago but it did manage to make the book awkward for me. Honestly I don’t know why the author didn’t just make Perdita a college student, I could definitely imagine myself being more comfortable with a more mature version of her.(I have no idea if this was to keep up with the 1997 age of her biological mother or if it has anything to do with Shakespeare, I suspect the former which does make sense but still perhaps a more mature mind would’ve been more settling)
The second half of this book could’ve used a bit more length to be honest. I didn’t feel any chemistry between Fenton and Perdita which could be attributed to the pacing of this short second half. Also I felt like this situation could’ve been more strung out! More buildup to the actual reveal. I did like the ending but again, more buildup would’ve been amazing! . Unless this was intentional to match the pacing of a Shakespeare play which again, not much of a Shakespeare fan so I wouldn’t know.
So I guess my only real and logical complaint is wasted potential.
4 stars! But mostly for the first half, I did not enjoy the second half as much as I did the first.
Do I recommend? Sure! This is an okay read.
Thank you NetGalley for the arc in return for the honest review!
khieeae's review against another edition
4.0
Two winters
I didn’t know what to expect when I started this book. My initial reaction was “wow cool plot” and …it was accurate. This was such a cool read people!
Now this book is a retelling of Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” so I just wanna say that I’ve never read/seen/heard of it. I’m a creole woman guys- acclaimed European literature is not my thing. That being said- perhaps someone who actually likes Shakespeare may have a different view on it.
My view though is, Lauren Emily did a good job at this! A book split into two half’s in two different times is always a tricky thing to write that I often see authors struggle with, but Lauren did fine!
The first half of the book starts in 1997 and introduces us to Mia, Tesla, Paulina and Xander. Mia, pregnant, Tesla, the father and Paulina the main narrator, an in the closet bisexual. Xander isn’t really that big of a part of this but he does have a crush on Mia and is actually important to part 2 of the book.
The second half of the book follows the daughter of Mia. Now year 2014, after being given up by Mia, Perdita is at that point in her life where she’s wondering about her biological mother. Little did she know that Fenton, improv director, would lead her to her biggest clue.
I really enjoyed Paulina’s stream of consciousness in her narration which is actually a rare for me since I hate first person point of views however the same cannot be said for Perdita’s. I suspect this is due to the authors attempt to draw contrast between 1997 vs 2014, this attempt fell short for me. It may be accurate, I’m not sure 2014 was 7 years ago but it did manage to make the book awkward for me. Honestly I don’t know why the author didn’t just make Perdita a college student, I could definitely imagine myself being more comfortable with a more mature version of her.(I have no idea if this was to keep up with the 1997 age of her biological mother or if it has anything to do with Shakespeare, I suspect the former which does make sense but still perhaps a more mature mind would’ve been more settling)
The second half of this book could’ve used a bit more length to be honest. I didn’t feel any chemistry between Fenton and Perdita which could be attributed to the pacing of this short second half. Also I felt like this situation could’ve been more strung out! More buildup to the actual reveal. I did like the ending but again, more buildup would’ve been amazing! . Unless this was intentional to match the pacing of a Shakespeare play which again, not much of a Shakespeare fan so I wouldn’t know.
So I guess my only real and logical complaint is wasted potential.
4 stars! But mostly for the first half, I did not enjoy the second half as much as I did the first.
Do I recommend? Sure! This is an okay read.
Thank you NetGalley for the arc in return for the honest review!
I didn’t know what to expect when I started this book. My initial reaction was “wow cool plot” and …it was accurate. This was such a cool read people!
Now this book is a retelling of Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” so I just wanna say that I’ve never read/seen/heard of it. I’m a creole woman guys- acclaimed European literature is not my thing. That being said- perhaps someone who actually likes Shakespeare may have a different view on it.
My view though is, Lauren Emily did a good job at this! A book split into two half’s in two different times is always a tricky thing to write that I often see authors struggle with, but Lauren did fine!
The first half of the book starts in 1997 and introduces us to Mia, Tesla, Paulina and Xander. Mia, pregnant, Tesla, the father and Paulina the main narrator, an in the closet bisexual. Xander isn’t really that big of a part of this but he does have a crush on Mia and is actually important to part 2 of the book.
The second half of the book follows the daughter of Mia. Now year 2014, after being given up by Mia, Perdita is at that point in her life where she’s wondering about her biological mother. Little did she know that Fenton, improv director, would lead her to her biggest clue.
I really enjoyed Paulina’s stream of consciousness in her narration which is actually a rare for me since I hate first person point of views however the same cannot be said for Perdita’s. I suspect this is due to the authors attempt to draw contrast between 1997 vs 2014, this attempt fell short for me. It may be accurate, I’m not sure 2014 was 7 years ago but it did manage to make the book awkward for me. Honestly I don’t know why the author didn’t just make Perdita a college student, I could definitely imagine myself being more comfortable with a more mature version of her.(I have no idea if this was to keep up with the 1997 age of her biological mother or if it has anything to do with Shakespeare, I suspect the former which does make sense but still perhaps a more mature mind would’ve been more settling)
The second half of this book could’ve used a bit more length to be honest. I didn’t feel any chemistry between Fenton and Perdita which could be attributed to the pacing of this short second half. Also I felt like this situation could’ve been more strung out! More buildup to the actual reveal. I did like the ending but again, more buildup would’ve been amazing! . Unless this was intentional to match the pacing of a Shakespeare play which again, not much of a Shakespeare fan so I wouldn’t know.
So I guess my only real and logical complaint is wasted potential.
4 stars! But mostly for the first half, I did not enjoy the second half as much as I did the first.
Do I recommend? Sure! This is an okay read.
Thank you NetGalley for the arc in return for the honest review!
bookishlesbian's review
4.0
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an earc
I've never read "A Winter's Tale" so I can't say anything about how good this retelling was but I did really enjoy this book. The first half of the book was heartbreaking and I really loved the friendships. And then the second half was interesting and I loved Perdita and how she was determined to know about her adoption. I love how it all came together and I loved the letters that were written.
I've never read "A Winter's Tale" so I can't say anything about how good this retelling was but I did really enjoy this book. The first half of the book was heartbreaking and I really loved the friendships. And then the second half was interesting and I loved Perdita and how she was determined to know about her adoption. I love how it all came together and I loved the letters that were written.
literallybookedsolid's review
4.0
TWO WINTERS by Lauren Emily Whalen is a contemporary YA adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. Split between the winters of 1997 and 2014, the book follows high school junior Paulina, who is navigating life as a bisexual teen, all while blindly supporting her group of friends through their own struggles. When tragedy strikes, the story picks up in 2014 through Perdita's eyes, as she seeks to find the true story of her birth mom.
This is one Shakespeare play I have never read, so I went into the story blind. I was immediately captivated by the eerie foreshadowing laced throughout the book. The plot is super engaging and I wanted to keep reading, so I could piece together how the two timelines and all the characters fit together. The characters were multi-faceted and faced some pretty heavy issues (teen pregnancy, homophobia, Catholic religion) and they were all handled beautifully.
I am still thinking about this book, even though I read it a couple weeks ago. The story was so well done. If you enjoy Shakespeare adaptations or contemporary retellings, this is a book you should definitely pick up!
Thanks to Suzy Approved Book Tours for having me on tour and to the author for the gifted copy!
This is one Shakespeare play I have never read, so I went into the story blind. I was immediately captivated by the eerie foreshadowing laced throughout the book. The plot is super engaging and I wanted to keep reading, so I could piece together how the two timelines and all the characters fit together. The characters were multi-faceted and faced some pretty heavy issues (teen pregnancy, homophobia, Catholic religion) and they were all handled beautifully.
I am still thinking about this book, even though I read it a couple weeks ago. The story was so well done. If you enjoy Shakespeare adaptations or contemporary retellings, this is a book you should definitely pick up!
Thanks to Suzy Approved Book Tours for having me on tour and to the author for the gifted copy!
beforeviolets's review
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you so much to Bold Strokes Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
A powerful retelling of The Winter’s Tale with an emphasis on tragedy, faith, judgement, and resilience.
Before I get into things I loved about this book (and there were lots of things I loved about it), I just feel I need to share my two big complaints with it.
Firstly: trigger warnings. This book is filled with jarringly dark and gruesome material completely sans trigger warnings, which I found to be really dangerous, especially considering that this book is YA. That being said, the full list of TWs will be at the bottom of this review.
Secondly: the marketing. This book should not have been YA in the first place. The writing is done in a style that feels more adult in nature and the content is incredibly dark and confronts some really heavy issues. And though I do not believe that certain themes should not be considered off-limits for younger audiences, I think they do need to be written about differently depending on the age of the readers. The book is written with an assumed retrospective awareness that comes with adulthood. Teenagers won’t have the same contextual understanding of “right” and “wrong” that adults do, and this could be again, REALLY dangerous. As an adult myself, I was able to see the lack of support and the learned behavior that affected these characters’ perspectives and actions and why they were irresponsible or ill-informed, but younger audiences will not be able to plug into that in the same way without proper explanation or education included in the text.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the book itself.
The retelling is done INCREDIBLY well. Two Winters masterfully deconstructs and recreates The Winter’s Tale in a profound and relevant context. It simultaneously honors the initial text while making contemporary changes for additional layers of meaning.
The things I specifically loved about it:
In The Winter’s Tale, I found a big issue with the way that Leontes makes unhinged, life-ruining decisions on the behalf of others without reason and is then later on forgiven just due to the passing of time. In this version, Tes (aka Leontes) is shown to be a good and kind person who earns and deserves the respect of others, and instead of being active in the downfall of those he loves, he is shown to be someone far too young with far too much responsibility on their shoulders. When he can't take anymore, he breaks under the pressure, accidentally causing these awful events to occur through indirect action and impulse, rather than just out of what seems to be pure evil in the initial text. It makes his redemption not only feel earned but necessary and wanted.
Though I am not Christian and therefore can’t fully understand the religious comparisons made in this retelling, I still found them to be a wonderful choice and parallel. The constant comparison of the characters to Mary/Jesus/Judas/etc. elevated the themes of faith and betrayal, making the relevancy of their actions feel timeless and fateful. The timelessness in particular also helped push along the discussion of the function of time and serves the purpose of the work as a retelling. Another reason why I found the religious aspects and the theme of faith to be incredibly powerful is the way it directly relates to the religious discussions in The Winter’s Tale. In Winter’s Tale, Apollo’s oracle is consulted, and when the prophecy is rejected by Leontes, it kickstarts the tragedies, implying that the rejection of faith is the downfall of humanity. This book looks at that critically, instead harshly illustrating the ways that religious institutions can cause just as much, if not more harm, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ individuals and sex education. Instead of praising blind acceptance of faith, Two Winters makes its characters question everything they are taught to believe by their religious society, and especially its figureheads.
Two Winters is likely one of the most careful retellings I’ve seen done, with nearly every action, intention, and character found in a parallel in the text. Even Mopsa is mentioned - even if she’s a car lol!
Lastly, a quick list of nitpicks:
-For a book written by what seems to be a white author, this book comments on race a LOT. It didn’t seem to be done in a harmful manner, but it still was not the author’s place to comment on it as much as she did.
-The writing was frivolous and tangential at times, and lots of little lines or moments just frankly didn’t need to exist and took up unnecessary space without serving the story.
-The MC’s father died at war and worded it saying that he “[wasn’t] even fighting the bad guys,” which obviously overly simplifies the complexities of war and refers to an entire nation as “bad guys.”
-Florizel is my favorite character in The Winter’s Tale and says such BEAUTIFUL and heart-melting lines such as "For I cannot be Mine own, nor anything to any, if I be not thine. To this I am most constant, Though destiny say no”, but his counterpart in this book at one point literally says "“ever since I saw you try to play Zip, Zap, Zop, there’s been… something about you.” All I can say is that he deserves better.
Overall, a worthy read, I just wish my expectations had been set up differently.
TW: teen pregnancy, death, child death (semi-off-page), car accident (on-page), gun violence, suicide (accident, semi-off-page), blood, death of parent (father, past, brief), bullying, religious bigotry, victim blaming, homophobia/biphobia, transphobia (a SC is kicked out of their home), deadnaming (brief), racism (discussed, brief), pedophilia (off-page, brief), alcoholism, underage drinking, abandonment, animal excrement, infidelity (kiss)
A powerful retelling of The Winter’s Tale with an emphasis on tragedy, faith, judgement, and resilience.
Before I get into things I loved about this book (and there were lots of things I loved about it), I just feel I need to share my two big complaints with it.
Firstly: trigger warnings. This book is filled with jarringly dark and gruesome material completely sans trigger warnings, which I found to be really dangerous, especially considering that this book is YA. That being said, the full list of TWs will be at the bottom of this review.
Secondly: the marketing. This book should not have been YA in the first place. The writing is done in a style that feels more adult in nature and the content is incredibly dark and confronts some really heavy issues. And though I do not believe that certain themes should not be considered off-limits for younger audiences, I think they do need to be written about differently depending on the age of the readers. The book is written with an assumed retrospective awareness that comes with adulthood. Teenagers won’t have the same contextual understanding of “right” and “wrong” that adults do, and this could be again, REALLY dangerous. As an adult myself, I was able to see the lack of support and the learned behavior that affected these characters’ perspectives and actions and why they were irresponsible or ill-informed, but younger audiences will not be able to plug into that in the same way without proper explanation or education included in the text.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the book itself.
The retelling is done INCREDIBLY well. Two Winters masterfully deconstructs and recreates The Winter’s Tale in a profound and relevant context. It simultaneously honors the initial text while making contemporary changes for additional layers of meaning.
The things I specifically loved about it:
In The Winter’s Tale, I found a big issue with the way that Leontes makes unhinged, life-ruining decisions on the behalf of others without reason and is then later on forgiven just due to the passing of time. In this version, Tes (aka Leontes) is shown to be a good and kind person who earns and deserves the respect of others, and instead of being active in the downfall of those he loves, he is shown to be someone far too young with far too much responsibility on their shoulders. When he can't take anymore, he breaks under the pressure, accidentally causing these awful events to occur through indirect action and impulse, rather than just out of what seems to be pure evil in the initial text. It makes his redemption not only feel earned but necessary and wanted.
Though I am not Christian and therefore can’t fully understand the religious comparisons made in this retelling, I still found them to be a wonderful choice and parallel. The constant comparison of the characters to Mary/Jesus/Judas/etc. elevated the themes of faith and betrayal, making the relevancy of their actions feel timeless and fateful. The timelessness in particular also helped push along the discussion of the function of time and serves the purpose of the work as a retelling. Another reason why I found the religious aspects and the theme of faith to be incredibly powerful is the way it directly relates to the religious discussions in The Winter’s Tale. In Winter’s Tale, Apollo’s oracle is consulted, and when the prophecy is rejected by Leontes, it kickstarts the tragedies, implying that the rejection of faith is the downfall of humanity. This book looks at that critically, instead harshly illustrating the ways that religious institutions can cause just as much, if not more harm, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ individuals and sex education. Instead of praising blind acceptance of faith, Two Winters makes its characters question everything they are taught to believe by their religious society, and especially its figureheads.
Two Winters is likely one of the most careful retellings I’ve seen done, with nearly every action, intention, and character found in a parallel in the text. Even Mopsa is mentioned - even if she’s a car lol!
Lastly, a quick list of nitpicks:
-For a book written by what seems to be a white author, this book comments on race a LOT. It didn’t seem to be done in a harmful manner, but it still was not the author’s place to comment on it as much as she did.
-The writing was frivolous and tangential at times, and lots of little lines or moments just frankly didn’t need to exist and took up unnecessary space without serving the story.
-The MC’s father died at war and worded it saying that he “[wasn’t] even fighting the bad guys,” which obviously overly simplifies the complexities of war and refers to an entire nation as “bad guys.”
-Florizel is my favorite character in The Winter’s Tale and says such BEAUTIFUL and heart-melting lines such as "For I cannot be Mine own, nor anything to any, if I be not thine. To this I am most constant, Though destiny say no”, but his counterpart in this book at one point literally says "“ever since I saw you try to play Zip, Zap, Zop, there’s been… something about you.” All I can say is that he deserves better.
Overall, a worthy read, I just wish my expectations had been set up differently.
TW: teen pregnancy, death, child death (semi-off-page), car accident (on-page), gun violence, suicide (accident, semi-off-page), blood, death of parent (father, past, brief), bullying, religious bigotry, victim blaming, homophobia/biphobia, transphobia (a SC is kicked out of their home), deadnaming (brief), racism (discussed, brief), pedophilia (off-page, brief), alcoholism, underage drinking, abandonment, animal excrement, infidelity (kiss)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Suicide, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Excrement, Gaslighting, Medical content, Outing, and Racism
Minor: Deadnaming, Infidelity, and Sexual content
coffeedogsbooks's review
[b:Two Winters|54278591|Two Winters|Lauren Emily Whalen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620475030l/54278591._SY75_.jpg|84699488] is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's [b:The Winter's Tale|44133|The Winter's Tale|William Shakespeare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327893509l/44133._SX50_.jpg|6302847]. This is one I have not read so I can't say how comparable the retelling is but this is a great upper YA story. The story is told in two timelines, the first being 1987 when Paulina is 17 and her best friend Mia is pregnant and trying to keep it secret from everyone, including the father, Tesla. Paulina is also in a secret relationship with a school athlete, both are bisexual and not out. The second half of the book takes place in 2014, Perdita is 17, adopted, and really wondering where she came from. We also see some flashbacks in the form of letters from Mia and Tesla. This is an engaging book but does cover some heavy topics such as teen pregnancy, homophobia, and bullying, but it's not so heavy as to be tedious. It's also a story of choices and how they can affect our life and future. I recommend this and give it 3.75 of 5 stars and thank Suzy's Approved Book Tours, Lauren Emily Whalen, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. My thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
bookish_heidi's review
4.0
Wow! I guess I didn't really read the synopsis before I jumped into this one and I'm glad I didn't. It's a retelling of Shakespeare's "The Winter Tale" (which I've never read...). I can't tell you if it's accurate to the original story, but I can tell you that it's a fantastic book!
A group of friends. A catholic school. A pregnant teen. A bisexual teen. Everyone has their secrets. One dreadful night it all comes tumbling down. And then the story picks up 17 years later and carries on. Simply fantastic!
A group of friends. A catholic school. A pregnant teen. A bisexual teen. Everyone has their secrets. One dreadful night it all comes tumbling down. And then the story picks up 17 years later and carries on. Simply fantastic!
danielghurst's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
TWO WINTERS by Lauren Emily Whalen is a contemporary retelling of Shakespeare's THE WINTER'S TALE. While Shakespeare's play deals with royalty and nobility, Whalen's young adult novel centers around average people from a small town in Illinois and is set in the winters of 1997 and 2014. It's a quiet book that deals with teen issues without becoming an "issue book." It also features a diverse cast of characters who face many of the struggles one would expect those of marginalized identities to face.
The prose is strong, and the story is well-paced. In the wrong hands, it might have been too brief for the number of characters and complexity of the plot, but Whalen delivers a tightly-packaged story with enough information to know and feel for the characters and a plot that's easy to follow despite the complicated web of relationships.
Trigger Warnings*: gun violence, homophobia, bullying (incl. homophobic bullying), teen pregnancy, suicidal ideation, racism, pedophilia/molestation, death of a child, physical violence, infidelity
*Bear in mind, many of these are oblique references or mentioned in passing, and all are handled with care.
The prose is strong, and the story is well-paced. In the wrong hands, it might have been too brief for the number of characters and complexity of the plot, but Whalen delivers a tightly-packaged story with enough information to know and feel for the characters and a plot that's easy to follow despite the complicated web of relationships.
Trigger Warnings*: gun violence, homophobia, bullying (incl. homophobic bullying), teen pregnancy, suicidal ideation, racism, pedophilia/molestation, death of a child, physical violence, infidelity
*Bear in mind, many of these are oblique references or mentioned in passing, and all are handled with care.
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