I identified so closely with this book - Shakespeare has probably ruined quite a few years of my life at this point. Highly recommend for a LGBTQIA+ friendly read. I devoured it.

THE YEAR SHAKESPEARE RUINED MY LIFE , is a cute, relatable, coming of age story that involves Alison, a wishful teen in love, looking for the right path…that may or may not involve a crush she has? Alison’s character brought me back to high school when we all had a crush in school. Everything time I’d see him, butterflies would flutter in my stomach, I’d make sure I smiled at him. There wasn’t an emotion that didn’t rush through my mind and heart. Alison was a very relatable character.

There was a romance subplot, which I always love. There are some reviewers who don’t think every story should have a romance. However, I’m different. I truly love when someone feels such a powerful force for another person that he/she/they go after their “true love”…it’s magical! I do have to say that Charlotte wasn’t as fully developed as Alison, BUT I still enjoyed her character. Alison and Charlotte made me think of Simon and Bram from LOVE, SIMON.

I was very happy to see some LGBTQIA+ representation in this book. There is a lesbian main character, a pansexual love interest, and other characters who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. There’s also Korean-American and Moroccan-American characters. I loved the diversity in Dani’s book. If you’re looking for a fun, easy read, and you enjoyed LOVE, SIMON, then you should pick up a copy of Dani’s book THE YEAR SHAKESPEARE RUINED MY LIFE. The book links are listed below!!!!!!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
This was a cute middle grade story. Well written and humorous. I liked the growth of the main character and the value of friendship.

though a bit juvenile, a good fun time!!! very cute and definitely something I would recommend to a younger reader who hasn't read a lot of young adults. All Shakespeare references were very fun!

I am sad that this book did not resonate with me. The word choice was my main issue. It felt like the author sat there with a thesaurus and just threw in words that are not commonly used. To me this is off putting, I would prefer common words with a good plot to than unusual and a boring plot. This sadly fits into that second group. I love the cover though.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

When I started this book it was a little slow paced for me but, it certainly picked up quickly and I fell in love with all the characters.
Al is a perfectionist who can't seem to stop getting in the way of other peoples personal lives and makes quite a mess out of her own life. Overtime she learns that she can't keep hiding things from others and needs to come out with it when she makes a mistake because not everyone is perfect.

I love ALLLLL of the LGBT+ rep in this book, there was a lot more than I thought there was and it just wove in and out of the book so well.

I am left with a question though....does she become valedictorian!?! I need to know!!!

Alison Green, desperate valedictorian-wannabe, agrees to produce her school's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. That's her first big mistake. The second is accidentally saying Yes to a date with her oldest friend, Jack, even though she's crushing on Charlotte.

To hop on the trend of fluffy YA contemporary, sometimes with an added sprinkle of LGBT+, I decided to give this book 'The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life' by Dani Jansen a go. It didn't disappoint in that aspect! In fact, I think it was just that. A kind of cute contemporary that dramatises what high school/senior school is supposed to be like aimed at a lower YA audience.

I like that it include LGBT but it is very middle school vibes. It’s not the best written as it is just middle school ish and I feel like I could write something like this. I like the characters they’re very stereotypical but it’s not too bad.

I can not comment on this because of my Florida Teens Read Committee but I did recommend it for our list for consideration.

3 stars


I think this book is not for middle grade book as there are some lgbtq representation in the book. It was challenging to read this.
I will pass this book a 3 stars as i enjoyed some of the important topics shared in the book.


Thank you for the lovely advance copy Netgallery !

The concept of this book was great and the author attempted to include diverse characters. But it's not true representation to hint at sexual orientation. Representation should be explicit rather than something readers have to search for.

2.5 stars

"The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life" didn't really do anything wrong and I really liked the concept, but it didn't really do anything great either.

Character-development is almost non-existent, seemingly important plot points are introduced and then never really resolved in any meaningful way and the whole novel seems like it could have done with at least another hundred pages to really feel fully fledged out.

I was excited about this one based on the synopsis, but it ended up being just an okay read for me, kind of meh. Great LGQBT representation, and a very accurate representation of the high school experience for a teen but this one just didn’t stick out for me like I had hoped.

My favorite parts of the books were things that made me pick it up to read in the first place — being based on a play, a relatable YA to read with my teen, a quick and easy read. I’m still glad I read the title but not a favorite of mine.

This was a short, cute read, and I enjoyed the overall story line. The main character, Alison, is busy contesting for the Valedictorian title, when she gets roped into producing the school play for her senior year. However, things turn out to be far more difficult than she could have imagined and she ends up having to question what's truly important to her.

Alison was an enjoyable main character, but I believe she could have been more fleshed out. In fact, despite liking all the characters in the book, I didn't love any of them, and I don't think they stood out as much as they should have. I would have liked to have seen more about each of the side characters and their stories, rather than only hearing about them through Alison's encounters. In addition, despite this being a YA book, it read more like a middle grade to me.

The plot flowed well over the course of the book and I did like seeing how the story progressed but I also feel like it was predictable, and a lot of it was based on miscommunications and assumptions which is a trope I really don't like. That being said, I did enjoy it and it was a quick and easy read, it just fell a little flat for me.

I was given this book as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

To coronate her valedictorian dreams, Alison agrees to help producing her school’s production of <i>A Midsummer Night’s Dream </i> with no previous theatre knowledge. She soon finds herself trapped in this commitment as she tries to navigate her feelings for Charlotte and an awkward misunderstanding with her oldest friend Jack.
With the help of some loyal friends, she manages to recruit fellow students for various roles in the play, as she tries to find her path in her last year of high school and successfully achieve what she has been working towards for so long.

The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life is a light-hearted coming of age story with a fast-paced tone, which makes it an ideal choice for young readers of the YA genre with an interest in lgbtq+ representation.

All Alison wants is to be valedictorian of her high school class. To that end, she lets herself be convinced to be the producer of her school's version of A Midsummer Night's Dream. But it turns out the job entails much more than was initially described, andAlison feels like her world has been suddenly turned upside down. Now Alison is juggling her oldest friend (who her best friend has a crush on) wanting to go out with her, while Alison herself is reckoning with a crush on the girl playing Titania, and trying to stop the play and her valedictorian dreams from crashing all around her.

I really enjoyed this book. Every character feels like their own person, and their relationships and struggles feel so real. As a theater kid in high school, reading this made me feel so nostalgic. Jansen really nails the emotions and experiences that came with putting on a play back then. Jansen writes so authentically about a diverse group of teenagers brought together by a common cause, and draws readers right into their world.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life is a fun read, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me.

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.

This book is all about a group of misfits putting on a school play of A Midsummer Night's Dream while dealing with all the drama of school life behind the scenes. The cover and title really holds true to the comedy and the atmosphere that Shakespeare's comedic plays possess and it was so easy to get lost in the world. I found myself constantly rooting for the play to go well, for the relationships to happen, for the characters themselves to learn and grow.

The main and side characters all give a really diverse look at teenagers and people in general. There are several LGBT+ and POC characters who contribute so much to the story. Their sexuality and/or race are important to them, but there are never reduced to this characteristic alone. The characters also show how diverse people can be in their interests, styles, priorities etc., but how people can still come together on common ground for common goals.

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.

I quite enjoyed The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life. It was a cute, fun quick book that makes you revisit your youth and high school days. Alison was a great character that grew and changed throughout the story. I loved to see her relationship with Charlotte develop though I do feel that at times Charlotte was a bit harsh on Alison. That being said the book had a lot of humour and good LGBTQ+ representation.