Loving Will Shakespeare

LOVING WILL SHAKESPEARE: Carolyn Meyer: Harcourt: Young Adult: 265 pgs.

Based very loosely on fact (there aren't many facts to work with), Meyer recreates Anne Hathaway's childhood with a tyrannical stepmother, her failed young adult romances, and her scandalous marriage to William Shakespeare (she was 26 and he was 18).

Meyer is an award-winning young adult historical fiction author, and she writes very nicely crafted stories. This is a solid middle school read with a strong female narrator. Most of the book focuses on the events leading up to Anne's wedding and then the next 20 years or so are condensed into a single chapter or two. A historical note at the end of the book explains the facts on which the book is based.

MBC