Miranda and Caliban

The events of Shakespeare's The Tempest serve as the climax to a coming-of-age story that imagines Miranda's lonely life growing up on an island and the deep friendship between her and the wild child Caliban. Miranda's father, Prospero, relies on magic to punish and bind, while the sprite Ariel uses cruel words. Miranda and Caliban find kindness in each other as they discover more about the world around them, but even they cannot thwart Prospero's larger plans. In Carey's hands, Shakespeare's characters take on new dimensions, and his happy ending turns devastating. Very short chapters propel the story forward, and perspectives alternate between Miranda and Caliban, both of whom have unique voices that deepen as they age and begin to rebel. While teens will know more than the protagonists, they will empathize with their confusion and innocence and bristle when Ariel uses Miranda's and Caliban's lack of knowledge against them. Familiarity with the source material will foreshadow the conclusion, but even those who haven't read The Tempest will feel the lingering pain of the characters long after putting down the book.