Hamlet is not ok

Hamlet is not ok
R.A.Spratt
Penguin Books 2023
 
Can’t get into Shakespeare? Not a problem. ‘Hamlet is not ok’ is a modern story with a modern character duo, dealing with literary questions that cross the ages. The book starts with a warning, “This book contains Shakespeare.” And that it does, but in such a way that it is completely manageable for a young teen who is being coerced into reading literature from the Elizabethan era.

This short novel follows Selby Michaels, a teenage girl who has no interest in reading or school. This is a disappointment to her book-loving, bookshop managing parents. Quietly defiant, Selby doesn’t read the books she’s supposed to for English, and ignores homework assignments. All this changes when her parents employ a tutor called Dan, and together Selby and Dan, get sucked into the world of Hamlet (literally- they get sucked in.).
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Selby struggles with reading, but when she experiences the story in the flesh, she comes to appreciate how the plot in Hamlet is no more serious or ridiculous than the soap-operas that she loves to watch on T.V.
R.A. Spratt is a bestselling author and is well known for her Friday Barnes series. She has also written the Nanny Piggins series, The Peski kids series and some short story collations. Spratt has a witty tone which makes her stories easy to consume and highly enjoyable. This would be an excellent choice for Year 7 and 8 students.