Such a cute ya coming of age love story. The characters are well written and realistically written. Loved the LGBTQ aspect of the story. Also it’s nice to read a story without overtly sexual themes.

I am no longer a teenager, but when I was I was deeply impassioned about theater. I only was in one play in my high school, but I was constantly helping out behind the scenes. We actually put on "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in both my 8th grade year and my freshman year of high school, kind of wacky how that turned out, so reading this was like being transported back to that time in my life. There is something about books that can do that, remind you of times in the past, that give you a pull other books don't so that even though you aren't that age anymore, you can find enjoyment in the story.

"The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life" is the story of a girl named Alison who is producing her school's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" so that she can look more rounded in her college application. It is a little bit odd that she was asked, as it doesn't appear that she had interest in the arts before, but she handles the situation fairly well, and very realistically from my experiences.

She gets her best friend, Becca and her sister, Annie, involved in the production as well needing all the help that she can get dealing with the ragtag group of misfits that is the cast of the play. While there are a few popular people in the show, it doesn't change the fact that it is still uncool and still just a school production.

I think Becca and Annie are my favorite characters, keeping Alison grounded and not putting up with some of her short comings. The relationship between the two sisters feels organic, and the friendship has it's sour points but can be really sweet and supportive.

Alison at times can come across as a little overbearing and annoying, but I am not sure if that is just from me feeling a little seen considering I was a lot like her in high school or if it was the way that the part was being read in the audiobook form, which at times came across a little grating though the narrator had a pleasant tone overall.

As far as representation, I can't speak much on that myself not being part of the LGBT+ community. I did find it interesting the points that she brought up how she felt like she shouldn't have to "come out" since people who are straight don't have to come out as that. The book was from the first person perspective so it made it easy to get into her mind and understand a little of how she was feeling.

Overall, this book was a great trip down memory lane and I think that a lot of teenagers could relate to this, especially if they are a theater nerd. It was definitely an interesting story and I enjoyed every minute of it.

**Thanks to Netgalley and ECW Press Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review**

This book was such a fun read! The year Shakespeare ruined my life is about Alison Green, who is valedictorian obsessed and agrees to produce her schools play in hopes of it giving her a boost in her quest of becoming valedictorian. Shenanigans ensue along the way as she tries, and fails, at playing match maker with her two best friends while at the same time attempting to speak to the girl of her own dreams.

I found this book to be the charming breath of fresh air that I needed after spending all of April reading books about loss and the heartbreaking realities of life. I liked how Alison was already out to the people closest to her and I really loved how Charlotte and Alison didn't end up together at the very end. Not many books feature the main love interests being together so I appreciated that they had moments like that, even if they weren't very long.

I found that there were alot of half finished side plots, especially with the whole Jack Becca Alison love triangle. Jack seemed to have moved on fairly quickly so it would have been nice if that plot line was a bit more fleshed out. There were also a few other side plots that had great potential but never really went anywhere. The story focuses too much on Alison with the amount of side plots including other characters and it felt like there should have been at least more focus on one or two of the side plots.

Overall a pretty good read and great for any seniors who are graduating soon! 3.5⭐