If both your parents were Shakespearean professors you might end up with a name like Hamlet…even if you are a girl. Hamlet just wants to get through 8th grade and be “normal,” which is hard when your parents wear Renaissance period clothing and your seven year old sister is a genius getting ready for college. Hamlet’s world is turned upside down when she discovers her younger sister will be at her jr. high for half a day getting her art and music credits so she can apply for college. Add that catastrophe to the fact that Hamlet will be studying Shakespeare this year and you come up with a recipe for teen disaster.
This book was fun, and although it would appeal to mostly girl readers it did not have the dreaded “girlie” atmosphere that most teen girl books have. Girl drama/trauma yes, girlie spin not so much. I think teens and tweens would enjoy this book.
Review by Cathy Gray, William Penn Elem. School Media Center
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 Stars)
Interest Level: Grades 5-9
Erin Dionne — Official Website
The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet
Written by Erin Dionne
Dial / Puffin
290 p.
Release Date: January 6, 2011 (paperback)
ISBN: 9780803732988 (hardcover); 9780142417485 (paperback)
