Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for the gifted copy in return for an honest review

Enter the Body follows some of the women of Shakespeare's most famous works. The women who have been discarded after they can no longer benefit the men's story or who’s pain or death are used as spectacles. Juliet, who dramatically kills herself after finding Romeo, Ophelia who dies off screen and has since been depicted numerous times supposedly peacefully drowning in artworks, Cordelia who was disowned by her father and later hanged, and Lavinia, who had unnameable things done to her and then killed. 

This book gives these characters the opportunity to tell their story as they see it, putting them in the spotlight for once, the characters all meet together in a trap room below stage to listen to each other and relate to each of their stories. After they challenge each other to change their fate, to take charge to try and save themselves. The idea of hearing the girls change their story I feel like can come off as very “girl boss feminism” but what I liked most about this book was that it showed the reality that maybe there isn’t always a way to escape fate. If you don’t speak up and always do as you’re told because that’s what’s expected of you then you won’t be able to live the life you want and you may end up falling into the background of your own story, but if you do challenge what you’re told you will be punished. It also didn’t ignore that not all women have the opportunity to even be able to tell their story at all, represented by Lavinia who has had her tongue cut out.

The book was also just really well written and done in a creative yet purposeful way. It is written in the form of a Shakespeare play, and in the scenes of the women together written in dialogue. I really liked how the author put the characters together in the trap room as well, which showed how their stories are happening off stage trapped underneath.

I was really impressed by Enter the Body, especially as a young adult book, I felt like it didn’t shy away from the difficulties and realities of how hard it is to take control when all the options seem to reach the same fate. Its message and analysis weren’t surface level and I feel like this is a book that would be really great for all young readers, particularly teen girls to read. Although I will note the content warnings, while not very explicit there are mentions of SA, mutilation, murder, and death.

I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!!