wondrousstrangeWondrous Strange, by Lesley Livingston• HarperCollins, 2009

There’s something to be said for ebooks — I downloaded this one from my library, and I have to say, with the borderline Twilight-meets-bosom-heaver cover, I’m not sure I’d have taken the genuine, real world book-book off the shelves.

But I’m glad I got my hands on it one way or the other. Wondrous Strange traces the journey of Kelley Winslow, an aspiring actress and headstrong orphan who has moved to New York City to pursue her acting career. All of seventeen, Kelley is thrust into the spotlight (quite literally) when the actress playing Titania in the way-way-off-Broadway production of Midsummer Night’s Dream she’s the understudy for breaks her leg. Despite her jitters, Kelley’s a natural for the role, a fact that becomes more and more apparent as strange things begin to happen all around her, from the horse that follows her home one night and takes up residence in her bathtub to the handsome and mysterious stranger who seems to be following her — and a little afraid of her as well.

Granted, this doesn’t sound all *that* far removed from the Twilight-verse, what with the destiny and the handsome strangers and the teenage girls with no parents to speak of. But several things kept the story from being just another teen romance with supernatural overtones. For one thing, this time it’s the female lead with the mysterious powers and the ability to save the day in the end (take that, sparkle vampire!). And for another, well, there’s Shakespeare in it. You really can’t get too far off the deep end, cheese-wise, when you’ve got the Bard on your side, and I loved the way that Livingston breathed life into some of the Midsummer Night’s characters.

One thing did bother me: Why did Livingson, “a writer and actress living in Toronto,” according to her about the author blurb, choose to set the story in New York (and why does every story take place in New York, as one of my MFA classmates used to moan during critiques.)? I mean, I get that it’s the city for actors and other dreamers, and it makes sense, in many ways, that the story is set there, but I couldn’t help but wish that the author had set the story in her native Toronto. I mean, if the actors there are writing stories like this, the city must have something magical going for it, right?

Teens — girls, especially — with a theatrical or creative bent will love this story. I could see it serving as either a gateway drug for Shakespeare, or a welcome refuge for those dreamy bookish girls who already know and love A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Sadly, even though there’s a well-written male lead and plenty of non-smootchy action, I can’t see very many teen boys getting past the cover. Though they might enjoy the e-book.