Enter the Body Spiral-Bound | March 14, 2023

Joy McCullough

★★★★☆+ from 501 to 1,000 ratings

$24.99 - Free Shipping
In the room beneath a stage's trapdoor, Shakespeare’s dead teenage girls—Juliet, Ophelia, Cordelia, and others—compare their experiences and retell the stories of their lives in their own terms.

Enter the Body gives voice to a cast of the young women who die in Shakespeare's plays. Focusing on the stories of Juliet, Ophelia, and Cordelia, bestselling author of Blood Water Paint Joy McCullough brilliantly weaves retellings of Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, and King Lear into a larger story about how young women can support each other and reclaim their stories in the aftermath of trauma.
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Original Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 0593406753
Item Weight: 1.0 lbs
Dimensions: 5.7 x 1.1 x 8.6 inches
Customer Reviews: 4 out of 5 stars 501 to 1,000 ratings
“At once tender, poetic and ferocious, Enter The Body breathes new life into the Bard’s most tragic heroines. More than a tribute to Shakespeare, this kaleidoscopic, ambitious novel-in-verse gives Juliet, Ophelia, Cordelia, and Lavinia the chance to tell their own stories full of passion, justice, sisterhood, and love. Simply spectacular.”—Two-Time National Book Award Finalist and Michael L. Printz Award Winner Laura Ruby, author of Bone Gap

★ “Body turns Shakespeare on his head while honoring his talent as the girls retells their stories on their own terms.... Truly outstanding.”—Booklist, starred review

★ "By innovatively mining feminist themes of autonomy, exploitation, and patriarchy, McCullough boldly reconceptualizes Shakespeare’s version of the female point of view for a new generation of Bard enthusiasts."—The Horn Book, starred review

★ "Form as a mode of personal expression is conscious, deliberate, and stunningly effective here and elevates this novel above and beyond many run-of-the-mill Shakespeare retellings to a carefully constructed and emotionally resonant consideration of tragedy and autonomy.... This will be a revelation for teens seeking to claim their own narrative as a distinct and whole person outside of adult or societal input."—BCCB, starred review

★ "A strong, powerful look at the bonds women share and the power telling stories has to unburden us all."—SLC, starred review

★ "This entrancing, fiercely feminist examination of William Shakespeare's tragedies gives his female characters the opportunity to tell their own stories."—Shelf Awareness, starred review

★ "Elevates and reenergizes the canon; it’s an absolute must-read regardless of readers’ knowledge or opinion of Shakespeare."—SLJ, starred review
Joy McCullough writes books and plays from her home in the Seattle area, where she lives with her family. She studied theater at Northwestern University, fell in love with her husband atop a Guatemalan volcano, and now spends her days surrounded by books and kids and chocolate. Her debut novel, Blood Water Paint, was longlisted for National Book Award and was a finalist for the William C. Morris Debut Award.

Author Residence: Shoreline, WA

Author Hometown: San Diego, CA