Hmmm... This might serve a place on a school library shelf, but only as an example of how texts can riff off other texts. For it is The Shakespeare Tempest, narrated in ditchwater-dull manner by Ariel, who takes it upon himself to dump all the back-story that is revealed drip by drip in the play into his first chapter, and then yacks on and yacks on and yacks on. If intended to translate, modernise or make more suited to a younger audience, it fails miserably, for it's so lacking in any engaging quality. The only lesson it has, as I said, is to show how something can be converted (if not almost subverted) into something else, but that would have been a better lesson if the result was any good. One and a half stars – bring back Bowdler.

A unique take on the story of Shakespeare's Tempest.
This book is written from the point of view of Ariel - something that really makes this retelling unique.

I'm not quite sure how a younger reader would get on with this book as it doesn't always explain things very well. It's certainly imaginative and creative in its style, but could be hard to follow. This story has lots of different characters, and without things being explained clearly it would be easy to get lost.
I'm not sure on the age of the target audience for this book, but think it would certainly benefit from some illustrations.

Overall I appreciate the books original take on the story of the Tempest but I just wasn't convinced by young people being able to follow the plot coherently.