Tempestuous

Confession: The Tempest is one of my LEAST favorite Shakespeare plays. Also: I worked in two different malls when I was a teen. And that is why I really, really enjoyed this novel. I also thought the mall was at its most appealing before and after the customers were present, and the staff at many of the stores do tend to form friendly bonds. Here we have mall employees and several last minute customers stuck in a mall in the middle of a blizzard but the is much going on behind the scenes. Old rivalries, new friends, and a sinister plot are afoot. I loved this book for many reasons, but mostly because the writing is well above par. Once does not have to be familiar with the classic tale to become really involved, but imagine how helpful this would be to a teen studying the Tempest in English class. Major points for all of the pop culture references and great, modern slang. Not many YA authors pull that off. So, despite the fact that it is a retelling, Tempestuous feels original and new. It lost a star with me for some of the tangents dragging on for too long and not really moving the plot (such as Miranda's relationship with Brian), and as a vindictive move as I did not appreciate the “Jersey” comment (pg 154). Overall, I highly recommend it, and think this may make a great book club read. Thanks to Christi the Teen Librarian to drawing my attention to Merit Press, so far I have really enjoyed two of their titles.