Shakespeare buffs will know their names: Juliet, Ophelia, and Cordelia. Their stories are part of some of the greatest plays ever written... and they all end up dead. In the room beneath a stage's trapdoor, Shakespeare’s dead teenage girls gather as ghosts. Alongside the ghosts of other dead girls and women, like Lavinia from Titus Andronicus, they compare their experiences and retell the stories of their lives, their loves, and their fates in their own words.
Bestselling author Joy McCullough offers a brilliant testament to how young women can support each other and reclaim their stories in the aftermath of trauma. In this poetic, experimental book, she imagines the girls' conversation as a theatrical script, complete with stage directions capturing each scene. This compelling novel in verse is a unique exploration of women's voices, capturing the power of justice, sisterhood, and love.
"McCullough is undeniably skilled with verse, and she utilizes a fascinating structure for the book, with poetry that is intercut with descriptions of the setting written in the style of theatrical directions. These evoke the feeling of being in the audience. These interludes are then intercut with dialogue among the protagonists, discussing the narrative elements of their own tales.... A theatrical experiment with meaning." — Kirkus Reviews
Recommended Age | 14 and up |
---|---|
Author | Joy McCullough |
ISBN | 0593406753 |
Publication Date | Mar 14, 2023 |
Publisher | Dutton Books for Young Readers |
Language | English |