Ay me! for aught that I could ever read,
Could ever hear by tale or history
- Lysander, A Midsummer Night's Dream

This booklist, as requested by Simmone, features books inspired by William Shakespeare. Some of the stories retell Shakespeare's plays, others fictionalize his life, and plenty feature school-based productions of his plays.

If a title is underlined, click on it to read my full-length review.

The Play's the Thing - Books in which fictional characters put on a Shakespearian play

Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman - PG - ****
I love this book! Though the main characters adore Pride and Prejudice, the story also involves a contemporary musical version of A Midsummer Night's Dream put on by high schoolers. Recommended.

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson - PG - **** - Ages 12 and up
Scarlett's summer escapades include a production of Hamlet. She helps out behind the scenes while her brother and her crush play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The play is only part of the layered story, but it furthers many storylines and her relationships with Spencer (brother), Eric (crush) and Mrs. Amberson (quasi-boss, for lack of a better term).

The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It by Lisa Shanahan (originally titled My Big Birkett) - PG - *** - Ages 12 and up
A lovely book with both lighthearted and serious happenings. It revolves around a teenager who - and this is just one of the many things going on in her life! - ends up trying out for her school's production of The Tempest at the suggestion of a cute classmate.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt - G - *** - Ages 10 and up
The majority of the story takes place in Mrs. Baker's seventh grade classroom. In special afterschool sessions with the book's protagonist Holling Hoodhood, she introduces him to the works of Shakespeare. In addition to reading and discussing Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, and other Shakespearian plays, Holling also portrays Ariel in The Tempest on the local stage. Vietnam, family discord, and political changes also factor in this book, which is set in the late 1960s.

The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper - PG - *** - Ages 10 and up
A Shakespearian seminar in Verona, Italy brings together teenagers from around the world. In addition to discussing and performing scenes from Romeo and Juliet, they must also respond to the letters of heartbroken people who have written to Juliet for advice. The students fade in and out of crushes with each other while learning, writing, playing football (soccer) and wandering through the historic city.
Though this story is fictional, the Juliet Club really does exist. Visit julietclub.com and write a letter.

Romeo and Juliet -- Together (and Alive!) at Last by Avi - G - *** - Ages 8 and up
See what happens when a middle school attempts to stage a re-written version of Romeo and Juliet starring a boy who really, really likes the girl cast as Juliet.

I Knew Him Well - Books in which Shakespeare himself and/or his family members are fictionalized

Loving Will Shakespeare by Carolyn Meyer - PG - *** - Ages 10 and up
This fictious account of Anne Hathaway's life, from childhood through adulthood, details her home life as well as her life as it crossed Will's, from his own birth to his lifelong crush on her to their relationship, marriage, and children. I enjoyed this book. I think the title Being Anne Hathaway would have suited it as well.

Swan Town: The Secret Journal of Susanna Shakespeare by Michael J. Ortiz - PG - ** - Ages 10 and up
William's daughter Susanna shares her secrets in a series of diary entries. She herself wants to be a writer and an actor. The story follows her life for about a year.

King of Shadows by Susan Cooper - G - ** - Ages 8 and up
I read this title for the Scholar's Blog book group. In it, a hopeful young actor is transported back in time, meets William Shakespeare himself, and appears as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

How Well He's Read - Shakespeare's characters and plays re-imagined

Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman - PG-13 - *** - Ages 14 and up
When Geena's cousin Hero comes back from boarding school for the summer, Geena can't wait for her to meet her best friend, Amber, and work with them at the local coffee shop, Triple Shot Betty's. Loud, wild Amber and preppy, conservative Hero are like oil and water - they just don't mix. Throw in a bunch of guys - including a conceited recent graduate, an intriguing Italian boy, and Geena's lifelong classmate who is her academic rival - and someone's sure to reach their boiling point. This book is a modern-day version of Much Ado about Nothing.

Ophelia by Lisa Klein - PG - ** - Ages 12 and up
This novel has three distinct sections: One-third Ophelia's childhood and friendship with Prince Hamlet; one-third parallelling the play Hamlet; and one-third her life after the play. I love this book's cover and concept. I don't want to spoil it for those of you who have not read it, so let me say it this way: I liked the first part, tolerated the second part, and did not care much for the third part.

Enter Three Witches by Caroline Cooney - PG - ** - Ages 10 and up
Macbeth told from the POV of Lady Mary, a ward of the Lord and Lady of the house. I like many of Cooney's books, and many of those, I like more than this.

Wings by E.D. Baker - G - ** - Ages 10 and up
A young girl living in "our" world sprouts a pair of wings and goes on a magical journey to the land of her birth. Once she's there - about three-quarters of the way into the book - readers will pick up on the references to A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Two More Notes

In the comments below, I have listed other relevant titles which I have yet read.

Read one of my favorite passages from Hamlet and learn about a related song.

Things Hershey Hollenback loves:
Her mom
Her baby sister, Ella
Her cat, Augustus Gloop
Making lists in her journal
Eating junk food (secretly)

Things Hershey does not love:
Her mother's boyfriend Slade

Once, while having an argument with Hershey's mom, Slade threw a glass across the room. It shattered and a piece went into Hershey's eye. She had to have surgery and get glasses. Her mom swore she'd never go back to Slade - a promise she broke quickly when she learned she was having a baby. Now Ella is two years old and Hershey's going into eighth grade. After another big fight with Slade, their mother decides to move them into a women's shelter.

Even though they aren't supposed to tell anyone where they are living, Hershey spills the beans to her best friend. She can't take Augustus to the shelter, so she begs Phoebe to cat-sit. Phoebe, who is a fantastic juggler and a great secret-keeper, is a little wary of cats, but she agrees to take him in - even though she has her own problems at home with her injured and thus currently off-work father.

At the shelter, Hershey meets a wide array of women and families. They don't all get along, but they all chip in to keep the shelter safe and sound. Some of the women are hiding from their spouses or boyfriends. Some of the kids run wild. A few of the adults have hidden talents that they share with Hershey, including an elderly woman named Lupe who otherwise keeps to herself.

As Lupe teaches Hershey how to play the piano, the young girl slowly learns to fill herself with music and with hope instead of with junk food. Because of this, she is able to hold her head up high when performing at the local talent show and when confronted by bullies at school and at home.

Kudos to MiX for mixing it up and creating a line which tackles both serious and comedic but always realistic elements of life for tweens.

Even more kudos to author Cecilia Galante for writing this story and tackling a subject which is often neglected in juvenile fiction. Galante's own experience with relationship abuse as an adult inspired her to write Hershey Herself, as well as this powerful piece.

Hershey Herself is recommended for ages 10 and up.

Read my interview with author Cecilia Galante.

Ask twenty people to define "family," and you'll get twenty different definitions. Ruby's definition of family is about to change, and she's not quite sure what that means.

For years, Ruby and her mother moved from apartment to apartment. They lived in random places and cramped spaces above other people's garages. Finally, they find a little yellow house to rent. Ruby's mother, preferring to drown her sorrows in alcohol than deal with them head-on, made her daughter give her excuses to visitors, landlords, and bosses.

The older Ruby got, the more her mother depended on her - and on substances. Ruby became used to her mom disappearing for a few days now and then. When a week turned into two, then three, then a month, Ruby knew her mom wasn't coming back. She went to work and school and lived alone for months before her landlords realized what was going on.

With Ruby seven months away from her eighteenth birthday, child services stepped in. She is sent to live with her older sister, who hasn't seen her in ten years. Cora left for college and, according to their mother, never looked back. Now Cora has a successful career, a husband who is equally successful, and a gorgeous home, with a spunky little dog to boot. How can Ruby fit into this household, let alone into a new school that's posh and private? She's so sure that this could never be her home, her life, that she prepares to run away that very first night and go back to the little yellow house. Fate has other plans for her, and so does Nate, the boy next door.

Though Ruby consents to stay put for the time being, she keeps the key to the little yellow house on a chain around her neck. At first, the key is the only thing she permits to fall close to her heart, interpreting her sister's clipped responses as lack of interest. She is unsure how to take her perpetually upbeat brother-in-law, Jamie. How can this complete stranger welcome her with open arms?

Nate also reaches out to her. Whether she likes the attention or not, he means well. He's genuine, and she's not used to that. Carpooling with him to and from school gives her insight into this grinning, popular boy. There's more there than meets the eye. Though he's friendly, not flirtatious, she's hesitant to open up to him. She'd rather keep her heart under lock and key than risk getting hurt again.

Ruby is a strong girl, but she's not a saint. She has done plenty of things she's not proud of, and she has a stubborn streak a mile wide. She is determined to do things on her own and her refuses to let others assist her because she doesn't want to "owe" them anything.

Ruby's constantly tempted to leave, to make things easier for everyone, herself included. The easy way out is never as easy as it seems. It just leads her back to bad things, bad people. The road back to her sister's house is promising, but there are bumps along the way. Ruby's new school is far ahead of her previous school, and she struggles to keep up her grades. She has to write a report about "family" for class, and she doesn't know where to begin. Jamie tries to be helpful while Cora remains distant. Nate keeps reaching out, and Ruby repeatedly deflects his concern until she realizes that he may need some help too.

There are plenty of supporting characters in Ruby's new world. Roscoe, the dog, provides comic relief as well as unconditional love right from the start. Gervais, a kid who skipped multiple grades in school, rides in her carpool with Nate. There's Harriet, the high-strung jewelry designer with a mall kiosk who gets inspiration from an unexpected place, and Olivia, her talkative classmate who isn't afraid to tell it like it is. Nate's father seems pleasant and polished, but a scratch on that surface lets his true colors shine through. Ruby's old friends factor in as well, clashing loudly with her new life.

With Lock and Key, Sarah Dessen has created something extremely poignant - which is not to say that she hasn't before. All of Dessen's novels are extremely readable and enjoyable, and each is distinctive. The narrative of Lock and Key, which is told in first person from Ruby's point of view, infuses past events with the present day. Things that occurred a year ago, three months ago, or even earlier the same day are revealed when they relate to happenings in the current time frame. This storytelling method fits the feel of the story, allowing it to move forward as Ruby lives day by day but still clings to her past.

Ruby doesn't think of herself as lost, but she is - and she deserves to be found. Pick up Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen and give it a home on your bookshelf.

"And the rest is history," I said.

"Nah." He shook his head. "The rest is now."

Read an excerpt of Lock and Key.

Related Posts: Author Spotlight: Sarah Dessen and Interview: Sarah Dessen