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ashley_crookham's review against another edition
"(Adults) were good at making the world into a fearful place. For a second she wished her mother were sitting with them, to take over the burden of worry"
kait_unicorn's review against another edition
4.0
An elementary school setting works incredibly well for the heightened drama of a Shakespearean play.
balletbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Ehhhhh...I love the Shakespeare Hogarth series idea, but I don't think this one executed well. We've had Othello updated using teens before but Chevalier chose to use 6th graders during one school day as her setting. Her depiction of racial tension in 1970s America works but the sexual politics fell very flat, particularly since the action takes place in a single school day. Maybe it would have worked better over time as the children aged and developed relationships but this was far too short a time span.
bianca89279's review against another edition
3.0
This was a very readable interpretation of Shakespeare's Othello.
Set in a 70s Washington DC primary school, this is the story of a new boy, Osei Kokote, who's the only black boy in an all-white suburban school. Dee is the girl who's assigned to show the new boy around. She quickly befriends him.
The racism is prevalent, even the teachers are patronising while having good intentions.
The school playground politics are at the core of this story. The usual suspects are present: the bully, the good kids, the followers, the mean girls, the underestimated etc.
Many aspects rang true unless they didn't.
This short novel would have worked much better had it been set in a high school environment and over a longer period than just one day. There is no way eleven-year-olds have the maturity, ability to do all sort of machinations like the characters in this book did not to mention the extremely short time frame. Tongue kissing and crotches rubbing on the playground were unbelievable.
So I can't give this more than 3 stars.
I've received this ARC via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Hogarths for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Set in a 70s Washington DC primary school, this is the story of a new boy, Osei Kokote, who's the only black boy in an all-white suburban school. Dee is the girl who's assigned to show the new boy around. She quickly befriends him.
The racism is prevalent, even the teachers are patronising while having good intentions.
The school playground politics are at the core of this story. The usual suspects are present: the bully, the good kids, the followers, the mean girls, the underestimated etc.
Many aspects rang true unless they didn't.
This short novel would have worked much better had it been set in a high school environment and over a longer period than just one day. There is no way eleven-year-olds have the maturity, ability to do all sort of machinations like the characters in this book did not to mention the extremely short time frame. Tongue kissing and crotches rubbing on the playground were unbelievable.
So I can't give this more than 3 stars.
I've received this ARC via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Hogarths for the opportunity to read and review this book.
mariesreads's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this re-interpretation, particularly the characters. There's an elegant simplicity to the prose that I really liked as well.
carolineroche's review
4.0
This is one of the Hogarth Shakespeare series and is a retelling of Othello. Set in the 1970’s this reimagining of the play is set in a playground and takes place over one day. Cleverly the main characters all have names starting with the same letters as their counterparts thus Othello/Osei, Desdemona/Dee, Iago/ Ian and so on. The strawberry handkerchief is transposed into a strawberry decorated pencil case. The whole sad story of jealousy, betrayal and prejudice is replayed in an elementary school playground- and that was the only bit that Jarred for me If Chevalier had set it on a secondary school with the protagonists between 14 and 16 it would be entirely believable. But I had problems marrying the depth of emotion as intrigue with 11 year olds. Apart from that it is a brilliant retelling of Othello and I loved it.
chasegartzke's review against another edition
3.0
This was much better than I expected it to be. I’m not a fan of Shakespeare, and that would include many of the retellings I’ve read. But this was well done, in my opinion.
Actual rating: 3.5
Actual rating: 3.5
readsewknit's review against another edition
4.0
When I'd heard this book recommended, I knew only the barest details: the story focused on a black boy starting a new school and the white girl who befriends him. Only upon beginning did I also discover the storyline only covers one day for these sixth graders and that it's a modern retelling of Othello.
I found this an engaging book, and assuming you're familiar with Shakespeare's Othello being a tragedy, the ending is heartbreaking. It translated well to a middle school setting, even if everything felt compact and the plot escalated quickly.
I found this an engaging book, and assuming you're familiar with Shakespeare's Othello being a tragedy, the ending is heartbreaking. It translated well to a middle school setting, even if everything felt compact and the plot escalated quickly.
readabookbraun's review against another edition
2.0
An adaptation of Othello set in middle school. I was reading to see if it would appeal to my middle school library students and didn't see until after purchase that the publisher's information says the book's audience is adults. I will pass due to some language and content. But unless the reader can still relate to the ins/outs of sixth-grade 'dating' and recess culture I feel it misses the mark.
lisalikesdogs's review against another edition
5.0
Such a great retelling of a story I originally really did not like. I came home every day looking forward to reading this book. I really liked the insight into some of the characters' motivations.