You might remember that a while ago, I reviewed the book Tempestuous by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes, the first book in the "Twisted Lit" series. (You can check out my review here) Their series is a fun new, modern take on Shakespeare's works.
In honor of William Shakespeare’s birthday
(celebrated on April 26), authors Kim Askew and Amy Helmes, have dropped by
with a guest blog post to announce a special contest!
Get A “Twisted Lit”
Character Named After You!
We reimagined
William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and “Macbeth,” with our “compulsively
readable” YA books, Tempestuous and Exposure.
Ever since the novels were published a few months ago through Merit Press
we’ve encountered a frequent question: Which of Shakespeare’s plays will
inspire your next books in the Twisted Lit series?
While we’re
currently hard at work putting our own spin on the Bard’s “Romeo and
Juliet” we thought we’d look to you, the readers, to help us pick the
fourth Shakespeare play that will inspire our next book in the series. Got
a hankering for a new spin on “Hamlet?” Love to see “King Lear” get a YA
update? Would you make much ado over our take on “Much Ado About Nothing?”
Go to our Facebook page (Facebook.com/Twistedlitnovels)
and write on our wall to weigh in on which Shakespeare play you’d like us
to revamp next. In doing so, you’ll be entered to have your very own name
mentioned in one of our upcoming books (either as a character or some other
fun reference). If you’ve always wanted to see your name in print — in a YA
novel, no less — now’s your chance! The winner will also receive
autographed copies of our first two novels, Tempestuous and Exposure.
We’re looking
forward to hearing your suggestions! (And don’t forget to follow us on
twitter at @kaskew and @amyhelmes.)
* Winner will not be
compensated for use of his or her name, and publication is not guaranteed.
Details of plot and character used in connection with the name as it
appears in the book are up to the sole discretion of the authors. Contest
ends June 1.
After a mistake with big financial consequences topples her throne, former "it
girl" Miranda Prospero is bitter: she finds herself stranded in a crazed new
world, holding court among geeks and misfits at a mall Hot Dog Kabob stand.
Then, she gets her chance for revenge. When the storm of the decade snows in the
mall workers and last-minute shopaholics for a long winter's night, Miranda sets
out to get back at the catty clique who was behind her exile. But there's a
complication. She somehow gets handcuffed to sullen loner Caleb. With him
(literally) bound to her side, Miranda learns more in one night about her own
heart, and human nature, than she ever did as prep royalty. With this twisted
take on Shakespeare's The Tempest, authors Kim Askew and Amy Helmes prove
again that, from Juliet's grief to Cordelia's rage, no one knew about teen angst
better than the Bard. His wisdom holds up nearly half a millennium later. (description from Amazon.com)
This is the fun start of a series with an
interesting theme. The authors plan to revamp different classic tales and put
out modern versions. This first book, based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, was a fun ride. Though some
things have been changed from the original version and most of the characters
have different names, there are definite pieces from the original that can still
be found in this version.
This story takes
place from Miranda's point of view, and Prospero (or here, her father) is not
involved in the story at all. Miranda has fallen from grace, falsely accused of
being the ringleader of a massive school-wide cheating ring. Now, to make
reparations, Miranda must work in a disgusting fast food job at the mall. On
the positive side, Miranda's made some great new friends, including her new
bestie, Ariel.
When she and most of the other mall workers get snowed in
at the mall during a freak blizzard, Miranda suddenly has a lot of problems to
tackle! Ariel's surprise birthday party must be reimagined, her skeezy
ex-boyfriend and her old frenemies are also locked in the mall causing trouble,
someone is robbing the high end mall stores, and worst of all, she finds herself
handcuffed to a boy that is so not her type. With some
*very* creative problem solving that had me laughing throughout, it was very fun
to follow Miranda's wild and crazy night. I liked the elements of romance that
pervaded the story and I liked that those who needed a comeupance got it in one
way or another...
There were some times that the characters sounded a
little like they were in the wrong time period...like the authors had tried to
use vintage dialogue from The
Tempest and it didn't quite work, but aside from that, I thought
this was a very fun update. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the
series, Exposure.
...and because who doesn't love cute kids quoting Shakespeare? Here's a trailer for the series featuring exactly that!! LOL
