Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Book Review - Nothing Happened by Molly Booth + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon

In this modern retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing takes place at a summer camp, Camp Dogberry.  Sisters Bee and Hana Leonato live and breathe the camp life. Mostly because their parents own the place. Every summer, the pair look forward to the rewarding camp experience especially helping campers with fun activities. However, no summer camp is complete without any drama. Bee and her fellow counselor, Ben have romantic chemistry together but both are reluctant to ask the other out. While Hana is falling for Claudia but Hana is still having trouble letting go of her ex-boyfriend. Will the counselors be able to take the leap of faith and find their soul mate? Or will it lead to heartbreak?

I read the original Shakespeare novel several years ago. I can't remember much of the story but I enjoyed this dramatic retelling.  I enjoyed the drama-packed narrative but I couldn't stand some of the characters. They act very immaturely for their age and I felt like some of the characters were quite annoying. Personally, I didn't care for Hana, Bee, and Ben.  When Ben returns this season to camp, he wasn't on the best of terms with Bee. He accused Bee and Hana to having special privileges (best cabin) because they are the owners' children. However, when Bee and Ben were on good terms, he automatically took Bee's words at face value without questioning it. Whatever Bee said was the golden rule and law. Several times, Donald has pointed out to Ben, that he isn't being a good friend to Claudia. But Ben never did anything to change that, even though Ben claims Claudia is his best friend. 

I also found Bee to be a hypocrite, she bullies Claudia and then tells Claudia that she hates bullies. I felt like Hana and Bee were treated better than the rest of the characters. Like when Hana betrayed Claudia, everyone banded together to help Hana feel better and Claudia apologized first. I felt that Hana should have stopped acting like a victim and should have taken a proactive role in fixing her relationship with Claudia. Lastly, I found the dynamic between Ben and Bee very juvenile. Their initial disagreement was caused by something so trivial and escalated into something huge. Neither of them really wanted to own up to it. I found the part where Bee had feelings for Ben but acts upset when he doesn't show his feelings towards her to be annoying. She also keeps denying they have a spark even though they both admit they like each other. Overall, I found the book to be enjoyable and I look forward to reading other books by the author. 

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**


Title: NOTHING HAPPENED
Author: Molly Booth
Pub. Date: May 15, 2018
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 336
Find it: GoodreadsAmazonB&NiBooksTBD

This modern-day retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing takes place at the idyllic Camp Dogberry, where sisters Bee and Hana Leonato have grown up. Their parents own the place, and every summer they look forward to leading little campers in crafts, swimming in the lake, playing games of capture the flag and sproutball, and of course, the legendary counselor parties.

This year, the camp drama isn’t just on the improv stage. Bee and longtime counselor Ben have a will-they-or-won’t-they romance that’s complicated by events that happened—or didn’t happen—last summer. Meanwhile, Hana is falling hard for the kind but insecure Claudia, putting them both in the crosshairs of resident troublemaker John, who spreads a vicious rumor that could tear them apart.

As the counselors juggle their camp responsibilities with simmering drama that comes to a head at the Fourth of July sparkler party, they’ll have to swallow their pride and find the courage to untangle the truth, whether it leads to heartbreak or happily ever after.



About Molly:
Molly Booth (she/her/hers) writes books about Shakespeare and feelings. She's the author of Young Adult novels SAVING HAMLET (2016) and NOTHING HAPPENED (5.15.2018), both published by Disney Hyperion. In high school, she was a stage manager for three different community theatres, which almost killed her. She graduated from Marlboro College and went onto study more Shakespeare (twist!) at University of Massachusetts Boston. Molly is a freelance writer and editor and has been published on TheMarySue.com, McSweeneys.net, HelloGiggles.com, and various other websites. She co-hosts a Bardcentric podcast, Party Bard, and directs a lovely, hilarious, and fierce group of homeschooling teen Shakespearean actors. She also speaks and teaches workshops at schools, colleges, bookstores, book fairs, camps, and libraries. Molly lives in Massachusetts, where she spends a lot of time with family and friends, and the rest attending to her queenly cat and loaf-of-bread-shaped dog.  

Literary agent: Alex Slater at Trident Media Group.

Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of NOTHING HAPPENED, US Only.

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Tour Schedule:
Week Two:
5/21/2018- Magical ReadsReview
5/21/2018- The Cover ContessaInterview

5/22/2018- Dani Reviews ThingsReview
5/22/2018- Angelic Book ReviewsReview

5/23/2018- Blushing BibliophileReview
5/23/2018- Two points of interestReview

5/24/2018- Bookworm CaféReview
5/24/2018- Novel NoviceReview

5/25/2018- Portrait of a BookReview
5/25/2018- BookCrushinGuest Post

2 comments:

  1. I think this book cover is so cute. I don't recall ever making friendship bracelets as the two in this pic have.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Likewise, I don't recall even getting or giving a friendship bracelet either :D

      Delete