I come in tired
from baseball practice, and Dad catches me
guzzling OJ right out of the carton.

“Want a journal?” he asks. “You’re a writer.
All writers need journals.”

I put the orange juice away and hold out my mitt,
the one Mom bought me. “I’m a first baseman.”

“Who used to write poetry. Your teammates
called you Shakespeare.” He hands me a notebook.

“And it doesn’t have to be poetry. It doesn’t
even have to be a journal. It could be a diary.”

He lays it on the table, opens the first page, and writes with his favorite gel pen: Shakespeare’s
Secret
Diary

Maybe I should start again. I play ball a lot, because if I don’t, I get rusty.

All I need now are some secrets.

Kevin, a.k.a. Shakespeare, doesn’t seem to have a lot of secrets, at least none that he feels like sharing. The people in his life, however, bombard him left and right with secrets that take him by surprise, and not necessarily in a good way. For instance, Kevin’s dad has lately taken to throwing away all of his deceased wife’s belongings --- much to Kevin’s dislike --- and wants Kevin to meet a new woman, Anna. Kevin isn’t sure what to think about his father dating, so firing off a poem or two is his best way of coping.

Kevin seems to be doing a lot of coping lately, especially concerning his girlfriend Mira. Sure she’s cute, popular and funny, but she doesn’t appear interested in anything that Kevin enjoys. This includes skipping all of his beloved baseball games, wrinkling up her nose at his poetry, and focusing on more important things, like the environment. Kevin likes Mira, but perhaps it’s time to find someone he’s more compatible with. Someone like Amy.

Kevin meets Amy at an open mike night at the Book Bungalow, and they instantly click. Amy is impressed that Kevin writes and shares poetry; Kevin is enthralled with the easy-going nature of Amy, not to mention her incredible talent in the arts. They start swapping poems over email, and he finds himself falling for her --- big time. Just when Kevin is ready to declare his feelings, Amy lets out her secret: she already has a boyfriend. Is there a proper way for utter despair and misery to be expressed eloquently in a poem?

I appreciate SHAKESPEARE MAKES THE PLAYOFFS for so many reasons. First, the poetry is amazing. Ron Koertge has his characters spend time experimenting with many different forms. This helps break up the blank verse poems in between and adds a twist of fun every now and then. It also is inspiring to the readers to go ahead and give it a try. Second, I appreciate that the main character is a boy who is completely and utterly cool with writing poetry. It’s a part of him, and he has no shame in expressing his feelings about all that is happening in his life through verse. If anything, the poems help clarify his thoughts, which is another important message to the reader. Finally, the overall storyline is fun and insightful. Everyone can relate to the teenage angst in SHAKESPEARE MAKES THE PLAYOFFS and have fun at the same time.