"I loved this madcap story! Cass is overdramatic, opinionated, and scheming — just like every drama queen should be. Stephanie Kate Strohm writes characters you fall in love with even as they make questionable choices, and keeps the swoon factor amped up deliciously. One need not be a theatre geek to fall in love with this summer stock romance." —Amy Spalding, author of Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys)
"What do Shakespeare, Clueless, and Punk'd have in common? This novel. Cass, a Springsteen-loving white actress from New Jersey, just landed her pre-college dream job playing the lead in Taming of the Shrew at Vermont's premier outdoor Shakespeare theater, which comes with the added bonus of escaping the aftermath of her parents' tumultuous divorce. Much as 10 Things I Hate About You does on film, Strohm's latest novel (Confederates Don't Wear Couture, 2013, etc.) deftly fuses Shakespeare's play about the battle of the sexes with pop culture and romantic comedy. Since the aforementioned play is actually performed onstage here rather than merely referenced, readers become audience members, drawn into the beauty of the Bard's language and the zaniness of backstage drama. A car accident becomes a meet-cute with a sarcastic and infuriating New Yorker, who turns out to be Drew, her leading man in the upcoming production. To teach him a lesson, Cass decides to "tame" Drew by playing pranks on him, much as his character does to hers. While the plot outcome is to be expected, a novel of this sort is more about the journey than the destination, and Cass and Drew's repartee makes the journey well worth taking. What this breezy novel captures particularly well is the joy of theater, which lets you "lose yourself in someone else's life." While the cast is not notably diverse, it does include many recognizable theater types. Lighthearted and fluffy, this is both a wonderful immersion in Shakespeare and a great beach book." — Kirkus Reviews
"Befitting her character, Cass's narrative voice has a flair for the dramatic, and the story is steeped in Shakespearean quotes and references. VERDICT: This is a breezy, if predictable, summer rom-com that will especially please burgeoning actors and theater aficionados." — School Library Journal
"The happy ending is satisfying, as are the moments when Cass and Drew start to see beneath their prickly exteriors." — Publishers Weekly
“A Shakespeare tale that you won’t want Cliff Notes for! Shrewdly funny, smart, and romantic. The perfect vacation read!” — Jen Calonita, award-winning author of the My Secrets of My Hollywood Life series
“Theater geeks and those who love them will adore The Taming of the Drew. It’s hilarious and romantic, and it needs to go in your beach bag immediately!” — Lauren Morrill, author of Meant to Be
“Strohm’s characters are well developed with witty dialogue, and the banter is laugh-out-loud funny. The story is laden with pop-culture references. Realistic language and situations are great for high school students looking for a contemporary read with romance and humor.” — VOYA
“The Taming of the Drew is a quick and entertaining read. This romance novel is perfect for older teens who are in between the teen and new adult genre. Strohm’s writing is witty and relatable. This book is a great balance of comedy, romance, and drama. 4Q, 3P.” — Gwen Amborski, Teen Reviewer, VOYA
“Can Shakespeare help a modern girl when it comes to relationships? When Cass begins her summer internship with a reputable Shakespeare theater company, she immediately clashes with her costar Drew. He is an obnoxious know-it-all who thinks he is too good for the rest of the cast. Incredibly, her roommate becomes smitten with Drew, and Cass knows she has to intervene. What if their play, The Taming of the Shrew, is actually a guidebook? What if they use all the Bard’s tricks to tame Drew and make him the perfect guy? And if they do, can Cass keep herself from falling for Drew as well? Cass and Drew’s back-and-forth is clever, and the theater camp is full of eccentric characters and hilarious drama. Readers who enjoy theater and witty banter will devour this modern-day take on Shakespeare’s battle of the sexes.” –Booklist
01/25/2016
It’s a theater geek’s dream come true: playing Kate in The Taming of the Shrew in a summer stock theater production. Cass loves Shakespeare, she’s perfectly cast as the ornery and stubborn Kate, and disliking her Petruchio is no problem: Drew is arrogant and pedantic, and their first meeting involves a car crash. Anyone who knows the play or has read a hate-at-first-sight romance knows where this is going. Cass—18, and fully in touch with her inner brat—enlists her roommates (cute-as-pie Amy and hippyish Heidi) in a campaign to do to Drew what Petruchio does to Kate. Strohm (Confederates Don’t Wear Couture) can be funny, but her supporting characters are one-note and often seem to be eccentric for eccentricity’s sake—not just the theater directors, but also an unlikely band of hunky skateboarders who work at a nearby skate camp and speak in semi-incomprehensible slang. Although predictable, the happy ending is satisfying, as are the moments when Cass and Drew start to see beneath their prickly exteriors. Ages 12–up. Agent: Molly Ker Hawn, Bent Agency. (Apr.)
03/01/2016
Gr 10 Up—Following her parents' contentious divorce, recent high school graduate Cass doesn't believe in relationships. She does, however, believe in the theater and is eager to begin an internship playing Kate in a summer production of The Taming of the Shrew in Vermont. Unfortunately, she and her leading man, Drew, take an instant dislike to each other. In the spirit of the play, Cass sets out to torment Drew, as much for her own amusement as to help mold him into the perfect new boyfriend for her lovelorn friend and castmate, Amy. Over the next two weeks, revulsion blooms predictably into romance as Cass and Drew get to know each other, both onstage and offstage. Befitting her character, Cass's narrative voice has a flair for the dramatic, and the story is steeped in Shakespearean quotes and references. At times, however, the plot seems a bit contrived, and a subplot involving a nearby group of pro skateboarders—and a rival love interest for Cass—feels unnecessary. The characters are largely one-dimensional, and the tidy resolution wraps up the central conflicts almost hastily. VERDICT This is a breezy, if predictable, summer rom-com that will especially please burgeoning actors and theater aficionados.—Lauren Strohecker, McKinley Elementary School, Abington School District, PA
2016-01-20
What do Shakespeare, Clueless, and Punk'd have in common? This novel. Cass, a Springsteen-loving white actress from New Jersey, just landed her pre-college dream job playing the lead in Taming of the Shrew at Vermont's premier outdoor Shakespeare theater, which comes with the added bonus of escaping the aftermath of her parents' tumultuous divorce. Much as 10 Things I Hate About You does on film, Strohm's latest novel (Confederates Don't Wear Couture, 2013, etc.) deftly fuses Shakespeare's play about the battle of the sexes with pop culture and romantic comedy. Since the aforementioned play is actually performed onstage here rather than merely referenced, readers become audience members, drawn into the beauty of the Bard's language and the zaniness of backstage drama. A car accident becomes a meet-cute with a sarcastic and infuriating New Yorker, who turns out to be Drew, her leading man in the upcoming production. To teach him a lesson, Cass decides to "tame" Drew by playing pranks on him, much as his character does to hers. While the plot outcome is to be expected, a novel of this sort is more about the journey than the destination, and Cass and Drew's repartee makes the journey well worth taking. What this breezy novel captures particularly well is the joy of theater, which lets you "lose yourself in someone else's life." While the cast is not notably diverse, it does include many recognizable theater types. Lighthearted and fluffy, this is both a wonderful immersion in Shakespeare and a great beach book. (Fiction. 14-18)
