Opening line: The noises in my head got louder. If you're anything like me, Shakespeare makes you cringe. His writing has been ruined for me thanks to many school projects and assignments about his work, so I never really think of going out and reading his books on my own. However, I really seem to enjoy adaptations (generally pretty loose adaptations) or modernizations of his work. In the case of The Taming of the Shrew, the only "version" of the story I know is in the form of 10 Things I Hate About You, which I'm assuming is not a very accurate representation of the original play.
I got an ARC of "The Taming" before it came out, and was pleased to find out that the plot revolved around a school's production of The Taming of the Shrew. As you've probably guessed, the story of the characters who will be in this play also follows a similar plot to the original Shakespeare. Let's dive into the plot, shall we?
Katie, an average, 'invisible' girl at school who only has two friends (and would blend into the wallpaper if she could) does NOT like being the center of attention. The one place she feels at home is on stage, where she comes entirely out of her shell and really becomes her character. Evan, on the other hand, is a spoiled rich boy who loves the attention of others and goes out of his way to be noticed. He's a new kid at school, and has gotten more attention from the other students in his short time at the school than Katie has her entire school career. When they both get cast in the high school production of TTOTS, they start to spend lots of time together. Katie's not like any of the other girls Evan has known (or dated), but he's as intrigued by her as she is by him. They start a relationship - one that is as intense and dangerous as it is loving and sweet.
This is the kind of book I'm on the fence about. While I enjoyed it - I read it in one sitting - by the end I felt a little underwhelmed. The story is told in alternating viewpoints, with both Katie and Evan having about equal page time. By being able to see into both characters' heads, it wasn't hard to guess the characters' motivations. I don't know if it was supposed to be a shock or anything, but I thought it was obvious enough so I'll say it: Katie is VERY naive and innocent, and Evan is a 'reformed' bad-boy who enjoys manipulating people.
I didn't like the way the characters behaved at the end. I find it hard to believe, as someone who went through high school with kids similar to these, that someone who has acted one way for their entire lives suddenly, in the span of a few days, has a complete 180 in behaviour and starts acting a different way. I don't know, maybe it's just me... but the two main characters, particularly Katie, were not as believable at the end.
I really did like how Katie became a different person onstage, though. I think of myself like that - embarrassingly shy in person, but the moment I hit the stage, I'm in my element. I can be whoever you want me to be, and will (try, at least) to command your attention while I'm there. Katie was exactly like this, and I like when I can recognize parts of myself and people I know in book characters. I also really liked the secondary character of Travis, Katie's friend. He was well-written and I wish he would have had more development over the course of the book.
Ultimately, I liked it enough. It wasn't my favourite book by far, but it kept my attention and I didn't feel as if I had wasted my time by the end of it. I wish there had been more humor, as it's based on one of Shakespeare's comedies, and some of the subject matter wouldn't be appropriate for younger readers. I won't be keeping this one (I have limited space!) but I'll be passing it along to friends, as I'm confident enough that they'll enjoy it.
SCORE: 6.5/10
IF YOU LIKE: Jane (April Lindner)
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