William's Midsummer Dreams

May 15, 2011

Set in the quaint town of Gold Beach in the 1930s, this sequel picks up right where William S. and the Great Escape (2009) left off.

Eighth-grader William, his brother, Buddy, and his two sisters, Trixie and Jancy, have been living with their Aunt Fiona since they escaped the clutches of their cruel father and half-brothers. William thoroughly enjoys his new life, especially when the opportunity arises to try out for the role of Puck in a prestigious summer production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. After a spectacular audition, William clinches the role of Puck and makes himself an enemy in the process—a boy called Bernard, the son of the Dean of Performing Arts, who was sure he had the role locked up. A girl named Clarice, who is quite infatuated with William, insists on trying to solve his problem with Bernard and ends up only complicating things further. Finally, in an initially interesting but not entirely successful subplot, Jancy and William have to face the fact that Buddy is behaving like one of their half-brothers, starting fights and making quite the nuisance of himself. Nevertheless, the description of William's severe case of stage nerves and his techniques for coping with this and other challenges will resonate with readers.

An adventure story with a lot to say about identity, ambition and character. (Historical fiction. 9-13)

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September 1, 2011

Gr 5-7-In this sequel to William S. and the Great Escape (S & S, 2009), the now 13-year-old protagonist is living with his Aunt Fiona and has the opportunity to audition for the part of Puck in a professional production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. William is thrilled when he is chosen and wows his director and fellow cast members, but he has to contend with the son of the Dean of Performing Arts, his understudy who is trying to sabotage him. Clarice, who helped rescue him and his siblings from the awful Baggett family in the previous book, now has a crush on him. And worst of all, the Baggetts return to torment him. Despite all these challenges, William triumphs and as the book concludes, he is planning his next performance in Romeo and Juliet. The story takes place in 1938, but there doesn't seem to be any particular reason for placing it during this time period and, apart from some cursory references to 1930s pop culture, the writing doesn't convey a sense of the setting. The various typefaces used throughout the text, including a bold Gothic typeface for all references to the Bard and quotations from the play, are distracting and often difficult to read. However, the descriptions of rehearsals and backstage activities at the Shakespeare festival are highly entertaining, and readers will be rooting for William to be a theatrical success. A fun read that will appeal to stagestruck readers.-Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ

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