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| Book #9 of 2009 |
| Title: Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs |
| Author: Ron Koertge |
| Publisher: Candlewick |
| Pub Date: March 9, 2010 |
| Grade: B+ |
| Comments: Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs is a sequel to Koertge’s 2006 verse novel Shakespaeare Bats Cleanup. Kevin, our baseball obsessed narrator, has begun writing poetry at the behest of his father. In this story, the central struggle is Kevin’s relationships with two girls: Mira, his girlfriend, who he likes a lot but has little in common with, and Amy, a girl who he has been exchanging poetry with online after meeting at a poetry reading.
I read Shakespeare Bats Cleanup when it first came out, so I didn’t really remember much other than I enjoyed it. I felt the same way about this one. Many verse novels read like prose with line breaks, but Koertge’s background as a poet leads him to write poems that seem simple on the surface but really use the form well. Kevin’s experiments with different types of poetry leads to a more varied novel, even if not all of his poems are equally successful. Kevin’s relationship with his father was a bit more interesting than his relationship with the two girls and I enjoyed the poems that focused on that the most. Overall a strong read for a sensitive teen reader.
Reviewed from ARC provided by Candlewick
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| Discussion Guide: Wild Geese Guides |
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