Hamlet is not OK by R.A. Spratt

Selby is a 15-year-old who hates homework and has seriously avoided it for some time. Unfortunately, she can’t keep going this way forever. Studying Hamlet without reading the play will definitely be a problem. Her parents have academic backgrounds but now run a bookshop, so Selby is something of a disappointment. When a tutor becomes necessary, Selby cannot avoid Hamlet any longer.  Strangely, when she overcomes her reading struggles with the tutor’s help, she also awakens a fantasy time-slip into Hamlet’s life and is thrust right into the action of Hamlet’s dramatic story. Selby may not be a great reader, but she does have a sensitive heart and is immediately wanting something more for Hamlet than misery, death and sadness. Will her meddling change the face of literature forever or can she solve her own struggles and understand Hamlet at the same time.

I absolutely loved this Shakespeare-inspired story!  It is not a difficult or complex read, but it will give insights into Hamlet for YA readers. It is written by a trusted author who normally writes impressively for younger readers, but this tale has many layers that give it maturity and accessibility for older readers. The topic of Hamlet and Shakesperean drama in general lifts this story into the YA literary world. With quotations directly from Hamlet and insights into Shakespeare’s own backstory there is so much to appreciate about this fantastic time-slip drama. Selby’s understanding of the melancholy of Hamlet’s story and her concern for his choices helps to reveal much of the original story’s depths. (Ophelia also gets  ‘rescued’ from her place in Hamlet and is given another impossible literary destination that has a lightly humorous quality.) Readers aged13-16 will appreciate this insight into Hamlet that is not hard work. English teachers too will want their struggling readers to read this book if they have become stubbornly resistant to Shakespeare. There is the possibility of joy for those who struggle with reading, but still love a good story.

Themes: Hamlet, Shakespeare, Reading, Depression, Family expectation.

Carolyn Hull