HAMLET IS NOT OK

A reimagined Hamlet with a modern twist.

Selby, like many 16-year-olds, struggles with reading Shakespeare, and her marks in English class show it. A quirky Australian girl from a small town, she has a penchant for taking off her shoes in class. Whenever Selby, who’s cued white, reads, it’s a “word scramble” (a learning disability is hinted at, but that element isn’t developed in the book). While 18-year-old Dan, a bookish Black friend of her brother’s, is tutoring her, Selby’s reading of Hamlet transports them both into the world of the play, and they witness the tragic storyline unfolding firsthand. The novel uses snippets of the original Shakespearean language alongside explanatory dialogue to make the text accessible, with explanations from Dan and Selby’s English teacher uncomfortably intruding upon the narrative at times. Early on, Spratt introduces a motif about the power of imagination, which invites readers to suspend their disbelief when Selby’s voice somehow creates a magical portal into early-modern Denmark. The work uses farcical humor and casual contemporary language, and the author makes a worthy attempt to balance both the adult and teen voices, creating an educational alternative to easy-to-read Shakespearean adaptations. Despite some inconsistent characterization and dialogue that leans into telling rather than showing, the book presents a convincing argument for Shakespeare’s value in modern-day classrooms, even for struggling readers.

A time-travel story designed to bring Shakespeare to life that educators may find useful.