Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Alright, I love John Green.  For a while I worried that it made me too "mainstream" but that's just stupid.  He's a great writer.  I love his characters.  He makes me FEEL things.  I wasn't sure what to expect from Turtles All the Way Down, which is Green's first book in six years.  That gap felt huge and I worried that he would have lost his touch.  I can see how this was a hard book to write, though, and Green deals with mental health excellently.

Aza lives in her own mind.  She suffers from anxiety and OCD.  She is constantly worried about bacteria and the fact that she may not be a real person, just a fiction or a vehicle for said bacteria.  Her best friend Daisy is her opposite, outgoing and daring.  Daisy writes fan fiction and works at Chuck-E-Cheese.  She's saving up for college so when she realizes that Aza knows a missing billionaire's son, Davis,  and that there is a reward for information leading to the arrest of the billionaire, Daisy convinces her to paddle down the river in a canoe to Davis's property and snoop.  Davis saves them from mansion security and Aza and Davis start a maybe-more kind of friendship.

Aza wants to be normal.  She wants to be able to listen to conversations without falling into her own thought spirals.  She wants to be able to hold hands and kiss without thinking that the other person's bacteria is invading her body.  She wants to be a good friend and daughter and girlfriend.  Aza is trying but things are getting harder and harder and the spiral is getting tighter and tighter.

One of the highest praises that I can give to this book comes from my own experiences with anxiety.  Green describes this thought pattern so well that when I was talking to a fellow anxious person he actually told me to stop because it was such an apt description that it was going to give him a panic attack.  High praise indeed.  This book also made me laugh and cry and feel grossly romantic a couple of times.  Excellent read.  He still has it!

William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return, by Ian Doescher

If you have even the most minor knowledge of iconic Sci-Fi and/or action movies, you're more than familiar with the original Star Wars Trilogy: Episodes IV-VI (forget the atrocity that was Episodes I-III...and the obnoxiousness that was Jar Jar Binks...and whatever Disney is doing to continue the story that should have been finished when the credits rolled for Return of the Jedi). It's a well-known tale: Young man from humble beginnings learns, by fate or by chance, that he is prophecized to save the world (or, in this case, the galaxy) from a terrible fate. There's action, romance, comedy, and enough serious family drama to keep daytime talkshows in business for years. 

When you think about it, the whole thing is really very Shakesperian. If you leave out the Lightsabers, androids, and starships, the tale would read just like one of the Bard's plays.

Author Ian Doescher, a fan of both Star Wars and Shakespeare, thought so too. So he combined his two great interests into one and came up with William Shakespeare's Star Wars. That is, the original three Star Wars movies translated into Shakespearian plays.

The Jedi Doth Return, the third book in this awesome trilogy, wraps things up nicely. I won't get into the plot in this review (because everyone already knows it). I'll just say this book--and the entire trilogy--is pure creative genius! 

While in school, I had to read my fair share of Shakespeare, and I was never a fan. Sure, I enjoyed the occasional performances when I had the chance to catch them (usually for class) at a free campus theater, but actually reading the plays...ugh! The language was all backward and old-school and I'd find myself re-reading the same line multiple times or zoning out entirely. 

And I admit I had some reservation when I first picked up Verily, A New Hope (Doescher's first book). But soon I was so caught up in the story of Luke and Co. that I forgot I was reading--and enjoying--something written in the style of Shakespeare. I eagerly finished the book and dove into The Empire Striketh Back. And by the time I finally--finally--got my hands on The Jedi Doth Return, I was a total fangirl.

Maybe I should try some actual Shakespeare again... --AJB

William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back

Get the once more to a galaxy far, far away with William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back!

Lo--many a fortnight hath passed since the destruction of the Death Star (as recounted in volume one--or IV--William Shakespeare's Verily A New Hope), and our young hero, Luke Skywalker, and his rebel friends have taken refuge on the ice planet of Hoth. But the vengeful Darth Vader is scouring the galaxy for them. It is only a matter of time before they are captured. But Luke has a plan! Guided by the spirit of his late teacher, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke and his faithful droid R2-D2 travel to Degobah to seek advice from the elusive, but wise Yoda. It is with this great Jedi master that Luke will complete his training and learn the skills he needs to rescue his friends and maybe even defeat Darth Vader. But the evil dark lord has a carefully-kept secret that, once revealed, could disarm (heh-heh) our young hero. What will happen? Will evil win? Or will good prevail? Methinks you shall have to read this book to find out!

The saga of the original Star Wars trilogy (the only good Star Wars movies worth watching), as told in the style of a Shakespeare play, continues with The Empire Striketh Back. Fans of the first book will be happy to know that this sequel is just as awesome as its predecessor. Read it...and get excited for the third and final volume, William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return, due out this summer! --AJB