Spanking Shakespeare

"SHAKESPEARE SHAPIRO HAS ALWAYS hated his name. His parents bestowed it on him as some kind of sick joke when he was born, and his life has gone downhill from there, one embarrassing incident after another. Entering his senior year of high school, Shakespeare has never had a girlfriend, his younger brother is cooler than he is, and his best friend's favorite topic of conversation is his bowel movements.

But Shakespeare will have the last laugh. He is chronicling every mortifying detail in his memoir, the writing project each senior at Shakespeare's high school must complete. And he is doing it brilliantly. And, just maybe, a prize-winning memoir will bring him respect, admiration, and a girlfriend . . . or at least a prom date."

“The show more son of an alcoholic father and a neurotic mother, Mr. Shapiro endured a torturous childhood, made worse by his social ineptitude and uncanny ability to transform any situation into a full-blown catastrophe.” - Chapter - Senior Year: September

I came across this book while patiently looking through every electronic YA title provided by my library. No, I really don’t have this kind of time in my life right now but often my obsession over books (and Brandon Flowers) takes precedence over sleep.

Shakespeare Shapiro is your run of the mill teenager with a semi-dysfunctional family, sexual obsession and the belief that his life must be worse than that of anyone else around him. While working on his senior project, a memoir of his life called “17 Down”, he learns that maybe his life doesn’t suck nearly as much as he likes to believe.

Jake Wizner has a wonderfully dry and sarcastic sense of humor that is slightly reminiscent of David Sedaris. The story starts out with a considerable amount of humorous moments. In line with where the story is going, the middle and end are a bit more serious as Shakespeare begins to realize how what he has in life compares to what others may or may not have at all. Have no fear, the satirical feel remains through out the book along with a considerable amount of bathroom humor. I found myself laughing out loud more times than I can count.

The pure honesty portrayed in this book completely won me over. There doesn’t seem to be anything that Shakespeare isn’t afraid to share with the reader. And the things he does to purposely rile up his parents are smart and hilarious. It truly is a witty read that I would recommend to most anyone. So much so that I passed it around at the dinner table when we had friends over so they could read Shakespeare’s obituary (which he had to write for a class project). It was a huge hit and I easily convinced three people to read it right then and there. Honestly, what could be a better sell that that?

~Nat

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Spanking Shakespeare is the hilarious narrative of Shakespeare Shapiro, a talented high school senior who feels like the world is against him. His parents are crazy, his younger brother is more popular and has made it to more bases than he has, and one best friend hates everyone and everything while the other is obsessed with his own bowl movements. Shakespeare is obsessed with wanting a girlfriend and ridding himself of his annoying virginity. When Celeste Keller shows an interest in him, Shakespeare thinks he may have found what he's been looking for. However, it's Charlotte White, the mysterious girl lurking in the shadows that helps Shakespeare realize that there's more to hope for in a relationship than sex.

Loved, loved, loved this show more book! The only reason it took me two days to read it was because I had to go to sleep so I could teach the next day. Throughout the whole story I was guffawing, and if I wasn't guffawing I was giggling, and if I wasn't giggling I was smiling broadly. Shakespeare's neuroses and self-deprecating manner remind me of myself while I see connections between his family and mine. His plight of feeling like the last virgin in high school totally believable. His ability to describe his experiences and the people around him keep the reader hooked and constantly amused. Shakespeare's creative writing talent, and therefore the author Jake Wizner's, is best shown through Shakespeare's senior writing project. I particularly loved the re-telling of Noah and the ark. If you read nothing else, check that out. Highly recommended!

This book would be best for 11th and 12th graders. Although it will appeal to younger and older audiences, the themes of sex and drugs coupled with the use of profanity makes it better suited to a more mature audience. High school boys and girls will find it equally amusing. Boys will enjoy the male perspective of high school and girls will appreciate the insight into the mind of high school boys. show less

Think coming-of-age story for the 21st century. Think Diary of a Wimpy Kid for the mature teen. Think self-deprecating humour by a misfit, that has developed a cult following. Add these all up and you’ve got this hilarious, laugh-out-loud, quick witted novel, Spanking Shakespeare.

Shakespeare has the terrible misfortune of having a father who drinks too much, a nagging mother who is constantly pushing him towards a therapist’s couch, and a brother named Gandhi with a propensity to be malicious. Sound like the end of the world? Well, it’s not, and deep down inside he knows it’s not. But being a teenager full of angst, it is Shakespeare’s dutiful responsibility to wallow in his own self-pity and blame anyone and everyone for the show more continuous catastrophes that make up his life. In this regard Wizner does an outstanding job of capturing the essence of the teenage psyche. Shakespeare is the downtrodden victim representing all 17 year old boys and their dilemmas with popularity, prom, girlfriends, sexual frustration, et cetera, et cetera.

My only contention with this story is its blatant disrespect of religion, as its sacrilege in the last few chapters was a little unsettling, and even seemed unnecessary. My best guess is that Wizner has some pent-up anger resulting from the circumcision of his member, and has been viciously seeking revenge against God and the covenant as a result. Once I got passed that, I could admit that this was quite an enjoyable book overall, and it’s sure to be appreciated by any teen 16 and up, boy or girl.

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This YA book was one my daughter was reading, and accidentally left behind at Thanksgiving - that, of course, mom had to pick up. No such thing as an abandoned book at my house. Shakespeare Shapiro hates the name his unusual parents have burdened him with and blames the name for many of the miseries he has faced in his life. We meet him in high school as he is writing his senior year assignment of writing a memoir of his life so far. His memoir is the book. It is charming, insightful and witty, containing just enough touching moments to make it real. I can certainly see the appeal of this book for an older teen, but I liked it very much as well.

When I saw the title of this book, I immediately let loose with one of those Beavis and Butthead snort-laughs. Then I saw the words "lewd," "hilarious," and "vulgar" on the front and back cover and knew it had to be mine. If only I had ended my relationship with this book there because the funniest thing about the novel is the title.

The novel was, as promised, crude. However, it failed to deliver on the hilarious part. When one is dealing with bathroom/sexual humor, there's a fine line between being funny (like American Pie) and just being disgusting (like Larry the Cable Guy). A willingness to talk about defecation and erections does not automatically humor make. Sure, there were a few amusing moments, but very few. Also, I didn't show more relate to the characters at all. They seemed flat and one dimensional, especially Shakespeare's friends. Shakespeare himself seems a stereotype--a self-pitying wannabe writer who is a senior in a high school the likes of which I cannot imagine existing (Hemingway High, where students are apparently allowed to write about their embarrassing encounters with sex and porn in the school newspaper and teachers are allowed to constant refer to their left testicle). In the end, I just didn't care about Shakespeare and his struggle with his hormones. Also, I had trouble buying that he was a talented writer as his writing assignments (scattered throughout the book) were mediocre at best. The nice thing about the book is that he does mature by the end and learns to care about someone other than himself. Too bad I never cared about him. show less

Humorous and with a distinctive voice, this book was a quick read that made me laugh out loud (and even read a few excerpts aloud to the people around me). I feel like the author kept hinting that the themes may take a turn for the deeper at some point, so I was kind of disappointed when it didn't go much beneath the surface, but overall a hilarious ride with a very likeable character.

Think coming-of-age story for the 21st century. Think Diary of a Wimpy Kid for the mature teen. Think self-deprecating humour by a misfit, that has developed a cult following. Add these all up and you’ve got this hilarious, laugh-out-loud, quick witted novel, Spanking Shakespeare.

Shakespeare has the terrible misfortune of having a father who drinks too much, a nagging mother who is constantly pushing him towards a therapist’s couch, and a brother named Gandhi with a propensity to be malicious. Sound like the end of the world? Well, it’s not, and deep down inside he knows it’s not. But being a teenager full of angst, it is Shakespeare’s dutiful responsibility to wallow in his own self-pity and blame anyone and everyone for the show more continuous catastrophes that make up his life. In this regard Wizner does an outstanding job of capturing the essence of the teenage psyche. Shakespeare is the downtrodden victim representing all 17 year old boys and their dilemmas with popularity, prom, girlfriends, sexual frustration, et cetera, et cetera.

My only contention with this story is its blatant disrespect of religion, as its sacrilege in the last few chapters was a little unsettling, and even seemed unnecessary. My best guess is that Wizner has some pent-up anger resulting from the circumcision of his member, and has been viciously seeking revenge against God and the covenant as a result. Once I got passed that, I could admit that this was quite an enjoyable book overall, and it’s sure to be appreciated by any teen 16 and up, boy or girl.

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