William Shakespeare's exact date of birth is unknown, but he was baptized on April 26th, 1564. (However, April 23rd is generally accepted as his birthday, and it was also his date of death!) Any day is a great day to check out these great books for teens and adults inspired by the works of Shakespeare. Given how many arists continue to be inspired by Shakespeare, you woudn't think he was a day over 200.
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William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Mean Girls
by Ian Doescher A laugh-out-loud parody of the classic comedy, rerendered in iambic pentameter, finds heroine-in-disguise Cady forging allegiances with newfound allies Damian and Janis while falling for the off-limits Aaron and stirring up age-old vendettas among rival school factions. |
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Hag-seed : The Tempest retold
by Margaret Atwood A psychologically charged story inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest, reimagined by the award-winning author of The Handmaid's Tale, follows the retribution plot of a deposed artistic director who teaches prison inmates while consulting with a fantasy child who has taken the place of the daughter he lost years earlier. |
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Romeo and/or Juliet : a chooseable-path adventure
by Ryan North A choose-your-own-path adaptation of Shakespeare's classic imagines riotous "what if" scenarios, inviting readers to explore the alternate stories of the star-crossed lovers as they fall for other partners, pursue unconventional interests and team up to take over Verona in robot suits. By the creator of the To Be or Not to Be chooseable-path adventure. |
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Speak easy, speak love
by McKelle George The lives of six teens intertwine during a thrilling summer filled with romantic misunderstandings and dangerous deals in a 1920s Prohibition-era adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. |
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Prince of cats
by Ronald Wimberly In a contemporary retelling of "Romeo and Juliet" set in Brooklyn, Tybalt and the Capulets take part in nightly clashes with the Montagues as the two warring gangs fight their way through high school and for control of the streets. |
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Miranda and Caliban
by Jacqueline Carey A fantastical retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest is told from the perspective of the daughter of a powerful magus, who grows up in protective isolation before finding solace and companionship with the bewitched feral youth who serves her father. |
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Exit, pursued by a bear
by E. K Johnston A head cheerleader in a tiny community where cheerleading is the school's primary sport dedicates herself to her team only to wake up after being drugged to discover that she has been raped and become pregnant as a result, a situation that is further complicated by local attitudes. |
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A thousand acres : a novel
by Jane Smiley On a prosperous Iowa farm in the 1970s, wealthy farmer Lawrence Cook announces his intentions to divide the farm among his daughters, setting off a family crisis reminiscent of Shakespeare's "King Lear." |
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Ronit & Jamil
by Pamela L Laskin A lyrical novel in verse retells the story of Romeo and Juliet against a backdrop of the modern-day Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza, where an Israeli girl and a Palestinian boy are brought together by their distrustful fathers' business arrangements and fall into a forbidden love. |
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Kill Shakespeare : A Sea of Troubles
by Conor McCreery Pits Shakespeare's most famous heroes, including Hamlet, Juliet, and Othello, against such menacing villains as Richard III and Lady Macbeth in an epic adventure to find and kill a reclusive wizard named William Shakespeare. |
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Shylock is my name : The merchant of Venice retold
by Howard Jacobson In a magnificent modern re-imagining of one of Shakespeare’s most provocative characters—Shylock—Simon Strulovitch, riddled with grief after the death of his wife, struggles with his daughter Beatrice’s betrayal of family and his daughter Jessica’s rejection of her Jewish roots. |
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Srsly Hamlet
by Courtney Carbone An uproarious adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet is retold in whimsical texts, emojis and relationship status updates. |
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The gap of time : The winter's tale retold
by Jeanette Winterson A debut entry in an international series designed to retell the Bard's most renowned plays in 21st-century settings as written by leading modern authors reimagines The Winter's Tale in modern London and a storm-ravaged America in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. |
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As I descended
by Robin Talley Tapping a dark power to prevent the favorite candidate of a distinguished educational prize from winning, school power couple Maria and Lily unleash fatal energies that blur the lines between reality and madness in this retelling of Macbeth. |
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The daughter of time
by Josephine Tey A hospitalized English policeman reconstructs historical evidence concerning Richard III's role in the murder of Edward IV's two sons. |