by Joy McCullough
Dutton Books
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
2023
320 pages
ISBN: 9780593406755
Told in a series of stage directions and lines from the script as well as sections in verse, Enter the Body is unlike any YA book out there. If you like plays and poetry, this is the read for you.
Based on several of Shakespeare's most famous plays, the leading ladies take the stage in this well-imagined tale of woe, greed, hate, love, violence and jealousy. Each tragic death (and life) is told by the girls. This is their story after all. Shakespeare merely told it from his point of view.
The girls take control telling the reader what actually happened to each of them: Juliet, Cordelia, Ophelia and Lavinia who cannot tell her story as her tongue and hands have been cut off in her story. She represents perhaps those who have been so hurt, physically and mentally, that they cannot tell their own stories.
There is a content warning of possible triggers for some readers before page one that although none of the violence, death or suicide happens in these pages, they are a part of Shakespeare's works. McCullough does a good job of reimagining what truly happened to each character and gives the women their voices. They step to center stage and take their power.
Readers who are familiar with Shakespeare and especially theater and drama will love this book. Without any background knowledge of the women of Shakespeare, it may be tough for the less seasoned reader to enjoy. This is not to say, don't try it. Try it and learn something new. Then go and read the bard's works referred to in the book.
Grades 8 and up and especially for drama and poetry fans.
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