Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston
Published by: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Source: Overdrive
Book Summary:
Veronica Mars meets William Shakespeare in E.K. Johnston’s latest brave and unforgettable heroine.
Hermione Winters is captain of her cheerleading team, and in tiny Palermo Heights, this doesn’t mean what you think it means. At PHHS, the cheerleaders don’t cheer for the sports teams; they are the sports team—the pride and joy of a tiny town. The team’s summer training camp is Hermione’s last and marks the beginning of the end of…she’s not sure what. She does know this season could make her a legend. But during a camp party, someone slips something in her drink. And it all goes black.
In every class, there’s a star cheerleader and a pariah pregnant girl. They’re never supposed to be the same person. Hermione struggles to regain the control she’s always had and faces a wrenching decision about how to move on. The assault wasn’t the beginning of Hermione Winter’s story and she’s not going to let it be the end. She won’t be anyone’s cautionary tale.
When I started reading this, I didn’t know it was based on a play called Winter’s Tale by Shakespeare. There are so many similarities in this book and I was upset with myself for not realizing what it was while reading.
Here are some of the similarities:
-There is a Queen Hermione, but in the book she was there Cheerleading Captain.
-*spoiler* There is a baby involved, but not in the way one might think
-The character names are all the same
-The tradgedy in this one is a bit different tho, there’s a rape instead of an “unjust death”
Althouugh I’m not a fan of plays, this book definitely made me interested in what the play was about! After this semester is over I plan to read the play if I can get my hands on it just to see if there are any more ways that the two line up! This was definitely a different look at the book!
Have you read this? Did you know this was a play? What do you think of both of the stories?
