Review: Anyone But You

Book Three in the Twisted Lit series
By Kim Askew and Amy Helmes
Available now from Merit Press (F+W Media)
Review copy
Read my reviews of Tempestuous and Exposure
Read my interview with the authors

First off: don't worry about the fact that this is the third book in a series.  All that connects the books is the authors and the fact that they're all based on Shakespearean plays.  You can read them in any order.

ANYONE BUT YOU is Kim Askew and Amy Helmes' take on Romeo and Juliet.  In this case, Roman and Gigi are the heirs to competing Italian restaurants.  The book switches back in forth through time, telling the story of Gigi and Roman's romance as well as the history of their families' feud, which started with two boys (Nick and Benny) and a girl (Stella).

Honestly, Romeo and Juliet is not my favorite play by any stretch of the imagination.  And I was never fully into the romance.  There's nothing wrong with Gigi and Roman, but they meet, find each other cute, start dating.  It doesn't span that much more time than the original either.

On the other hand, I love love loved the flashback story.  You've got the World's Fair, two best friends sticking by each other no matter what, ambition, love, jealousy, war . . . I'd have happily read an entire book just about Nick, Benny, and Stella.  I particularly liked how my sympathies shifted throughout as more became clear about the characters and their actions.  It was also so tense since the future parts were there and thus it clearly has to go terribly awry at some point.  (And, oh, how it did.)

ANYONE BUT YOU doesn't reinvent the forbidden-romance wheel, but it does keep it rolling along nicely.  While I am enjoying the Twisted Lit series, the past parts do bode well for when Askew and Helmes venture out into other projects.

Anyone But You Cover Reveal and Giveaway

I'm a little late posting this; please forgive me. 

I am a fan of Amy Helmes and Kim Askew's Twisted Lit series, in which they modernize Shakespeare in very loose adaptations.  First came TEMPESTUOUS, a take on The Tempest, and then EXPOSURE, a take on Macbeth.

When I interviewed Kim and Amy in December, this is what they had to say about the series:
"We didn’t want to do a paint-by-numbers retelling of the plays, where we followed the story to the letter, only reworked it into a modern setting. As writers, that didn’t appeal to us. Instead, we use the Bard’s works as a springboard of sorts and let the story take its own trajectory while still incorporating each play’s iconic themes, symbols, characters and major plot twists. We allow ourselves a lot of freedom in that sense."

Here's the cover and blurb of ANYONE BUT YOU, coming out in January 18, 2014 and currently available to preorder:

Two Italian restaurants, both alike in dignity, in Chicago’s Little Italy where we lay our scene... After her family’s struggling eatery, Cap’s, falls prey to another of the Monte clan’s vicious and destructive pranks, sixteen-year-old Gigi Caputo finds herself courting danger during a clandestine encounter with Roman Monte, the very boy whose relatives have brought her family such grief. When the daughter and son of these two warring factions fall for each other, their quest to mend this bitter family feud turns out to be a recipe for disaster. Their story is irrevocably linked to the summer of 1933, when two twelve-year-olds, Benny and Nick, hop the turnstile at the Chicago World’s Fair. While enjoying some of the fair’s legendary amusements, Nick has a “love at first sight” encounter with Stella, a young girl who unintentionally causes a lasting rift between the two boyhood pals. Deftly winding its way through past and present day, this modern take on Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet has much to do with hate — but more with love.

 

I have one signed copy of EXPOSURE to giveaway.  Since I'm late, this will be a quickie contest.  First person with a U.S. address to comment on this post gets it.  Please leave an email address so that I can reach you to get you your prize.

Guest Post: Kim Askew and Amy Helmes Offering Tuckerization!

In honor of William Shakespeare’s birthday (celebrated on April 23), authors Kim Askew and Amy Helmes, have dropped by with a guest blog post to announce a special contest!

Get A “Twisted Lit” Character Named After You!

We reimagined William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and “Macbeth,” with our “compulsively readable” YA books, Tempestuous (my review) and Exposure (my review). Ever since the novels were published a few months ago through Merit Press we’ve encountered a frequent question: Which of Shakespeare’s plays will inspire your next books in the Twisted Lit series?

While we’re currently hard at work putting our own spin on the Bard’s “Romeo and Juliet” we thought we’d look to you, the readers, to help us pick the fourth Shakespeare play that will inspire our next book in the series. Got a hankering for a new spin on “Hamlet?” Love to see “King Lear” get a YA update? Would you make much ado over our take on “Much Ado About Nothing?”

Go to our Facebook page (Facebook.com/Twistedlitnovels) and write on our wall to weigh in on which Shakespeare play you’d like us to revamp next. In doing so, you’ll be entered to have your very own name mentioned in one of our upcoming books (either as a character or some other fun reference). If you’ve always wanted to see your name in print — in a YA novel, no less — now’s your chance! The winner will also receive autographed copies of our first two novels, Tempestuous and Exposure.

We’re looking forward to hearing your suggestions! (And don’t forget to follow us on twitter at @kaskew and @amyhelmes.)

* Winner will not be compensated for use of his or her name, and publication is not guaranteed. Details of plot and character used in connection with the name as it appears in the book are up to the sole discretion of the authors. Contest ends June 1.

Kim & Amy

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Personally, I vote for As You Like It!  It's my favorite Shakespeare play.  For more information on the Twisted Lit series, check out my interview with Kim and Amy.

Review: Exposure

Book Two of the Twisted Lit series
By Kim Askew and Amy Helmes
Available now from Merit Press (F+W)
Review copy
Read my review of TEMPESTUOUS and my interview with Kim and Amy

EXPOSURE is a contemporary young adult novel inspired by Shakespeare's Macbeth.   Craig Mackenzie, our Macbeth, is on the local hockey team along with Duncan, and his girlfriend Bree Matthews is a cheerleader.  The narrator, Skye Kingston, has been friends with Craig since he moved to Alaska and had a crush on him for just as long.  When Duncan dies of exposure after a party in the woods, Skye remembers a cryptic conversation she overheard between Craig and Bree.  Almost instinctively, she protects her friend, but starts to ask questions.

TEMPESTUOUS, the first Twisted Lit novel, had very little in common with The Tempest aside from character names.  EXPOSURE hews a bit more closely to Macbeth, but it's often its own thing.  Which is fine, because it's a good story.  I noticed a few editing errors, unlike TEMPESTUOUS, but I'll chalk that up to reading an ARC and assume it was cleaned up in the final copy.

Skye's motives were hard to understand at times.  I can see why she didn't immediately turn Craig in, just on the basis of a half-heard conversation, but I'm not entirely sure why she sticks by him when he treats her terribly in the throes of his guilt.  At the same time, it's hard to fault a character for being loyal.  Plus, I loved the scene where they finally talked to each other about the things they hadn't discussed with each other before, such as why he dated the ambitious Bree in the first place.

Plus, I have to recommend EXPOSURE for its take on the witches.   Cat, Kaya, and Tess are three arty girls who crack jokes and see pretty deeply into their classmates.  They're wicked fun.  Actually, a lot of the characters who populate the novel are pretty fun, such as the guy who wants to go to prom with Skye and never catches on that she's trying to let him down gently.

I recommend EXPOSURE to Shakespeare fans looking for something lighter than tragedies, as well as contemporary fans looking for a bit of mystery and a hint of romance.  I hope Kim Askew and Amy Helmes have more modern takes on Shakespeare on the way, because I found their first two outings very enjoyable.

Interview with Amy Helmes and Kim Askew

Did you catch my review of TEMPESTUOUS earlier today?  Not only did I enjoy the book, I also scored an interview with authors Amy Helmes and Kim Askew. 

Amy is an editor of Soaps In Depth and a contributor to The Rundown.  She once competed against Ken Jennings on Jeopardy!  Kim's writing has appeared in various literary journals and magazines including Elle.  She's currently working on her Master's thesis.

Read on to learn more about Amy, Kim, and Twisted Lit!

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1. Modern reimaginings of Shakespeare seem pretty popular in YA right now. Obviously, Shakespeare is perennially popular--but what do you think makes his stories timely? 

What makes Shakespeare so brilliant is the fact that his works really do hold-up in whatever era they’re being read. When you cut through the admittedly challenging language and the historical settings, his universal themes of love, passion, vengeance, loyalty and finding one’s way in the world are so fundamental and universal. What’s more, the intensity with which Shakespeare writes--that heightened sense of drama--is also something that feels very true to the experience of being a teenager. And since many of his most famous characters were young adults grappling with dysfunctional families and falling in love...you could almost say he was one of the original YA authors!

2. How did the two of you meet and decide to write books together? 

Kim: Amy saw me shyly wallflowering away at a networking event, and befriended me. We immediately connected over a love of PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre. When I moved away for a couple of years, we started our blog, Romancing the Tome, to stay connected. We had so much fun writing it together that a book project seemed like a perfect next step.

3. What is your writing process? Do you alternate chapters? 

We get together and brainstorm a very loose outline for the books to get a handle on our characters and where we want the story to go. (Basing our plays on Shakespeare helps give us a solid framework). In terms of writing, we alternate chapters, and that’s what makes the writing process so fun for us. We love the surprise of getting to see what the other person has done with the story and figuring out a way to add onto it. Because we’re constantly editing each other’s work as we go, it helps us achieve that single narrative voice to keep the book cohesive. Afterwards, we sometimes even forget who wrote which chapters!

4. How did you decide which play to start with?  The Tempest is a fantastic play, but it's not one Shakespeare's most famous. 

Even though it was the second novel published, we actually wrote EXPOSURE (our version of Macbeth) first. It was dark and intense, and the whole idea of Macbeth’s quest to be king got us thinking about prom king and the lengths people might go to for popularity. For TEMPESTUOUS, which we wrote second, we wanted something that was 180 degrees different; something fun and light. The Tempest has some seriously unforgettable characters (particularly Prospero, Ariel and Caliban), and it seemed to strike a good balance of drama and comedy.

5. And, I must ask, which are your favorite plays? 

It’s so hard to choose, but Hamlet is a favorite... Kim, in particular, has a natural affinity for brooding types. We both find Macbeth absolutely fascinating, which is why it was such fun to adapt. And then there’s Romeo and Juliet; it contains some of the most gorgeously romantic lines ever written.

6. Merit Press, your publisher, is spearheaded by fabulous (and bestselling!) author Jacquelyn Mitchard. What is it like to work with her? 

During our first phone conversation with Jackie, we both were trying to play it cool but were TOTALLY FREAKING OUT. Definitely a pinch me, I’m dreaming situation. Lucky for us, Jackie is such a gracious and very nurturing human being. She’s been our champion from the get-go. We had our fair share of rejections early on, so as you can guess, it felt pretty amazing to have a bestselling author contact us to tell us she was in love with our books and wanted to publish them! We are forever indebted to her for that.

7. EXPOSURE is somewhat more faithful than TEMPESTUOUS, but neither follows Shakespeare's version too closely. How do you decide to keep certain elements? When do you decide to make something up? 

We didn’t want to do a paint-by-numbers retelling of the plays, where we followed the story to the letter, only reworked it into a modern setting. As writers, that didn’t appeal to us. Instead, we use the Bard’s works as a springboard of sorts and let the story take its own trajectory while still incorporating each play’s iconic themes, symbols, characters and major plot twists. We allow ourselves a lot of freedom in that sense. In TEMPESTUOUS, for example, our main character, Miranda Prospero, is actually a composite of two different characters from The Tempest: the sorcerer, Prospero, and his daughter, Miranda. In EXPOSURE, we tell the entire story from the point of view of Skye Kingston, who is our female interpretation of the Banquo character in Macbeth. We definitely turn each play on its ear, and that’s why we decided to name our series Twisted Lit.

8. How did your adorable book trailer come about? 

Amy’s three-year-old daughter and one-year-old son inspired us. We figured we could recruit a bunch of their little friends to learn Shakespeare and recite it on-camera. They did an awesome job, and really, who can resist cute kids? It may be a gimmick, but it’s an ADORABLE one.

9. What comes after EXPOSURE (January 2013)? More Twisted Lit books, an unrelated novel, separate projects? Or is that a secret? 

We’re working on a top-secret adaptation of Romeo and Juliet that we’re absolutely over the moon about. After that, we’re thinking perhaps King Lear or the Henry IV plays...

10. Give us your pitch! How would you convince a reader to pick up TEMPESTUOUS in less than 100 words? 

Tempestuous is a lighthearted adventure that finds our heroine, Miranda, trapped in a mall overnight with her friend and coworker, Ariel, a sullen boy named Caleb, and the arch-enemies responsible for her recent banishment from her school’s popular clique. If you like the classic teen movies Clueless, 10 Things I Hate about You, or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, we think you’ll love our book. Shakespeare-phobes needn’t stay away: While there are plenty of nods to The Tempest, readers don’t have to know the Bard’s works to enjoy Tempestuous. After you read it, we’d love to hear what you think!

Review: Tempestuous

Book One of the Twisted Lit series
By Kim Askew and Amy Helmes
Available now from Merit Press
Review copy

TEMPESTUOUS is the first book in the Twisted Lit series, modern interpretations of Shakespeare's plays by young adult debut authors Kim Askew and Amy Helmes, edited by bestseller Jacquelyn Mitchard.  TEMPESTUOUS is a very loose re-imagining of The Tempest.  There is a character named Miranda, in a sort of exile, and one named Ariel, sort of trapped by her guardian, and the characters are removed from civilization due to a storm.  But in TEMPESTUOUS they're stuck in the mall by a fierce blizzard.

(And yes, I did believe the mall would be open.  Mostly because I've worked in a mall during a tropical storm.  The store's only concession to the inclement weather was putting more umbrellas and galoshes on the floor since they were more likely to be sold.)

Miranda is working at the name-changed-for-fiction Hot Dog on a Stick in order to earn back the money she owes her fancy private school due to a tutoring scheme that went horribly awry.  Unfortunately the snow traps her with her ex-boyfriend and ex-friends as well as her coworkers.  She likes some of them, like Ariel, a sweet, goofy girl who happens to be celebrating her birthday.  Others, like sarcastic Caleb, she isn't too big on.  She and him just too alike to immediately become friends.

That would be enough set up for drama, but Askew and Helmes throw another wrench in the works.  The teens are trapped in the mall with an armed robber.  I kind of liked that it took awhile for the danger to sink in.  Everyone assumes the guy already left, plus there's an entire mall to play with!  It's not until someone gets hurt that Miranda turns her full attention to catching the thief.

I thought TEMPESTUOUS was a great deal of fun.  It's a short novel, less than two hundred pages, so there isn't a lot of padding.  I liked how the mystery and romance were balanced - there's enough flirting and interaction to make it believable, but it's the mystery that drives the plot and takes most of the characters' focus.  I also liked that Askew and Helmes managed a great deal of characterization - even mean girls Britney and Whitney get some vulnerable moments.  Miranda herself can be overbearing and too quick to resort to manipulation, but she can come up with a good plan on the fly and she has a knack for leadership.

TEMPESTUOUS may not be Shakespeare, but that's not a bad thing.  (Don't worry Shakespeare geeks, there are plenty of allusions to keep you engaged with the Bard.)  What it is is a quick, appealing read full of teen drama, a bit of action, a hint of danger, a dash of romance, and a couple of epic pranks.  I liked it so much that I started reading EXPOSURE, the second Twisted Lit title, as soon as I finished.