ARC Review: The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life by Dani Jansen
10:00
Series: None
Author: Dani Jansen
Published September 22nd 2020 by Second Story Press
Goodreads Synopsis
Alison Green, desperate valedictorian-wannabe, agrees to produce her school's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. That's her first big mistake. The second is accidentally saying Yes to a date with her oldest friend, Jack, even though she's crushing on Charlotte. Alison manages to stay positive, even when her best friend starts referring to the play as "Ye Olde Shakespearean Disaster." Alison must cope with the misadventures that befall the play if she's going to survive the year. She'll also have to grapple with what it means to be "out" and what she might be willing to give up for love.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Alison Green is an overachiever, and can't say no to anything which may help her become valedictorian. So when her English teacher asks her to take charge of the school performance of A Midsummer's Night Dream, Alison jumps at the chance. However, the production is more work that she ever imagined it could be, and her crush on leading lady, Charlotte, is becoming harder to hide.
A backlist book which I had forgotten about, The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life was an enjoyable read. I really appreciated how Alison was so focused on her studies, but felt like her actions towards her friends and family were unkind at times. She needed shaking at times, and was very self focused, at least in my opinion. Her relationship with Charlotte was messy, but very real, and I liked the way this book was so inclusive. It had a solid premise, and was a nice read, but I felt like it needed to be developed more to be a really good book.
Dates Read:
March 29-April 2, 2023
Rating
3 Stars
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