It seems like there are young adult adaptations of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet coming out of the woodwork lately. Shonda Rimes got her Midas mitts on Still Star-Crossed and is making it a tv series. Lisa Klein’s Ophelia is going to the big screen, starring Daisy Ridley. And that’s just two easy ones that are getting all the press – I’ve seen lists lately of half a dozen YA versions at a time.
But it’s always those two, isn’t it? Note that I’m talking about books here, not movies, so I’m not really counting 10 Things I Hate About You, She’s The Man, O, or any of a bunch of high school comedies that as far as I know only live on the big screen.
Bardfilm pays closer attention to this area than I, so he might be able to tell me I’m completely wrong.
Which of Shakespeare’s plays would you like to read in a YA format? I expect that The Tempest is an obvious choice. But about something harder. Could you do King Lear? Actually I’d be surprised if nobody’s tackled that one yet, I figure you tell it from Cordelia’s point of view you’re half way there.
Seems like one of the comedies could be a fun YA romance – the whole Beatrice/Benedick “I hate you, I hate you, I love you” thing from Much Ado About Nothing, or a slightly different spin (than “She’s the Man”) on As You Like It.
I am excited when a Shakespeare-inspired young adult book is published! Anything that captures their interest and leads them to read Shakespeare’s words is beneficial. I would like to recommend a new novel, Shakespeare’s True Love, which depicts William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway’s courtship, marriage, and family life. It follows the known timeline of Shakespeare’s life and includes many quotes from Shakespeare’s works. This positive look at the Bard and his personal life may inspire young people to read his plays! Check it out at heleneburton.com
I think you could make a pretty good ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’.