In this clever mashup, the classic tale of 'Much Ado About Nothing' collides with the modern teen drama of 'Mean Girls'. The result is a witty and entertaining read that blends Shakespearean language with the high school antics we all know too well. If you enjoy sharp humour, teenage drama, and a touch of the Bard, this book is worth a look!

I read this book in a gloom phase, days after my dad died. My dad adored Mean Girls, and it seemed appropriate to honor him by reading this book.

This is a fun, silly romp of an adaptation. It does its job - it's silly, it's fun. It's not particularly deep, and I'm sure a Shakespeare scholar would describe it as an abomination. But for me? It was a fun read.

This was amazing! I LOVE Mean Girls. I can't say the same about Shakespeare. But this version of Mean Girls was hysterical and I'm dying to see it come to life on stage or on screen! As a school librarian, this is too advanced for my elementary school kiddos, but I think this book would be a great fit in a high school library and even used as a teaching tool. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

It’s a fun listen if you’re a fan of both Shakespeare and cult classic “Mean Girls”. I’d even use it to teach aspects of Shakespearean language for young students who need some exposure to the Bard. However, if you aren't into either (or want a serious read), then this might not suit your needs.

This Shakespearean retelling of the movie Mean Girls is quite good and humorous overall. Each character is strikingly represented and the author has the unique ability to rewrite popular movie scripts in the Elizabethan style of Shakespeare. In spite of the Shakespearean language, the high school setting and characters are portrayed well. I found myself laughing out loud a few times as I read, but Cady's plight also evoked sadness and frustration. I was happy with the eventual outcome and I appreciate the talent it takes to be able to write in this style. I didn't care for the bad language, even though I know it's typical, and some liberal views came through, especially in the beginning, that personally bothered me. Other than that, I do recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Mean Girls and similar stories, as well as to anyone who enjoys Shakespearean plays.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Mean girls, but with iambic pentameter!

Oh my giddy aunt this was hilarious! One hell of a great idea and what a fit! Mean girls seems like the perfect story line to translate into a Shakespearean play.It has everything the audience will want. "You go Glenn Coco" The best thing was the stage directions and the imagination it took to make this work so well.

I kind of want to see this come to life!

I received this book as an ARC in return for my honest review.

Ian Doescher does it again. After turning Star Wars into a Shakespearean work I was extremely excited to see this teen comedy become Shakespearean. A lot of humour comes from the lines being written in Shakespearean. However, the genius of the original film is not lost in this translation.
I highly recommend this to any teen that loves mean girls and HATES Shakespeare

This was such a unique and fascinating mash-up! A truly enjoyable read that I look forward to recommending to the teens at my library.

This was delightful. I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan, but I was super intrigued when I saw this on Netgalley about a year ago. I didn't get a chance to read it before it expired, so I went out and got a copy once it was published. This was so entertaining and worked remarkably well. Since I'm not a Shakespearean scholar, I'm sure there were a lot of things I missed, but I did pick up on a few nods to other Shakespeare works, which made it even better.

If you love Mean Girls and appreciate Shakespeare, read this!

Doescher did a wonderful job of adapting Mean Girls to Shakespeare. I thoroughly enjoyed this title that mashes media from different centuries and reminds us that, while we study him in classes now, in his time Shakespeare was pop culture.

I started reading this and REALLY liked it! However, I felt that reading it needed to be paired with watching the movie Mean Girls (even though I've seen it many, many times) for full impact. Since I couldn't read it anywhere, at any time like a typical book, I didn't end up getting it finished before the archive date. I LOVE the concept, but I'm part of a (maybe limited/small?) cross-section of people who love both Shakespeare and Mean Girls. My concern with buying it for the school library is that my high school students aren't comfortable with Shakespeare's language to put the time and effort into reading this.

I assumed you watched Mean Girls if you want to read this book. This is exactly like the movie (which we all love and quote from) but told like a Shakespeare play. It wasn't amazing but it was entertaining.

Never thought Mean Girls could get anymore funnier, but here we are! Reading the iconic characters saying doth, troth, and mayhaps with their dialogue really made me laugh, this book gives me a real good time and improves the story so much!

I loved this way more than I should have. Out of all of the Shakespeare ‘twists’ this, for me, is by far the best. It’s writing it almost flawless, while retaining the camp nature of the film.

William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Mean Girls by Ian Doescher is not the book for me. I found this Elizabethan language very hard to read, and I really struggled. If you love Shakespeare, you will probably enjoy this book.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.

The Star Wars/Shakespeare match-ups that started a few years ago (what, probably 6?) were fresh and funny, holding true to both individual storylines while adding some humor. Since then other renditions have come along, from Jane Austen to Lincoln. The addition of Much Ado About Mean Girls is at best disappointing and at worst unreadable. It was hard to follow, uninteresting, and only had a few funny/interesting lines.

Loved this adaption of Mean Girls! I pictured the characters while reading it and it made even funnier. Anyone who loved the movie, shakespeare and enjoys parodies will love this!

I was shocked and amazed at how well the words of my beloved bard melded into every line of Mean Girls. I laughed, I took frequent screen shots, I sent lines to everyone I could think of—this adaption is clever, hilarious, and so satisfying. The translated sketches are also a nice touch, making the Slam Book look like a witch’s book of shadows in a high school Shakespeare textbook. I bought a copy of this already because I knew I needed to own it for posterity, so that should be a glowing review. I will warn those who haven’t watched the source material enough to quote it—it’s for fans, not for newcomers. This will make little to no sense to anyone who doesn’t speak fluent Mean Girls.

This book should be required reading for all high school students prior to reading Shakespeare proper. Ian Doescher has come up with an ingenious method for familiarizing one's self with the syntax and vocab of the Elizabethan age. I've always been one to roll my eyes when I hear people pressure young readers to "always read the book first!" While I understand the sentiment this way of thinking, in my opinion, minimizes visual learners such as myself. "Much Ado About Mean Girls" does the opposite. The joke only works if you've watched the source material so many times you know it by heart, as do many of my generation. Having this type of visual context helps readers immerse themselves into the text in a more natural way. I sincerely hope this is just the beginning of a new series: "Taming of the Clueless", "The Merry Wives of Heathers", MacCraft"? The list is endless!

This is exactly what you would expect and I really enjoyed it. It tells the story of Cody, a previously home schooled 16 year old girl as she attends high school for the first time and encounters the 'plastics' - but with Shakespearean language and the five act structure. It was fun and accessible and just a really quick and good read. For anyone who struggles getting to grips with the bard, something like this would be perfect because the story is so familiar and the structure works really well. I will definitely be checking out the other titles in the series and am expecting to enjoy them all too! Such a fun time.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.