Synopsis:

“Like the best of the Bard himself, Long Story Short combines dazzling repartee with iconic, nuanced characters and the kind of charged, perfectly paced romance fit for the world stage.” —Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of Always Never Yours

Growing up homeschooled in Berkeley, California, Beatrice Quinn is a statistical genius who has dreamed her whole life of discovering new mathematical challenges at a school like Oxford University. She always thought the hardest part would be getting in, not convincing her parents to let her go. But while math has always made sense to Beatrice, making friends is a problem she hasn’t been able to solve, so her parents are worried about sending her halfway across the world. The compromise: the Connecticut Shakespearean Summer Academy and a detailed list of teenage milestones to check off. She has six weeks to show her parents she can pull off the role of “normal” teenager and won’t spend the rest of her life hiding in a library.

Unfortunately, hearts and hormones don’t follow any rules, and there is no equation for teenage interactions. When she’s adopted by a group of eclectic theater kids, and immediately makes an enemy of the popular—and, annoyingly gorgeous—British son of the camp founders, she realizes that relationships are trickier than calculus. With her future on the line, this girl genius stumbles through illicit parties, double dog dares, and more than your fair share of Shakespeare. But before the final curtain falls, will Beatrice realize that there’s more to life than she can find in the pages of a book?

In this sparkling debut from Serena Kaylor, Long Story Short is a YA rom-com about a homeschooled math genius who finds herself out of her element at a theater summer camp and learns that life—and love—can’t be lived by the (text)book.

Content Warnings

If you’re a fan of High School Musical-esq tales or enjoy new takes on Shakespeare, you should enjoy Long Story Short, the YA debut from Serena Kaylor. This contemporary romance has the right balance of friendships and love interests, with plenty of personal growth for the main character and a very satisfactory ending. 

I started Long Story Short in a slight reading slump, so while it took me a bit to get into the story, halfway through I found my groove and found myself smiling so much. Was there a specific moment in the book that won me over?? Why, yes, there was! An adorable Shakespeare quote-off between our main character Bea and Nik, the son of the camp founders. So stinking cute!

My affection for these characters only grew stronger as I read, and while there is plenty of drama (it is a Shakespearian summer camp!), the story never crosses over into the overly cheesy territory.  Some of the characters may seem a bit stereotypical in the beginning, but their many facets shine through as the reader gets to know them.