Hi there! I’m here to share my thoughts about a new YA contemporary that stole my little thespian heart. **And every day we are reminded that discrimination against marginalized communities is still a serious problem, so click here to find a compilation of resources where you can donate your time, money, or whatever you can to support these communities. I still encourage you to research these causes on your own to educate yourself and find the best way to lend your support.**
*Also, I disappeared for a bit because things got pretty rough mentally the past month, and I didn’t have all the motivation to get around to posting on my blog. I’m trying to get things in order as much as I can, especially since I will be traveling next month for my largest trip since the pandemic started. I’m a little annoyed at myself for not getting this review up before release, especially since I actually really enjoyed this book and my personalized pre-order just came in the mail the other day, but I am only human and am doing my best – thanks for reading*
So when looking through the new YA books coming out this summer, especially the ones from Wednesday Books as they’ve always been really kind to me with digital ARCs through NetGalley and I tend to enjoy a fair amount of their selections, I came across Long Story Short, a YA contemporary debut by Serena Kaylor. I thought the cover art was adorable, and when I saw that the plot involved a mathematical genius attending a summer Shakespeare camp and becomes friends with a bunch of theatre nerds, I knew I had to request it at once. This sounds like something that I would absolutely love and relate to, and, fortunately, that’s exactly what happened, and now I get to share my thoughts.
Beatrice Quinn is a homeschooled statistical genius from Berkeley, California who has dreamed of attending a prestigious university (such as Oxford) and discovering / solving new mathematical challenges. Unfortunately, when Beatrice shares the news of her acceptance at a disastrous dinner party, her parents express concern that her social skills will make living away from home, let alone another country, a little difficult. So, in order to prove to her parents she can make it on her own, she agrees to attend the a six-week program at the Connecticut Shakespearean Summer Academy, packed with a checklist of milestones to complete. Unfortunately, teenage interactions don’t follow even the simplest equation, so when Beatrice is adopted by an eclectic duo of theatre nerds and immediately makes an enemy of the son of the camp’s founders (does he have to be annoying, talented, and attractive?), she realizes that these six weeks may be more harder to get through than her most difficult calculus class. Beatrice slowly opens up and takes a chance with everything this camp has to offer, but will she realize there’s more to life than numbers and books before the final curtain call?
Ok so I found this book a bit slow to get into at first, but when things finally got going I actually stayed up late to read this a few days in a row, which I haven’t done for a YA contemporary in a long time. As someone who is perpetually socially awkward (and have always thought myself to be behind my fellow peers in terms of life events we deemed “important” as teenagers) I found following Beatrice as she slowly experiences more with the help of her new friends to be incredibly relatable. I can only hope that people like Mia and Nolan would adopt me into their friend group if I was in this position. Every introvert [if they want] deserves to have a duo of extroverts to bring them out of their comfort zone. I loved Beatrice’s back and forth with Nik, how everyone else can tell it’s flirting except her, and he’s constantly trying to get under her skin to elicit a reaction because he knows he will. I will say I didn’t particularly love their misunderstanding, but I can appreciate that it’s handled in a very age-appropriate way, and when Nik is eventually confronted with it he doesn’t try to deny it, just spends so many other times trying to make up for his ego getting the best of him. Beatrice can also be seen trying to cope with her anxiety, and she and her therapist devised a plan for her to recite the names of all the noble gases when she feels herself becoming overwhelmed, which I might steal and use in the future. It was important for Beatrice to learn that even though she comes to camp with a checklist of actions she feels forced to carry out, being a teenager and taking a chance to be a bit reckless for the night, having fun with her friends, feeling more confident and putting herself out there even when it scares her are much more important than any list, and it was really nice to see her character growth. I think anybody who grew up around theatre will appreciate all the Shakespeare references, lines, and accuracy about summer camp for theatre nerds in all departments, but I don’t think it’s inaccessible for readers who aren’t as familiar – the play they’re putting on is Romeo and Juliet, which I feel is the most well-known, and many other references are used in the context of a Shakespeare face-off competition. While the ending may have been a bit rushed and over the top, I still absolutely loved my time with this book.
*I know I don’t have to mention this, but I have seen some reviews that are unhappy with Beatrice’s characterization – they are neurodiverse and believe Beatrice to be coded as autistic, and feel as though she gives in to people trying to change her. I will admit I did not read Beatrice this way, as I related more in a sense of her suffering from major social anxiety, but cannot say that anyone’s reading or interpretation as incorrect. I did feel it was important to mention, so please look up own-voices reviews if you are concerned with the representation on that front. From what I could tell, the word autistic is not used on page, but in discussions the author does consider neurodivergence an important aspect in her main characters.*
In conclusion, I wasn’t expecting this YA book to steal my thespian heart in such a way, but I was a goner for Beatrice’s story – her blossoming friendship with Mia and Nolan, her playful rivalry with Nik, and her rough patch around Shelby. I’m sure teens will find something to relate to in Serena Kaylor’s debut, and I hope people of all ages can come to appreciate the terror that is summer theatre camp. Long Story Short was released on July 26th, 2022, so make sure to pick up a copy for yourself in you’re interested. *Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Wednesday Books, for the early copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*
Where to find Long Story Short:
Bookshop
Amazon
Goodreads
Storygraph
Macmillan
Serena Kaylor’s site
Thoughts About Things 