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That Way Madness Lies

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Member Reviews

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This is a collection of short stories inspired by different Shakespearean works. Some of these translations are brilliant. I highly recommend the short story of The Merchant of Venice for the classroom. It's powerful, We see from Shai (Shylock)'s view the generational trauma and daily trauma of anti-semitism that can drive a person to extreme measures. Instead of the "pound of flesh," Shai's legal contract demands that Antonio have his anti-semitic tattoo dug out if he fails to repay the loan. There's also an interesting little twist at the end. The Romeo and Juliet and MacBeth adaptations could work well in a class for a comprehension review or just so students get the gist of the story. Some like The Tempest are just fun, but don't really provide an overview of the play. A few of them unfortunately read like an incomplete fan fiction. For lovers of Shakespeare and Language Arts teachers, this is a worthwhile read.

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I was super excited for this one after the Poe collection a few years ago, but this one just didn't work as well for me. I might try it again in the future, perhaps it's just not right for now.

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As with most anthologies I've read, this was full of a Lot of Misses unfortunately. I don't want to review every single one, so I'm just making a few lists.

Favourites:
Taming of the Soul Mate by K. Ancrum (The Taming of the Shrew)
I Bleed by Dahlia Adler (The Merchant of Venice)
Elsinore by Patrice Caldwell (Hamlet)
Lost Girl by Melissa Bashardoust (The Winter's Tale)

I liked this but am unfamiliar with the original play:
The Tragedy of Cory Lanez: An Oral History by Tochi Onyebuchi (Coriolanus)

Honestly not a fan but fine I guess:
Severe Weather Warning by Wibbroka (The Tempest)
Shipwrecked by Mark Oshiro (Twelfth Night)
King of the Fairies by Anna-Marie McLemore (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
We Have Seen Better Days by Lily Anderson (As You Like It)
His Invention by Brittany Cavallaro (Sonnet 147)
Partying Is Such Sweet Sorrow by Kiersten White (Romeo and Juliet)
Dreaming of the Dark by Lindsay Smith (Julius Caesar)
Out of the Storm by Joy McCullough (King Lear)

I am offended as a fan of this play:
Some Other Metal by A. R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy (Much Ado About Nothing)
We Fail by Samantha Mabry (Macbeth)

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I’m a big fan of YA retellings and this anthology of Shakespeare retellings does not disappoint. Filled with a great selection of authors, readers will enjoy these even if they haven’t read the original material.

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That Way Madness Lies is everything I wanted in a YA collection of Shakespeare adaptations and more. Would I have anticipated that Coriolanus would make for an enthralling urban thriller? Nope, but here I am, riveted. My favorite part of this collection is how distinct each story is from one another, both in genre and in tone. I would read this 100 more times, and love it each read through.

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I love a Shakespeare adaptation, and Adler is very good at both writing and compiling some fantastic ones. A real dream team in terms of both the plays chosen and the authors who reimagined them.

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I enjoyed these retellings, some of the original works I was not familiar with so those were harder to appreciate I think. I think it would be fun to compare retellings with movies and the original stories. I love the diversity present in the retellings, I think it makes it much more relevant for a classroom.

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THAT WAY MADNESS LIES is an enthralling YA short story collection of Shakespearean retellings. With many notable authors on the docket, the book is divided into comedies, a sonnet, tragedies, and late romance. Each story has its own flavor, as per the different inspirations and the different authors. Similarly, the variety means there will be stories to suit different readers throughout.

Some of the stories really blew me away, and I would have loved to have read a full novel in their worlds. For instance, "Severe Weather Warning" inspired by The Tempest features a depth of character that I really enjoyed with a character dealing with her feelings about her sister, the boy who was her first kiss, and the tornado watch that is preventing her from taking her sister to the airport. I also really enjoyed "Elsinore," a story inspired by Hamlet with vampires. I'm a big fan of Twelfth Night, and I also appreciated the story inspired by it, "Shipwrecked," and I would totally love to read a whole book about Vi.

The book also contains excerpted texts from Shakespeare that add to the overall inspiration of each story and fun for fans of the Bard. Some short stories also include an author's note which provides additional context and was really interesting. There are dark stories, light stories, compelling stories, and plenty to enjoy throughout. I would highly recommend for fans of Shakespeare and short story collections. THAT WAY MADNESS LIES is a delightful and enthralling new collection.

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A wonderful anthology for fans of Shakespeare, and also for those who have never read any of his works. Each story brings something fresh and unique to the old classics and I found it perfect for reading slumps.

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I have stepped away from reading much YA, but this title is so good. Dahlia Adler's take on the Merchant of Venice is so amazing and there are many other great retellings, but...that one is just the best. I cannot recommend this enough.

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That Way Madness Lies is a solid short story collection of 15 mainly contemporary Shakespeare retellings. There are multiple genres present from science fiction to fantasy to magical realism. Some have new characters or new settings, while others go directions you don't quite expect. All in all, a very fun short story collection. There are even current pop culture references thrown throughout. Highly recommended to YA readers or teachers trying to interest teens in Shakespeare!

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Thoroughly enjoyable collection of Shakespeare's stories, reimagined for a modern young adult audience. The authors take the most essential elements of each tale and emphasize the timelessness of human behavior. The genres range from realistic to fantasy to science fiction and effectively include a wider range of personal identities in the character lists. Highly recommended for ages 13 and up, especially to anyone who teaches Shakespeare's plays.

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A fantastic anthology of short stories inspired by Shakespeare, with a collection YA authors almost uniquely suited for the task. I expected Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka's contribution to be wonderful (and it was), just as I expected to love the stories from Joy McCullough, Melissa Bashardoust, Mark Oshiro, Patrice Caldwell, and others. I was not disappointed. Moreover, I was surprised—not just be how great these stories were, but with the ways the authors played with their takes on the originals, including the formats they chose. I love that Joy McCullough, a playwright, formatted her homage King Lear here as a play.

My greatest surprise was Kiersten White's version of Romeo and Juliet, which was told entirely through texts. I was so fascinated that I read nearly the entire thing out loud to a friend over the phone because I couldn't get over how funny and clever and tragic it was—just like the original. I'd love to see 9th grade classes read this story alongside the play.

As with many anthologies, some of these stories were less successful for me than others—in part because of the writing, in part because of my varying levels of familiarity with the original text. Overall, a super enjoyable reading experience.

I received a digital advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Short story collections are hard to rate and not usually my favorite. I am wildly impressed with authors of short stories - I feel like it's so hard to build a vibe and create character connections and reader empathy within such a small period of time. They usually fall flat for me. However, That Way Madness Lies is a brilliant way to create a short story collection that is engaging and lands. Each short story takes it's inspiration from a writing of Shakespeare, modernizing and bringing a new perspective to the well known tales. There's a wide array of styles, from oral histories to stories told only through text message to more traditional narratives. Some stories are fantasy, some magical realism, and some contemporary. I enjoyed such a showcase of writing talent and reading fresh takes on well known stories is always a winner in my book. Would recommend to those who enjoy short stories, modern retellings, and unique writing styles.

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Did I like this anthology series? Yes. It wasn't as good as His Hideous Heart, at least to me. I don't know if this is the material being worked with - I'm not a massive Shakespeare fan but I like his work usually - or just the way that some stories went, but it felt like too little time spread over too many stories. The worst of this was the all-text entire retelling of Romeo & Juliet.

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That Way Madness Lies turns Shakespeare on his head while still maintaining the spirit of his stories. I look forward to pairing these stories with the text of the plays when I'm working with students!

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I loved this collection of short stories based on Shakespeare plays - the writing was so fun. Highly recommend for any library. It will help students and teens set Shakespeare - especially his lesser known plays - into a modern environment. Kind of like what 10 Things I Hate About You and She's the Man did.

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I enjoyed this anthology a lot, especially as a long time Shakespeare nerd. My heart was very excited for every single story in here, and though I definitely had my favorites I can’t say I disliked any of them really. My rating might change as I go through reach story in depth for my blog but as of now I really enjoyed the anthology as a whole.

My favorites were the ones that unsettled, make me feel floaty and out of my bones the way the best of Shakespeare’s tragedies did. Every story format was unique and innovative and I loved seeing how these authors made these stories their own. Even the formats I disliked or premises I wasn't drawn to I could see the merit in them, which I can't say for all anthologies.

All in all if you like Shakespeare and especially if you like analyzing and looking deeper into Shakespeare I would highly highly recommend checking out this anthology.

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Essentially a bunch of fanfiction AUs, this is a fun collection for Shakespeare fans who want more diversity in their modern retellings.

While the quality of the stories varies from author to author, I’m putting this at a solid 3 stars because most of the stories do depend on you being familiar with the original Shakespearean version; I found myself lost at times.

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I enjoyed this anthology. I would like to say it definitely differed from story to story on how much I liked it. Some were hits, some were misses, and some were just eh. If you're a Shakespeare fan and a lover of YA, I would definitely recommend this just for fun.

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