An immersive look at Shakespeare with an emphasis on mental health.
Feature image credit: Penguin Books Australia
Selby is different from the rest of her family. They are academic types, avid readers with a thirst for learning. Her parents even own a bookshop. Selby, on the other hand, does not like reading. She finds it difficult and would much rather watch TV. It’s no surprise then, that she has no intention of reading Hamlet for her English class. Unexpectedly, Selby finds herself and her tutor transported into the play itself, where she meets Hamlet and tries to prevent the many grisly deaths written into the plot.
The concept of this book is promising. How many things could go wrong if you’re interfering with one of the most significant pieces of work in history? Unfortunately, the execution doesn’t quite deliver everything it could have. The first half of the book mostly involves Selby and her tutor, Dan, observing the play unfolding around them, immersed but disconnected. It feels more like one of those school plays that try so hard to be educational that they forget to also be entertaining. It does get better, however, and the second half of the story, where Selby begins interfering with the plot of the play, even going so far as to remove Hamlet from the story and drag him into the real world, is a much more exciting read.
One thing that seemed odd was the mixture of overly simple language and some complex, academic language. Much of the writing felt as though it was aimed at readers much younger than Selby’s 15 years. However, Selby, who is not well-read and actively dislikes reading, uses quite a lot of academic language, including a reference to something being like a “French farce”. It doesn’t feel believable for a teenager who isn’t an academic or a heavy reader to use language or references like that, and it often pulled me out of the narrative and disconnected me with Selby’s character. Of course, the Shakespearean characters speak as they do in the play, which is done well and is a fun contrast between the modern language of the other characters.
Another element that was both irritating and made the book feel as though it should have been aimed at a younger audience was an excessive use of dialogue tags. Even in a two-person conversation, every single piece of dialogue is tagged with “Selby asked” or “Dan replied” and so on. It’s surprising that this wasn’t looked at in the editing process. It’s unnecessary and slowed the flow of dialogue a lot of the time.
There are two themes in the book that were delivered well. The first is Selby’s difficulty with reading. Though the word is never used, it is suggested that Selby has undiagnosed dyslexia. At the end of the story, there is a lovely conversation between Selby and her mother where Selby explains that she loves stories, but she prefers to absorb them in a different way, such as TV. This is a nice way of validating those who do have difficulty reading or who prefer to experience stories via TV, movies, audiobooks or other media.
The second theme that comes through strongly is Selby’s moral compass. Throughout the story, she has a strong sense of right and wrong and a desire to help those in need. She identifies Hamlet’s depression very early on, and is much more aware of others’ needs than Dan, her tutor and a very academic person. Though Selby’s parents sometimes don’t see her worth because she isn’t academic as they are, it is clear that Selby is a kind person with the strength of character to do what she feels is right, even if it’s dangerous.
Overall, this was a really fun idea for a story. An overhaul of the delivery and higher stakes earlier in the book would be beneficial to make this a really great book.
Reviewed by Kristin Stefanoff
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Distributed by: Penguin Books Australia
Released: July 2023
RRP: $16.99
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