As a teen (at least 13 and up), Hamlet is Not OK by R.A. Spratt and I would have been friends. This is because I, too, would have had some of the naive ideas about violence and mental health our main character has. Now, I still am not keen on violence as the solution and I understand the difficulties of mental health, but if you change Hamlet (and SPOILER, they do) you have changed practically everything that has come after that was inspired by it, not to mention the point of the story itself.
We follow the two main characters of the story who find themselves in the middle of the play, Hamlet. But it becomes Hamlet with a modern twist. I didn’t like how classical literature was changed. (SPOILER): The big changes are several smaller characters, Hamlet and Ophelia live, Hamlet becomes king of Denmark, and only three characters die who are supposed to. Our main female character is never accused of witchcraft (ah hello! She speaks her mind, isn’t wearing clothing that would be acceptable for women, and she is running around with a black, male friend/companion). And then another book (no connection to Hamlet) is changed so Ophelia can not die by suicide. However, because of some of the ways one character learns the play, Spratt explains what things mean. They give a clearer understanding of Hamlet. Still, as Dan (our semi-love-interest-best-friend of the older brother-tutor character) says, many books were inspired by Hamlet. So you change Hamlet, you change everything else. Nothing will be “the same” afterwards. Granted that means I would have understood Hamlet and not have to deal with Great Expectations back in high school and college, but people do like them as they were.
Overall, there are many pluses, but some of the personal negatives make this a book a “I’m not the audience for it.”
cbr18bingo CLOWN as Hamlet is a tragic character, but also really doofus over the female lead who isn’t Ophelia!
