Sunday, March 30, 2008

Spanking Shakespeare by Jake Wizner

There are a lot of bad names out there. There are even websites devoted to the crazy names parents give (or consider giving) to their children (such as this one). One name on that ever growing long list is Shakespeare Shapiro.

Shakespeare is a high school senior who feels the world is conspiring against him – starting with his parents – the adults who thought Shakespeare was a wonderful name for their oldest son. He has two friends – a guy who likes to discuss – and keep a diary about – his bowel movements, and a girl who likes to drink and who has a huge chip on her shoulder.

Seniors at Shakespeare’s school must write a memoir. Because of this, the novel is a mixture of the daily on goings of Shakespeare’s life, and the embarrassing moments in his memoir.

Mostly fluff and a ton of laughs, this book does have a few bit of seriousness added in here and there (teenage alcoholism, suicide of a parent). Definitely one written for the boys. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel – save for all the poop talk. I could have done without that (Ick. Ick. Ick)

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