Skip to main content

10 Works Reimagined for YA Readers

by Amanda MacGregor 
Jan 04, 2021 / SLJ


 

As I Descended. Robin Talley. HarperTeen. 2016.
Something wicked comes to Virginia’s elite Acheron Academy in this modern retelling of Macbeth, one of Shakespeare’s darkest works. A séance reveals cryptic prophecies and opens the door to spirits, leaving the characters unable to control their actions. A tale about fate and ambition that addresses racism, classism, and homophobia.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear. E.K. Johnston. Dutton. 2016.
A gripping take on The Winter’s Tale, this is an intensely emotional look at cheerleader Hermione Winters, who is drugged and raped, and the aftermath of this horrific crime. An empowering story of support and female friendship.

Foul Is Fair. Hannah Capin. Wednesday. 2020.
Macbeth meets #MeToo in this brutal, rage-filled, bloody tale of sexual assault and vengeance. A sisterhood of girls plays out an over-the-top revenge fantasy as they scheme, manipulate, and murder the guilty parties.

The Last True Poets of the Sea. Julia Drake. Disney-Hyperion. 2019.
Violet and Liv fall for each other in coastal Maine in this character-driven novel full of complicated, messy relationships. Loosely based on Twelfth Night, more melancholy romance than comedy, this is a quietly moving story about mental health, sexuality, family, secrets, and shipwrecks.

Macbeth. Gareth Hinds. Candlewick. 2015.
A graphic novel adaptation that retains the rhythm of the Bard’s language, this abridgement brings the characters to life, letting facial expressions, vivid scenes, and an effective and moody palette help carry the story.


The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You. Lily Anderson. St. Martin’s Griffin. 2016.
Geeky rivals find love in this comic book, fandom-filled take on Much Ado About Nothing. With snark, humor, and clever banter, it captures the spirit of the original in a nerdy tale of enemies falling for one another.

Romeo and/or Juliet: A Chooseable-Path Adventure. Ryan North. Riverhead. 2016.
Anything can happen in this delightfully ridiculous and interactive take on Romeo and Juliet. Veer from the canon and brace yourself for ninjas, pirates, happy endings, side quests, secret paths, puzzles, and puns.

The Steep and Thorny Way. Cat Winters. Amulet. 2018.
In 1920s Oregon, biracial Hanalee investigates her father’s death with the help of his ghost in this Hamlet-inspired novel. A captivating look at history, racism, betrayal, and survival.

That Way Madness Lies. Dahlia Adler, ed. Flatiron. March 2021.
Fifteen YA authors bring diversity, inclusivity, and creativity to a variety of Shakespeare’s works in this forthcoming anthology.

These Violent Delights. Chloe Gong. S. &S./Margaret K. McElderry. 2020.
As a lethal infection ravages the city, Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov, heirs to rival gangs, solve its mystery in this Romeo and Juliet retelling. Set in 1920s Shanghai, this political narrative stars a diverse cast speaking many languages.


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dealing with Grief

Below are some sites that can help you cope with the grieving process. Death and Grief Teen Grief Support Help for Teens Teens and Grief Support for Grieving Teens Grief Speaks: Death of a Friend
Post a Comment
Read more

CLASSIC YA BOOKS THAT MADE YOU FEEL SEEN

  K.W. Colyard   Jul 26, 2023 SPEAK   BY LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON I’m sure I’d heard of another book about rape before  Speak  came along. Hell, I might even have read one. But these days? This is the only book I can remember that dealt with one of the myriad possible reactions to sexual assault: silence.  Speak  and other books that deal with similar subject matter have the ability to empower victims of abuse to label what’s happened to them and seek help. ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET  BY JUDY BLUME Once a staple on banned books lists, Judy Blume’s most famous novel has been teaching preteens about puberty — including menstruation and boob exercises — since 1970.  Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret  was far ahead of its time, being one of the first children’s books to show an interfaith family on the page, and — along with Lois Lowry’s Anastasia Krupnik — depicted a child allowed to make up her own mind about which religion she wanted to follow. THE CAT ATE MY GYMSUIT  BY PAULA
Post a Comment
Read more

JEWISH YA BOOKS: MORE THAN THE HOLOCAUST

 by  Jaime Herndon   Oct 27, 2021 I can remember the first time I really felt “seen” in a book. It was Judy Blume’s  Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret . Margaret’s parents had an interfaith marriage, like my parents. I’d never seen that before in a book, and it felt special to me. I don’t remember reading many of the Holocaust books people say they read as kids (Lois Lowry’s  Number the Stars  comes to mind, which is actually about a non-Jewish girl), although we did read  The Diary of Anne Frank  in school. To put it bluntly, we didn’t need to read many of those books at my Jewish day school. The history was in many of our families, with grandparents having numbers on their arms or stories of escape. It was in some of our teachers whose histories we whispered. We studied the Holocaust intensely our 8th grade year. I don’t think it was until after I graduated and went to a public high school that I realized Holocaust kid lit and YA lit was A Thing. Sometimes I cringe when looking at
Post a Comment
Read more