Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Duo Reviews: YOLO Juliet & srsly Hamlet


Release Date: 
May 26, 2015

Publisher: 
Random House

Received: Publisher

Star Rating: 
★ ★ ★ ★ 


by: William Shakespeare,  
        Courtney Carbone,           Brett Wright






Summary:

Imagine: What if those star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet had smartphones? A classic is reborn in this fun and funny adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays!
 
Two families at war. 
A boy and a girl in love.
A secret marriage gone oh-so-wrong. [goodreads]

Summary:

Imagine: What if Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, and the tragic Ophelia had smartphones? A classic is reborn in this fun and funny adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays!

A kingdom on the brink of war.
A stolen throne.
A boy seeking revenge. [goodreads]

My Thoughts


When I was approached to review these Shakespeare retellings, I was fairly excited to reread the plays I've read before. So I'm basically sharing my thoughts on classics and I never review classics, so this is a treat for both of us. It was so hard for me to enjoy Shakespeare, when I was forced to read it in school. But now in retrospect, these plays weren't as boring as I've played them out to be. Especially reading them in "emoji" format.

Both books are about under 130 pages of "texting language" format, so it's easy to fly through. I found both easier to understand, but at times I got lost in the language. I knew where the stories were going and if you've enjoyed any of these plays I would give it a chance, or just for a laugh. 

YOLO Juliet felt more light and fun than the original play, that was heavily detailed. I know Romeo and Juliet's relationship could get very "unreal" at times and the "emojis" made it clear for that. There was a basic outline of the plot of the play and it was smooth sailing.

Srsly Hamlet was a very condensed version of the play. These formats really interest me and are seriously so cute. I loved the list of characters and their "emoji" character and was very entertaining. I think you should know at least a brief premise of the story beforehand, because some scenes may leave you confused. These versions were very clever.

Overall, the retellings of Shakespeare's plays were delightful and an easy page-turner. I might even suggest this rather than, Sparknotes.

4/5 STARS
















































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