Honestly I don’t have an interest in reading this book anymore and I want to be more selective with what I request.

"The thing about best friends is that they know how you're feeling just by looking at your face even if you think you're doing a good job of hiding your emotions."

This is one of those arcs that have been sitting on my unread shelf for far too long. I have been working to listen to some of the arcs I have piling up if only to increase my percentage on NetGalley. I'm pretty sure this was one of those books that I requested based on the cover alone. I think had I read the description, I would not have requested this book because it... wasn't great. On the outside, this seems like a book I would like: a young adult contemporary romance. I love those books. This one? Not so much.

Alison is working hard to be this year's valedictorian. She somehow gets roped into directing and producing the school's play of A Midsummer Night's Dream. This is where the story lost me. What school in their right mind allows a high school student to direct and produce a play without any help from an adult? Teachers cannot just hand off their extracurricular duties to a student because they don't want to do them. From here, the story just got more and more ridiculous. The story also wasn't written that well. I found myself laughing out loud more often than I care to admit over how bad the similes and other descriptions were. They were not good.

I did appreciate that this book had some positive LGBTQ+ representation. While I wish Alison and Charlotte had better communication skills (um neither one of them knows if they broke up or not?) it was nice to see this relationship grow naturally. I also enjoyed Alison's relationship with her best friends, although even their relationship was laughable at times.

Overall, this one is one to skip. There are plenty of other well-written contemporary romance stories that won't make you laugh with how poorly they're written.

TW: mentions of a homophobic parent, loss of a loved one, online bullying

**Thank you to NetGalley and Second Story Press for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life turned out to be a pretty funny book. The book is your typical rom com with a high school backdrop focusing on the the school play.

I found the main character to be extremely relatable with her determination to do everything and be the best in school, as well as being SUPER awkward around her crush.

I appreciated the inclusion and representation of different LGBTQ+ orientations. The main character is a lesbian, her love interest is pansexual, and there are a couple gay side characters. What's particularly interesting is that all the different characters have different experiences with their sexuality.

There wasn't a ton of character depth, but despite that, the story was still enjoyable, especially for those who participated in theater. A Midsummer's Night Dream is one of the few works by Shakespeare that I actually know, so I was kind of hoping for the play to be included a little more in the story.

Simply perfect!

I knew I was going to fall in love with this book the moment that I read the title and it absolutely blew me away. I loved everything from the characters, to the atmosphere, to the plot. Every aspect of this book came together to form this wonderful book that I wish I had read as a teenager and that I think will be really important to many teenagers today.

The characters are all really well rounded and individual, but they have some great dynamics and friendships. They are not perfect, they make mistakes and have to deal with the consequences of their actions, and they really show that this is okay and that the world won’t end because they did something that they regret now, like accidentally agreeing to a date. Alison, the protagonist, in particular shows this with her dating misadventures and the hurdles that she constantly has to overcome with the production of the play.

I read the whole book in one day, almost in one sitting with just a few breaks in between, and it gave me everything I wanted. Sapphic romance. Great friendships. Shakespearean comedy. Appreciation for the arts. I honestly cannot recommend it enough

Shakespeare? Check. Queer? Check.
This book is one i recommend for anyone who enjoys some Shakespeare humour in their novels.

The year Shakespeare's ruin my life

This book was very kindly sended to me by NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review, and all I can say is that this was a light breeze of fresh air, a very fast paced and satisfying story, filled with a sweet perspective of a hard working student with the determination to achieve all her dreams, but no one can handle everything at once, school grades, school drama and your first love. This was full of humor and caos, but the most important of all was an extremely well written teenager guide to an every day student life. LGBTQ+ representation at his best, with Shakespeare's added to the mix. I recommend this book to all the young adults and to the LGBTQ+ community. My first time reading Dani Jansen's work and loved it. #TheYearShakespeareRuinedMyLife #NetGalley #bookreview

this book is... okay. maybe I wasn't the target audience, but, anayway.
what I liked
the rep (lesbian, pan)
it felt very true to what a regular high school experience is, after watching riverdale i'm always afraid that's how HS is going to be narrated but thankfully this wasn't the case!
short chapters!!!! love this!!!
what i disliked
allison is a bit annoying at times
the ending felt rushed and anticlimatic

This one really struggled to hit emotional or character based beats that I've come to expect when reading young adult.

The main character is sort of out as gay at the beginning of this book, by which I mean to say that she has told her family and one of her best friends. She pretty much doesn't see that it's any body else's business which, I mean, I get. It's a good premise. She's also running for valedictorian like it's the only thing that matters.

It's this latter trait I think which allows one of her teachers to take advantage of her and get away with not producing the school play because she knows all she needs to do is hand it over to Alison and she'll do it for her.

One might imagine that this would make Alison a sympathetic character, but she is so clueless to everything around her and hurts so many peoples' feelings that it makes it hard to feel for her when her own hubris is basically the reason why she gets into every piece of trouble this plot delivers.

Maybe there's an irony to be found in there, because it's basically hubris which is the cause of downfall in all of Shakespeare's tragedies.

Except, this isn't a tragedy. If she was slightly more self aware and considerate of others, she might value what an amazing younger sister she has, instead of blackmailing her for half the novel to get what she wants. She'd definitely listen to her best friend and not try to set her up with her other best friend to avoid coming out as gay. And the relationship she had with her crush probably wouldn't have fallen so short either.

I dunno, there was nothing bad in the writing style of the novel, and if I'd liked the main character at all, I probably would have enjoyed the whole book much more.

I've seen how quite average the reviews were on Goodreads before going in and after finishing, I can definetly see why. There was nothing about this that stood out to me as being the most memorable or groundbreaking book out there. But it was entertaining in the moment.

This book was definetly meant for a younger audience; like for older middle school kids. So, I know I would've enjoyed this a lot more if I was that age.

I will say I LOVED the queer rep and how there was a lot of it. Plus, the Shakespeare elements were enjoyable to read as well.

However nothing else about this was good. The main character felt very immature and the rest of the side characters all seemed stereotyped. This also featured a lot of "telling" and not enough "showing" which bogged down the reading experience.

All in all, not very memorable, but still enjoyable for the time being.

I recieved an e-galley from NetGalley and the publisher in exhcange for an honest review.

it's been a while since i read a ya contemporary and i'm happy to say picking this book up was the best decision ever!!
Alison was flawed and she struggled just like any high schooler which made her more lovable! because she kept trying to right all her mistakes and learn from them!

every single one of the characters was unique and made me root for them (except for the teacher he was kinda weird??)

I would definitely recommend the audiobook too, it was really good! i can see myself going back to reread it<3

Writing style was a little bit of a miss for me, not sure why something just didn't quite click, but still pretty solid overall!

I love Shakespeare and its multiple re-tellings. There's something about putting Shakespeare in high school that makes it super appealing and relatable.

It was definitely a fun read. As a big Shakespeare nerd, it was fun to see everything come together for the production, despite some typical theatre shenanigans. I would have liked the LGBT rep to be stronger. Wasn't a fan of the idea that you had to be out to be in a relationship. Also wish the author would have labeled the lesbian relationships and made it clear that being lesbian wasn't something to dodge. Other than that, it was a pretty cute and fun read that I'd recommend.

Thank you NetGAlley for the free earc of this book to read for review!

I was looking forward to this book as soon as I saw it announced. The queer rep in this story really spoke to me and while some people have said its a bit repetitive, I find that i was very relatable and enjoyable. It reminded me of some situations I found myself in when I was the same age as the main characters. I loved the diff tropes that I find in so many of my fave YA books and I can't wait to read more by this author.

I found that this book was def not for everyone but it worked for me and overall this story was enjoyable and I would still recommend it to friends

A fun and funny look for younger YA readers about coming out and being true to yourself. Sweet in the right ways.

i loved this book so much! the Shakespeare references are scattered all around the book and I definitely enjoy that the most! i also liked the portrayal of high school, it was really raw and honest and does not sugarcoat the weirdness or sort? I really liked the main character Alison too, although she is annoying and questionable sometimes, she is overall a very unique voice in the novel and I enjoy her narrative a lot! The ending was a little rushed and abrupt, that is one thing I wish the author would explore more but overall it was an enjoyable read! A light and fun read for anyone who wants a contemporary novel and loves Shakespeare!

This is a cute, YA book about a girl named Allison who wants to do it all. I enjoyed this book and all of the LGBTQ+ representation that it showcased.
I'm giving the book 3 stars because it was just okay in my YA reading standards. Parts of the book could have been left out or scaled back. Overall I think this book is an enjoyable YA novel that many teenagers would find very relatable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy of this book!

This title made me laugh. Even better, it made my daughters and some of my students laugh when I mentioned I was reading it since they found it relatable. While the title didn't quite prove true, it was still hilarious and a fun read. The novel starts with Alison Green drooling over the valedictorian trophy that's she's spent her high school years doing everything within her power to obtain. She even called the trophy store to find out the font that was used on it. So when she has competition, she has to amp up her game: she takes the role of producer of the school play despite having no background in theater and not being the biggest fan of Shakespeare. The novel winds up mirroring A Midsummer Night's Dream with all the antics and shenanigans that abound with mistaken identities and mistaken romances and date set ups. It works out in the end, but there is so much drama... both on and off the stage.
The social commentary on the education system and the literary canon sparked debate within the novel and hopefully with readers as well.
If you're in need of a Shakespeare fix that'll make you laugh - pick this one up!

Blurb: “Alison Green, desperate Valedictorian-wannabe, agrees to produce her school’s disaster-prone production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Her second big mistake is accidentally saying yes to a date with her oldest friend, Jack, even though she’s crushing on Charlotte, the star of the play.”

Meh. This was fine, but I’m not sure I’d recommend the audiobook. I wasn’t a fan of the narrator, and that can easily ruin a book for me. I hate to say I didn’t like the book because I might have had a different experience if I read it.

Thanks to @NetGalley and Second Story Press + ECW Press Audio for my ARC!

DNF 60%

It had some really good references and funny jokes, but just that. I didn't care about the characters so much