The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life

by Dani Jansen

Thank you Netgalley and Second Story Press for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Alison Green has a lot on her plate, she's desperate to be valedictorian, she has a crush on the coolest girl in school and she's somehow been tricked into producing the school play affectionately named "Ye Olde Shakespearean Disaster."

I've never read a book centred around a play before and while I felt like there was slightly too much rehearsal for my personal taste, I really enjoyed this story overall. It was cute, funny and entertaining and I loved the casual diversity and representation. Alison struggles in a very relatable way to balance school life, friendships and a budding relationship, making mistakes along the way but working hard at making up for them. There was a few things I'd have liked more time spent on such as the final performance and the side characters stories, but overall I really liked it!