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foreveryoungadult's review against another edition
Graded By: Jennie
Cover Story: Not So Fancy Dress
BFF Charm: Platinum Edition
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
Talky Talk: Something Rotten Is In The State of Oregon
Bonus Factors: Shakespearean Retelling, Post-WWI History, Future Lawyer
Relationship Status: The Very Ecstasy Of Love
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Not So Fancy Dress
BFF Charm: Platinum Edition
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
Talky Talk: Something Rotten Is In The State of Oregon
Bonus Factors: Shakespearean Retelling, Post-WWI History, Future Lawyer
Relationship Status: The Very Ecstasy Of Love
Read the full book report here.
mackle13's review against another edition
3.0
2.5
This is the third Cat Winters book I've read. I find her interesting as an author. I like her stories, overall, but there are issues to her writing - such as not fully developed characters, and wooden dialogue - which keeps me from really being able to get lost in her stories.
This story is sold as a retelling of Hamlet - but very loosely so. This is actually to the good. As I started reading I was worried that the story was being forced down certain lines, and things were going to be far too predictable... but the story actually really picked up once she left the rails, a bit, and branched out on her own.
More to the point, though, it's a discussion about bigotry in America. This story is written in 1920s Oregon, but is sadly still relevant to life today. Racial tension and homosexuality both play a role in a world where the KKK is not just a thing that exists, but is a strong part of government and basically controls the area.
Winters does a good enough job of making this a good story, and not just an "issues" book, but, conversely, the characters are often defined by the traits relevant to the story, and not really developed enough beyond that.
If Winters had developed the characters a bit more, and if her writing developed a bit more panache and polish - and didn't feel quite so wooden and yet also modern - then she could tell a truly great story. As is, I can't quite decide whether to go 2 or 3 stars with this effort...
This is the third Cat Winters book I've read. I find her interesting as an author. I like her stories, overall, but there are issues to her writing - such as not fully developed characters, and wooden dialogue - which keeps me from really being able to get lost in her stories.
This story is sold as a retelling of Hamlet - but very loosely so. This is actually to the good. As I started reading I was worried that the story was being forced down certain lines, and things were going to be far too predictable... but the story actually really picked up once she left the rails, a bit, and branched out on her own.
More to the point, though, it's a discussion about bigotry in America. This story is written in 1920s Oregon, but is sadly still relevant to life today. Racial tension and homosexuality both play a role in a world where the KKK is not just a thing that exists, but is a strong part of government and basically controls the area.
Winters does a good enough job of making this a good story, and not just an "issues" book, but, conversely, the characters are often defined by the traits relevant to the story, and not really developed enough beyond that.
If Winters had developed the characters a bit more, and if her writing developed a bit more panache and polish - and didn't feel quite so wooden and yet also modern - then she could tell a truly great story. As is, I can't quite decide whether to go 2 or 3 stars with this effort...
gio_shelves's review against another edition
3.0
Winters' books are starting to seem all the same to me...
melbsreads's review against another edition
4.25
Trigger warnings: death of a parent (in the past), racism, homophobia, eugenics, Klan activity, violence, lynchings, car accident.
22/7/2020
This was just as solid on reread. I picked up the paperback from work this time around and that was a fantastic life choice because there are a ton of historic images scattered throughout the book that really give it a sense of time and place. I flew through this in a couple of hours and I was hooked for every second of it.
12/5/2016
I was sold on this the minute I heard "Hamlet retelling", "1920s Oregon" and "biracial protagonist" in the same sentence. Because seriously? That is a genius combination. I loved how Winters took a familiar story in completely new directions, I loved how diverse the story was, I loved the inclusion of historical photographs, I loved that it kept you guessing throughout.
I was a little worried at the beginning that it was going to stick a little too closely to the story of Hamlet - which, let's face it, is kind of an emo teen boy shitshow. But no! We got new and exciting twists throughout, while still having a cast of characters that were easily recognisable as characters from Hamlet.
I also really liked the author's note at the end, in which Winters discusses her uncertainty about writing a biracial character in a time of racial tension and the threat of eugenics when she's white. But it's clear from both the story and the note that she did a lot of incredibly thorough research before going ahead with it, which is excellent.
It did take me a little while to get into the story, but once I got through the first 10% or so, I was totally hooked, to the point where I nearly forgot to get off the tram at work.
22/7/2020
This was just as solid on reread. I picked up the paperback from work this time around and that was a fantastic life choice because there are a ton of historic images scattered throughout the book that really give it a sense of time and place. I flew through this in a couple of hours and I was hooked for every second of it.
12/5/2016
I was sold on this the minute I heard "Hamlet retelling", "1920s Oregon" and "biracial protagonist" in the same sentence. Because seriously? That is a genius combination. I loved how Winters took a familiar story in completely new directions, I loved how diverse the story was, I loved the inclusion of historical photographs, I loved that it kept you guessing throughout.
I was a little worried at the beginning that it was going to stick a little too closely to the story of Hamlet - which, let's face it, is kind of an emo teen boy shitshow. But no! We got new and exciting twists throughout, while still having a cast of characters that were easily recognisable as characters from Hamlet.
I also really liked the author's note at the end, in which Winters discusses her uncertainty about writing a biracial character in a time of racial tension and the threat of eugenics when she's white. But it's clear from both the story and the note that she did a lot of incredibly thorough research before going ahead with it, which is excellent.
It did take me a little while to get into the story, but once I got through the first 10% or so, I was totally hooked, to the point where I nearly forgot to get off the tram at work.
lulukubo's review against another edition
4.0
I love historical fiction anyway, and this is very well done. The early 1920s is an interesting time period, and the Oregon setting is unique.
maidmarianlib's review against another edition
5.0
#bookaday -- Stunning! Faces multifaceted issues of prejudice head on, rich language and solid characters also love the addition of historical photographs to add further context. Makes great connections to Hamlet. Note that this book has a homosexual character, some violence, and historically accurate language. Full review at http://byucbmr.com/
dewey7962's review against another edition
3.0
Parts of this were good, parts of it less so. Overall, it was a fine read.
starnosedmole's review against another edition
2.0
Although Cat Winters is one of my favorite YA authors, this retelling of Hamlet in 1920s Oregon seemed overly ambitious. While fascinating to read about the eugenics and Prohibition movements, especially as told through the eyes of a biracial female protagonist, too much is crammed in. Character development is weakened in favor of keeping the plot moving. What is kept and what is abandoned from Hamlet seemed selected purely to turn the novel into more of an "issue book."
casbah's review against another edition
4.0
When I first heard "1920s YA Hamlet retelling with a mixed race girl as the lead", I was like, praying to the spirit of William Shakespeare for this book to be good. Spirit William Shakespeare delivered. Beautiful Hamlet remix! Mixed race girl! Gay people! Ghosts! Running around dramatically in the woods! Not brushing old timey politics under the rug for the sake of the aesthetic and historical flavor and instead making those atrocious politics the point upon which the entire plot hinges! It is all the things I love.
It follows the plot of Hamlet loosely for about the first third of the book before it stops pulling its punches and goes way off the deep end in the best way possible. Hanalee was both Hamlet and deeply not Hamlet and that makes her mighty. Her friends were well-drawn (Fleur is a decent Horatio, an unassuming witness, and I want a billion stories about Mildred), her town very court of Elsinore, the tone of the book very Shakespearean tragedy, but with occasional moments of hope and love. Loved it. Enjoyed it. I don't know if this was an actually good book but this book was good to me and I will probably read it again.
It follows the plot of Hamlet loosely for about the first third of the book before it stops pulling its punches and goes way off the deep end in the best way possible. Hanalee was both Hamlet and deeply not Hamlet and that makes her mighty. Her friends were well-drawn (Fleur is a decent Horatio, an unassuming witness, and I want a billion stories about Mildred), her town very court of Elsinore, the tone of the book very Shakespearean tragedy, but with occasional moments of hope and love. Loved it. Enjoyed it. I don't know if this was an actually good book but this book was good to me and I will probably read it again.