On the HahaFiction shelf
Spanking Shakespeare
by Jake Wizner
Shakespeare Shapiro sees his name as the first in a long series of humiliations. Now a high-school senior, he has a class assignment he might actually excel at: writing a memoir. He hopes that telling his embarrassing story well might earn him some respect and a date for prom.
From the publisher’s blurb
“He is chronicling every mortifying detail in his memoir, the writing project each senior at Shakespeare’s high school must complete.”Read the full description at Penguin Random House, publisher description
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What makes it funny?
Shakespeare’s best friend finds bowel movements endlessly worth discussing. His brother has the equally burdensome name Gandhi, while Shakespeare himself tries to impress Charlotte with painfully cheesy poetry. His gift for writing does little to protect his dignity.
The comedy at work
Scenes from senior year alternate with Shakespeare’s essays, poems, letters and yearbook entries. The extra space lets him turn everyday embarrassment into extravagant commentary, with a voice that keeps circling back to sex and social failure.
Try this if…
For readers who remember how much of high school was spent worrying about being noticed, or failing to be noticed by the right person. The jokes are bawdy, and the aspiring writer’s voice is as much the attraction as his mishaps.
Good to know
Marketed for readers 14 and up. Includes sexual preoccupation and toilet humor, with parents described as occasionally alcoholic. Kirkus enjoyed the wit but found that the narrator’s extended commentary could delay the story.
More funny coming of age
Sources & further reading
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