Books like Can I Stray — picked by fans

There’s no shortage of worthy graphic novel adaptations of Shakespeare, but Wimberly’s is a standout. His remix of Romeo and Juliet focuses on the supporting characters and moves the setting to 1980s Brooklyn. Hip-hop and graffiti culture commingles with the swordplay. Wimberly samples Shakespeare’s text in his dialogue, and he adds dynamic page layouts, vivid character designs, and evocative colors to reinvent the tale.

Frankly, I didn’t give a damn about anything else while immersed in these 1,037 pages – except finding out if two strong-willed soulmates would ever get over themselves and surrender to sizzling love.

Although I initially read GWTW because I’m a Civil War nerd. I knew Margaret Mitchell had once worked as a prominent newspaper reporter, so I felt eager to read her exploration of a nation’s divided loyalties that led to brothers battling brothers.

But my reason for reading the book quickly became something else. For me personally, Rhett and Scarlett’s intense chemistry drew me in so deeply that it overshadowed something as big as the War Between The States.

A comic novel from 1940, ostensibly a reworking of Romeo and Juliet set in the 19th century. Don’t Mister Disraeli is in fact a wild rampage through Victorian fiction and history. The only book I know of that’s influenced by both the Marx Brothers and JW Dunne’s An Experiment In Time, this is Alice In Wonderland as a history lesson and it’s brilliant.

I believe in starting things early! Children can latch onto creative ideas oh so quickly. Don’t ever think they cannot understand and love Shakespeare. Like most all things, if presented in a creative, interesting, stimulating way, children jump right into the ebb and flow of a story and are carried away as they engage their imagination.

Lois Burdett presents Shakespeare in such a compelling way. Children want to dress and pretend to become Romeo, Juliet, Lady and Lord Capulet, and the Montagues. Engage your children today in this delightful book with drawings created by children.

Ghost Bird by Aboriginal Australian author Lisa Fuller is a YA horror/mystery with a compelling narrative that delves into the internal conflict of identity on multiple fronts—scientific rationality versus traditional beliefs, being an Aboriginal person in a colonised land, and the weight of being the 'responsible' sibling to your more reckless twin.

The book's atmosphere is eerie, and I found the mystery compelling. It had me guessing as to what was really going on (a kidnapping or something supernatural?) until right before the climax. The descriptions of the unfairness and difficulties of attending high school resonated strongly with me (even though I have never been an Aboriginal woman, the school experiences were so realistic that they spoke to me and my memory of school).

At one point I was going to go for Romeo and Juliet as it is such a great study of young teens being in love with the idea of being in love, choosing the forbidden, and living in the moment/living without thinking (you decide!) no matter the cost. But then I decided to go for the Donne instead.

Donne would have started writing his love/sex poems when he was a teen himself and in an age when it was deemed normal that young people’s thoughts turned to these matters during puberty. Perhaps more than any other writer he can encapsulate in only a few lines everything from the most ‘out there’ and ridiculous persuasion used by a young man trying to get his would-be girlfriend to ‘do it’ with him (as in "The Flea") to a kind of ideal for love that seems as perfect as it can get, as… show more.

This is the screenplay of the movie that caught all our hearts. Until this film was made, most people imagined William Shakespeare as a balding, portly man who wrote plays that no one could understand then or now.

But in this film, Shakespeare is a (handsome) man, questing for love as well as a writer whose words speak to everyone’s heart. Plus there’s mistaken identities, subplots, intrigue, and Queen Elizabeth. What’s not to love?

A high school production of Romeo and Juliet isn’t the focus of this plot, but the book still makes my shortlist. The concept of a trans guy acknowledging his gender identity after having been cast as a girl playing the boy Romeo is profound. Dean questions his gender as rehearsals progress. By showtime, he decides to use the production’s program to publicly announce he is trans. Friend and parental issues arise, so there’s plenty of drama on and off the stage in this one.

Theater Quotient: Medium. Gender identity is the focus, but rehearsals and performances figure prominently.

One of my all-time favourite stories is Romeo and Juliet but since it’s been covered so many times before it rarely feels new. However, Always Never Yours is a strong adaptation of this classic as it provides such an original viewpoint. Megan is definitely no Juliet, she is the one before guys meet their ‘one.’ She’s used to never being chosen and instead focuses on her ambitions in theatre directing. However, to get into her dream college she needs an acting credit. Seeking the comfort of the smallest part in the play, she’s aghast to be cast as Juliet. I love a story that shows us the development of a character and this is a great illustration of that as we follow Megan’s journey of self-discovery and love.

Shakespeare’s tragedies resonate in most cultures because they address the human condition. That is why Romeo and Juliet have spawned West Side Story, many films, and Russian ballets. I personally organised the Joe and Zara workshop with a mixed group of teenagers working on a modern take on the story. The young people in this ten-minute video from the workshop are impressive. 

Othello too is tragic. Othello describes how Desdemona would come again ‘greedy –to hear tales of adventure sorrow and suffering. ‘She loved me for the dangers I had passed and I loved her that she did pity them.’ I relate to that.