This book review is the second in a series of reviews of teen novels that adapt Shakespeare. As I explore what adaptations can do to enhance the Shakespeare experience for teens, I look at how A. E. Cannon's spinoff translates the text of A Midsummer Night's Dream into a modern setting.
Please note: Book reviews will contain spoilers, so if you want to read the book you might want to do so before reading my review.
Summary
Ed works with his friend Scout at a video rental store where he doesn't get enough respect even to afford him his own name badge. He and Scout spend boring work hours inventing a past for "Sergio" and Ed often wishes that he could be cool like made-up Sergio rather than being a boring nerd. So when beautiful Ellie comes into the store, Ed doesn't clarify the name badge mistake. He becomes Sergio, the suave Brazilian man who loves to cook and "laughs in the face of danger...[and] never sweats."
Meanwhile, Ed's nerdy friend Quark is falling for Scout. But Ellie is nursing a heartbreak of her own, and Scout acknowledges to herself that she has feelings for Ed. All the lies are stripped away one by one, and everything comes to a head at Ali and the Warrior Queen's Midsummer Eve Celebration.
Analysis
This book is the perfect illustration of what I discussed in my post about frustrated love. Although Cannon doesn't use the same love triangle structure as the one in Midsummer Night's Dream, the triangle is just as complicated: Ed loves Ellie, Ellie's still in love with the college boy who broke her heart, Scout loves Ed, and Quark loves Scout; then, halfway through, Ellie realizes she loves "Sergio"/Ed and Ed realizes he loves Scout. Everything works out in the end since Ed and Scout end up together and Quark and Ellie discover one another, but there's some serious stress and drama before it all wraps up. It's the perfect wish-fulfillment book for teens--a teen reader can identify with the heartbreak and confusion of finding love and can be satisfied with the lovely if somewhat fantastical ending.
The modern setting was a good choice on Cannon's part. The setting makes the story immediately relatable to teens, who can picture themselves in a video store better than in an enchanted forest. I think this book would be great as a bridge in a classroom setting because it introduces characters like the original and outlines the main plot. If students read this book first, they would find it easier to navigate the original play. They could focus on the more difficult elements, like Shakespeare's language, and feel an immediate connection to the characters.
In the context of my focus project, this book supports my argument that teen lit adaptations of Shakespeare can make the Bard more accessible to young adults, adding to--rather than detracting from--Shakespeare's original texts.
