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radwaashraf 's review for:
That Way Madness Lies
by Lindsay Smith, Cory McCarthy, Mark Oshiro, Kiersten White, Lily Anderson, Samantha Mabry, Dahlia Adler, Emily Wibberley, A.R. Capetta, Anna-Marie McLemore, K. Ancrum, Ibi Zoboi, Melissa Bashardoust, Brittany Cavallaro, Tochi Onyebuchi, Austin Siegemund-Broka, Joy McCullough, Patrice Caldwell
I had really high hopes for this collection, but my disappointment was immense.
1. “Severe Weather Warning” by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka: this was a weird take on the tempest and a weird thing to fixate on. we've got the siblings war and a storm and some of the names, but it veers to become a tale of high school couples, one ending their relationship and another beginning a relationship. i'll admit it was cute for a YA, but not what i expected in a shakespearean retelling
2. “Shipwrecked” by Mark Oshiro: the premise for twelfth night is like a lot of shakespeare comedies, with mistaken identites and love triangles (and sometimes more than a triangle). in this YA version, everyone is queer and we have our love triangles and squares and misunderstandings in a high school dance with a theme that's so weird, but i guess it was their only way to tie in the actual shipwreck of the original play?, but this felt like the final chapter in a novel that was supposed to make me care for these people, not a short story. so i felt nothing for them sadly
*3. “Taming of the Soul Mate” by K. Ancrum: taming of the shrew is one of shakespeare's distastful play, just because katarina is treated horribly so she could be "tamed", "10 things I hate about you" modernized that and gave her some agency at least. in this YA retelling, there's a fantastical twist, which is that you get to see bright colors when you meet your soul mate, and Kat just isn;t convinced by that when it happens to her. I think I like this one, they're not a disgusting couple here, and I actually like that it developed and left us hanging.
*4. “King of the Fairies” by Anna Marie McLemore: a midsummer's night's dream has everything: multiple romance plots, actors rehearsing a play, a wedding, and a forest filled with fairies. and this stories focuses on the latter, the fairy king and queen, titania and oberon, and the changeling child they kidnap. the language is beautiful and the descriptions are sweet.
5. “We Have Seen Better Days” by Lily Anderson: either shakespeare retellings don't work in short stories form, or it doesn't work with YA characters, or these authors just don't know how to adapt shakespeare's characters. this story is set in a camp which is close enough to the forest setting in the original story, but the characters needed more time to get me to relate to their problem.
*6. “Some Other Metal” by A.R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy: "much ado about nothing" is one again about two couples, there's deceit and tricks to make one fall in love with the other, and a lot of miscommunication, which i guess works in YA settings. I actually liked the pairing in this story, and they had chemistry for once!
7. “I Bleed” by Dahlia Adler: I remember reading the "merchant of venice", and being surprised by the twists. basically, it revolves around a money lender who abuses his power and demands repayment in a fatal way. in a high school setting, that is just creepy.
8. “His Invention” by Brittany Cavallar: the author really managed to capture the way shakespeare compared love or lust to an illness in this inspiration by sonnet 147.
9. “Partying is Such Sweet Sorrow” by Kiersten White: I know that romeo and juliet is about teenagers being reckless and stupid and not caring for anything and being all emo and extra and dramatic, and this did capture the stupidity, but I just don't know what did I just read? It's done entirely though texts between a lot of the characters, and the ending is implied. but I just wanted to kill romeo and juliet myself.
10. “Dreaming of the Dark” by Lindsay Smith: the tragedy of julius ceasar is about betrayel and political gains and schemes. this story was better off as something not inspired by that play, as it deals with a group of girls in a small town consumed by some dark magic and their ambitions to use that dark magic for themselves. we can see the repeating of the betrayal themes and hunger for power, and some similar names, but that's about it.
11. “The Tragedy of Cory Lanez: An Oral History” by Tochi Onyebuchi: Coriolanus is another one of those political plays with a lot of history mixed in with fiction. this is one of shakespeare's plays that i know abosuletly nothing about, so even reading a synopsis to get acquainted with this story left me confused. this had an interesting layout, but since i'm not interested in rappers and gang stories, this wasn't my favorite thing, though it was a very good commentary.
12. “Out of the Storm” by Joy McCullough: king lear is about a king who comes to regret his actions and about the politics of court. this one is written like a play, and incorporates the theme of three daughters on their father's deathbed, as they tryo to come to terms with the traumas he caysed them in their lives. my problem is that the play style didn't really allow me to judge the author's writing style to see if i would like to read more by her.
13. “Elsinore” by Patrice Caldwell: hamlet is one of shakespeare's most prominent plays, and after reading "haamnet" and seeing all what could've been of the supposed parallels between his real life and his art, i've wanted to delve more into the retellings of hamlet. it's a revenge story, of a son revenging the killing of his father, the king. it also includes a play within a play, and a LOOOT of schemeing and double crossing and everything really, oh, and there's also a ghost. but once again as with most of the stories in this collection, i felt like i was reading the final chapter in a novel not a standalone story.
14. “We Fail” by Samantha Mabry: i think macbeth is my favorite play of shakespeare's, as i really like the power of propehcies on humans and seeing how they end up fulfilling it. i like this interprettion, looking at lady macbeth and maybe another reason for her death? looking at macbeth and how he struggles with guilt and ambition?
*15. “Lost Girl” by Melissa Bashardoust: the winter's tale is a tragic play, and the happy ending is unconvincing considering all that happens at the hand of the king. this story focuses on the daughter of the story and how she came to know of her original family and her own love story, so it's focusing on the second half of the original play. I liked the inclusion of a fairy tale to tell her story.
1. “Severe Weather Warning” by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka: this was a weird take on the tempest and a weird thing to fixate on. we've got the siblings war and a storm and some of the names, but it veers to become a tale of high school couples, one ending their relationship and another beginning a relationship. i'll admit it was cute for a YA, but not what i expected in a shakespearean retelling
2. “Shipwrecked” by Mark Oshiro: the premise for twelfth night is like a lot of shakespeare comedies, with mistaken identites and love triangles (and sometimes more than a triangle). in this YA version, everyone is queer and we have our love triangles and squares and misunderstandings in a high school dance with a theme that's so weird, but i guess it was their only way to tie in the actual shipwreck of the original play?, but this felt like the final chapter in a novel that was supposed to make me care for these people, not a short story. so i felt nothing for them sadly
*3. “Taming of the Soul Mate” by K. Ancrum: taming of the shrew is one of shakespeare's distastful play, just because katarina is treated horribly so she could be "tamed", "10 things I hate about you" modernized that and gave her some agency at least. in this YA retelling, there's a fantastical twist, which is that you get to see bright colors when you meet your soul mate, and Kat just isn;t convinced by that when it happens to her. I think I like this one, they're not a disgusting couple here, and I actually like that it developed and left us hanging.
*4. “King of the Fairies” by Anna Marie McLemore: a midsummer's night's dream has everything: multiple romance plots, actors rehearsing a play, a wedding, and a forest filled with fairies. and this stories focuses on the latter, the fairy king and queen, titania and oberon, and the changeling child they kidnap. the language is beautiful and the descriptions are sweet.
5. “We Have Seen Better Days” by Lily Anderson: either shakespeare retellings don't work in short stories form, or it doesn't work with YA characters, or these authors just don't know how to adapt shakespeare's characters. this story is set in a camp which is close enough to the forest setting in the original story, but the characters needed more time to get me to relate to their problem.
*6. “Some Other Metal” by A.R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy: "much ado about nothing" is one again about two couples, there's deceit and tricks to make one fall in love with the other, and a lot of miscommunication, which i guess works in YA settings. I actually liked the pairing in this story, and they had chemistry for once!
7. “I Bleed” by Dahlia Adler: I remember reading the "merchant of venice", and being surprised by the twists. basically, it revolves around a money lender who abuses his power and demands repayment in a fatal way. in a high school setting, that is just creepy.
8. “His Invention” by Brittany Cavallar: the author really managed to capture the way shakespeare compared love or lust to an illness in this inspiration by sonnet 147.
9. “Partying is Such Sweet Sorrow” by Kiersten White: I know that romeo and juliet is about teenagers being reckless and stupid and not caring for anything and being all emo and extra and dramatic, and this did capture the stupidity, but I just don't know what did I just read? It's done entirely though texts between a lot of the characters, and the ending is implied. but I just wanted to kill romeo and juliet myself.
10. “Dreaming of the Dark” by Lindsay Smith: the tragedy of julius ceasar is about betrayel and political gains and schemes. this story was better off as something not inspired by that play, as it deals with a group of girls in a small town consumed by some dark magic and their ambitions to use that dark magic for themselves. we can see the repeating of the betrayal themes and hunger for power, and some similar names, but that's about it.
11. “The Tragedy of Cory Lanez: An Oral History” by Tochi Onyebuchi: Coriolanus is another one of those political plays with a lot of history mixed in with fiction. this is one of shakespeare's plays that i know abosuletly nothing about, so even reading a synopsis to get acquainted with this story left me confused. this had an interesting layout, but since i'm not interested in rappers and gang stories, this wasn't my favorite thing, though it was a very good commentary.
12. “Out of the Storm” by Joy McCullough: king lear is about a king who comes to regret his actions and about the politics of court. this one is written like a play, and incorporates the theme of three daughters on their father's deathbed, as they tryo to come to terms with the traumas he caysed them in their lives. my problem is that the play style didn't really allow me to judge the author's writing style to see if i would like to read more by her.
13. “Elsinore” by Patrice Caldwell: hamlet is one of shakespeare's most prominent plays, and after reading "haamnet" and seeing all what could've been of the supposed parallels between his real life and his art, i've wanted to delve more into the retellings of hamlet. it's a revenge story, of a son revenging the killing of his father, the king. it also includes a play within a play, and a LOOOT of schemeing and double crossing and everything really, oh, and there's also a ghost. but once again as with most of the stories in this collection, i felt like i was reading the final chapter in a novel not a standalone story.
14. “We Fail” by Samantha Mabry: i think macbeth is my favorite play of shakespeare's, as i really like the power of propehcies on humans and seeing how they end up fulfilling it. i like this interprettion, looking at lady macbeth and maybe another reason for her death? looking at macbeth and how he struggles with guilt and ambition?
*15. “Lost Girl” by Melissa Bashardoust: the winter's tale is a tragic play, and the happy ending is unconvincing considering all that happens at the hand of the king. this story focuses on the daughter of the story and how she came to know of her original family and her own love story, so it's focusing on the second half of the original play. I liked the inclusion of a fairy tale to tell her story.