DOUBLE Book Review: Yolo Juliet by William Shakespeare & Brett Wright // srsly Hamlet by William Shakespeare & Courtney Carbone

Title: Yolo Juliet

Author: William Shakespeare & Brett Wright
Hardcover, 112 pages
Published: May 26th, 2015 
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA - Graphic Novels > Retelling
Source: via publisher

Romeo and Juliet, one of the greatest love stories ever told . . . in texts?!

Imagine: What if those star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet had smartphones? A classic is reborn in this fun and funny adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays!

Two families at war.

A boy and a girl in love.

A secret marriage gone oh-so-wrong.

and h8. The classics just got a whole lot more interesting. ;)

tl;dr A Shakespeare play told through its characters texting with emojis, checking in at certain locations, and updating their relationship statuses. The perfect gift for hip theater lovers and teens.

A glossary and cast of characters are included for those who need it. For example: tl;dr means too long; didn’t read.

Purchase at: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Kobo | Indiebound

Today's generation is all about technology. Cell phones, e-readers, tablets, computers and many other devices we use to have fun, communicate and live. Have you ever wonder what it would have been like if hundreds of years ago we had this same technology? 

YOLO Juliet does just that! The beloved classic tale by William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet gets bumped into the 21st century now being told by text messages. Yes, you heard right, text messages as well as fun little emoji's we often use. Hmm...I wonder if Romeo has the new iPhone? 0_o 

The story of Romeo and Juliet has been a fan favorite of mine for a long time. I read the book in HS and really enjoyed watching the Leonardo Dicaprio version of the movie. I could quote the book word for word. I totally loved reading YOLO Juliet, in fact, I read it twice cover to cover. I really enjoyed how the story was being told from such a fresh and unique perspective. I mean texting is now even more popular than picking up the phone and calling someone. To take such an amazing story re-told many times throughout history and give it a massive "upgrade" is not only a fantastic idea but one that will not soon be forgotten. The younger generation will enjoy reading this book, as well as us older kids. ;)  

One of many of my favorite parts of the book is the emoji's used throughout the book. Many of them are used to display who is who in the book and what certain words mean. For instants, a means "kill". The  would be used instead of the word. Also, the story itself was not written in the classic Shakespeare wording, like: 

What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;

would become:

what's the point of names anyway? srsly, you could call a

 a different name, and it would

just as sweet.

All in all, YOLO Juliet is a super fun remake of one of Shakespeare finest works. I loved every second of it. If you're a fan of this classic tale and love texting then this book is right up your alley! 

Romeo & Juliet + Cell phone = AWESOMESAUCE! 

Totally EPIC! One of the best books I have read. A MUST read!!

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Title: srsly Hamlet

Author: William Shakespeare & Courtney Carbone

Hardcover, 128 pages

Published: May 26th, 2015 

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Genre: YA - Graphic Novels > Retelling

Source: via publisher

Hamlet, one of the greatest stories ever told . . . in texts?!

Imagine: What if Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, and the tragic Ophelia had smartphones? A classic is reborn in this fun and funny adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays!

A kingdom on the brink of war.

A stolen throne.

A boy seeking revenge.

and h8. The classics just got a whole lot more interesting. ;)

tl;dr A Shakespeare play told through its characters texting with emojis, checking in at certain locations, and updating their relationship statuses. The perfect gift for hip theater lovers and teens. 

A glossary and cast of characters are included for those who need it. For example: tl;dr means too long; didn’t read.

Purchase at: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Kobo | Indiebound

srsly Hamlet also has the same idea using cell phones to tell the story but this time the book being retold is HAMLET. Now I myself have never read the book/play. Of course I have heard of it before, I think everyone has. So this was all new to me. A whole new set of characters all of which I know nothing about. This for me was good and bad. Bad because some of the story I didn't understand until I got more into the book, which was a little confusing because of the emoji's being thrown into the storyline. And Good because I got to finally read Hamlet and it turns out I really enjoyed it. The romance, the war between each other, betrayal and most of all a lot of death. Like basically everyone dies at the end of the book. x_x 

Besides all the doom and gloom, I ended up totally liking the book and I think others will too. Being told through cell phones gives the story so much more character and easier to understand. It's a fun little read for kids who want to get into the classics or even adults who grew up reading them. I definitely recommend, srsly Hamlet it each and everyone one of you! (as long as you don't mind depressing endings...ha!)

 Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.