Reviews Posted: March 11, 2023
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Storygraph

I felt that this was a really interesting take and retelling of some of Shakespeare’s most famous characters.

I think highlighting different female characters who were often used as props to prop up the male leads was interesting. I loved that each girl got to tell her story from her own perspective and then look back on how she would have made her own decisions,

I also really liked that it was written in poetry but also had play elements as well.

This defiantly drew a lot of emotions and made me reflect on times in my life when maybe I could have done things differently.

I do think that there were passing issues at the start, but about 15 pages in things started to smooth out.

Shakespeare fans and individuals who are unfamiliar with his work can both enjoy this fantastic feminist look at some of his work. I have never personally been big on Shakespearean plays, though I know a little about them… enough to be able to follow along with the already established stories.

This is told in the form of a play, where the female characters of his can dissect the fact that, in each of these plays, men rule, and women must submit to their will. Instead, they decide to rewrite their stories.

The inner monologue and conversations between Juliet, Cordelia, Lavinia and Ophelia were so much fun to read. More so I think, than their amended stories.

This is a super quick read, and I highly recommend it because it was just a very feel good, empowering book.

In college I took a Shakespeare class where we read eight of The Bard's plays. I enjoyed dissecting and analyzing each one, but through my studies, I noticed the distinct theme most take issue with in his works: Shakespeare's misuse of his female characters.

This novel, told in poetic verse, scripts, and stage directions, gives Shakespeare's female characters the voices they were denied in his works. Juliet, Cordelia, and Ophelia are the focus. (The summary/blurb also mentions Lavinia, but as she was not given a chance to share her story, I would omit her from the mc list.) This novel reminded me of the musical about the wives of King Henry VIII, Six. Juliet, Cordelia, and Ophelia were each given the chance to share their story and then explained how they would rewrite it.

I really enjoyed this novel and it was a quick read. My one issue is that Lavinia wasn't given a chance to share her story. I understand the limitations of that to an extent, but it's a fictitious novel... you can do whatever you want. Lavinia wasn't given the chance to overcome her silence, and I wish she would've had that opportunity.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Penguin Teen for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well this was a super fun read.
I am pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this; devoured it in just a couple hours. The pacing was fast but perfect.

Enter the Body is the retelling of Shakespeare’s work through the eyes of the women- Juliet, Ophelia, Cordelia and Lavinia. It’s written as a play would be- acts included.

I have two favorite aspects:
1) The tap room where the girls have all of their conversations- and arguments- between their stories and
2) the ending. The dance with Cordelia and Lavinia was such a perfect ending.

Many thanks to Penguin Teen for an early review copy!

Gorgeously written and engaging, the prose in this book is on another level. I loved the intriguing perspective given to the dead heroines of Shakespearean lore. This was such a fun read and it even got my mother hooked and engrossed!!

Calling all Shakespeare fans, I’ve got a new book recommendation for you! Enter the Body is a play-like story where heroines of Shakespeare’s famous plays interact and have a chance change their story.

**Thank you PenguinTeen for this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

Written in a captivating novel-in-verse Juliet, Ophelia, and Lavinia share their tragic tales and then encourage one another to take back and rewrite their stories.

This book was not what I was expecting and I’m still sort of dazzled and unsure how I feel about it.

The first part really launches into Juliet’s more well-known story and then Ophelia’s, but what I didn’t see coming was when the girls stopped their tales to engage with one another. They were quirky, snarky, and committed to a better outcome for the others. Their voices were conversational and after the lyrical prose the sudden shift took me aback but it accomplished what the story needed to do, which was interrupt the original narrative. Shakespeare often used women to further the plot for the male characters and this story is a way for these characters to combat that head-on.

So for Shakespeare fans that know these tales well (or maybe those who only know Juliet’s but are willing to Google the other plays) this is a thought-provoking story of taking back the narrative of one’s own story, one I think you’d very much enjoy.

An absolute masterpiece. Stirring, unique, beautifully written, intelligent, thoughtful. There quite simply aren't enough positive adjectives in the English language.

This was just such a special book and I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to read it.

What if Shakespeare's plays were written by the women within them? What if all the compelling and incredible female characters who ended their stories as brutalized casualties of the men around them could come together? What if they could speak, comfort each other, and tell their own stories, in their own ways? Enter the Body puts the young women of Shakespeare in a room together, and gives them the voice and agency they've been denied for so long.

I am such a Joy McCullough fan at this point, and I loved Enter the Body. Being in a room with so many characters who I've always loved and always felt deserved better, and getting to explore THEIR minds, THEIR feelings, and what would have been different if THEY had been in charge of the story, was such an emotionally satisfying experience. It was so vindicating to see these characters finally allowed to speak out against the injustices and traumas they experienced, find community and healing with each other, and rewrite their stories in their own voice. I loved the somewhat literary and meta aspects of this book, with the characters being very aware that are fictional, and aware that they were written by a man, and I loved that they each had their own personal opinions on what makes a good story, and how much that should matter when re-writing their own. My only complaint is that the dialogue section, where the characters are talking to each other under the stage, have a kind of corny and gimmicky tone, that really doesn't resonate with the beauty and gravity of the verse sections of the book. Even so, I think Enter the Body satisfies a craving that I've always had, and does so in a really clever and heartfelt way.

*Thank you Penguin Teen for the ARC!

sadly i ended up dnf'ing this book, I found it a bit lacking the concept was wonderful and I wished I enjoyed it more but I couldn't seem to get through it

I love hearing familiar stories through a new perspective, particularly when it is the women's perspective. This book had beautiful writing, was fast-paced, and was wonderfully creative. I really enjoyed reading it!

"Enter the Body" is a phenomenal story in verse about the women in Shakespeare's plays. The women are in the trap room below the stage after they've made their brutal exits, and they decide to tell and then rewrite their own stories. The story structure is reminiscent of "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" by Tom Stoppard.

From the author's note: "I believe we can love things and also examine where they fall short."

The author has done that so well here. Her love for Shakespeare is obvious in this book, but she delivers a feminist retelling that points out the problems in the plays as well as the literary canon generally. She traces the development of how women are portrayed in his plays chronologically, which highlights his growth as an author. Many women appear in the book, but Cordelia, Ophelia, Juliet, and Lavinia are the stars. I liked the characters she chose, the personalities she chose, and how they changed their stories.

This book is a new favorite. I will reread it again and again, and I recommend it to everyone who is interested in revisiting classics with a critical eye.

Joy McCullough takes female leads in some of Shakespeare's popular titles and tells their stories like no one has or ever heard. Beyond the trap door of the stage we met and hear from some of his dead female leads and what they wish us to know about them and their lives. A perfect companion to any of Shakespeare's plays, Enter The Body is a wonderful novel in verse re-telling of female lives of his characters and how they would have wanted to be written.

The way this book was written is so well done. It's a mixture of verse and prose, and I loved it. I also loved the way the heavy topics were approached, and the way the characters told their stories.

This was such an interesting and quick read and one you should definitely pick up if you are a fan of Shakespeare. It's written in quite a unique way, with part play and part prose. This book is all about the women taking back their stories, and rewriting them so they may have the ending of their own devise.
I enjoyed how you got each characters perspective of their events in their stories, how they would have changed their future. You get to share their struggles, joy, love, tears and laughs.

I loved the writing style of the book. The mixture between a script style and and a Shakespeare style was so different and intriguing, and I simply loved the idea and execution of this book. I didn’t know much about some of the women, so it was so cool to hear about their stories and a possible reimagined version from their point of view.

Enter the Body was a phenomenal reimagining of some of Shakespeare's classics. I loved how it gave Juliet, Cordelia, and Ophelia a chance to tell their own stories. The writing was so poetic and beautiful, and has me itching to reread some Shakespeare.

If you’re a Shakespeare fan, you’ll love this book. I highly enjoyed the alternate stories, and the way even in death these girls bare their souls. I really loved Juliet’s point of view.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What if the famous female characters of Shakespeare's plays existed outside of their stage performances? And what if they weren't happy with the way their stories were told? Enter the Body poses those questions in a fun remix of those classic female characters taking back their trauma and creating narratives where they had rights and agency. Told through the perspectives of Juliet, Cornelia, and Ophelia, Shakespeare's treatment of women in scrutinized in between performances under the trapdoor where all of his female characters exist. Their mistreatment is apparent from the beginning as none can interact with the others, too absorbed in their own trauma to realize they are in a limbo state. The younger girls, however, find each other and tell their stories, working through the pain together. Lavinia is also present, but her tragic state leaves her unable to convey her tale, much to the dismay of her peers. The stories are told in such a way that the reader does not need to have read Shakespeare before.

While previous knowledge may enhance the reading, the characters share their lives in a way that recontextualizes them. The work is packed with emotion and is beautifully structured. The use of meter and rhyme pay homage to their original works, and reveal the characters' mental blocks. The retellings can get a little repetitive, but the characters call them out. This would be both fun and challenging as a read-aloud or as a book group choice. In the vein of the musical Six or Hamilton, this is a retelling that will make the reader critically think about the importance of storytelling, the validity of "classics" and the power of communal healing.

What a unique, clever, heartbreaking look at Shakespeare's leading ladies. I loved the passion, heartache, and overall theater vibe that this held and how the women all came together. It really puts in perspective what each of them went through and how much they had in common. I've never read anything quite like this before, and not sure I ever will again. I highly recommend it if you're a fan of the Bard, retellings, and strong female leads.

This was great. I really love everything I've read from Joy McCullough, and this was no exception. Cordelia's story especially I loved and found the most powerful for me personally. But I think the beauty of this book is so many people will be able to see themselves in these girls.