Kathleen Odean | YA Books

TEEN BOOKS

TEEN NOVELS & SHAKESPEARE

Blue Avenger Cracks the Code by Norma Howe
High school student David is convinced that he knows who wrote Shakespeare’s plays.

Dating Hamlet: Ophelia’s Story by Lisa Fiedler
In this light-hearted take on the famous play, we get Ophelia’s point of view as she conspires with Hamlet to solve his problems.

Enter Three Witches by Kate Gilmore
What happens to a high school production of “Macbeth,” when real witches take a part in staging it?

The Face in the Mirror by Stephanie S. Tolan
Fifteen-year-old Jared is sent to stay with his father, whom he doesn’t know. His father is directing a production of “Richard III” and Jared discovers a talent for acting, but it seems like a younger stepbrother and a ghost might ruin everything.

King of Shadows by Susan Cooper
Nat is transported back in time to Shakespeare’s London and the Globe Theater.

Othello: A Novel by Julius Lester
Set in Elizabethan England, this retelling of “Othello” changes the play’s dynamics by changing Iago and his wife to Africans like Othello.

The Playmaker by J.B. Cheaney
For an apprentice named Richard who is on the run, hiding on stage in Elizabethan England seems like a clever way of staying safe.

Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper
In a modern-age version of the play, two teenagers who meet over the Internet turn out to attend the same high school, where their romance runs into racial obstacles.

Romeo and Juliet Together (and Alive!) at Last by Avi
An eighth-grade production of “Romeo and Juliet” leads to romance among the actors.

The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood
When a boy joins an acting group in order to steal one of Shakespeare’s plays for a rival group, he gets distracted by the lure of the stage. Followed by Shakespeare’s Scribe.

Shylock’s Daughter by Miriam Pressler
This challenging novel translated from German explores the life, love, and motivations of Jessica, Shylock’s daughter in “The Merchant of Venice.”

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman
It’s a funny modern-day version of “Romeo and Juliet,” when the son of a mob boss falls in love with the daughter of an FBI agent.

A Winter’s Night Dream by Andrew Matthews
The link between this entertaining novel and Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Night Dream,” is that teenagers start falling in love with the wrong people.