Illustrated by: Emma Vieceli
Age Level: Teen
Format: Book
The year is 2107. Earth is now a cyberworld always at the brink of war. Hamlet is an angst-ridden teen. His father, the King of Denmark, has just died. His mother immediately remarried - his uncle who has taken the throne. He doesn't know how to deal with his grief. Could his uncle have murdered his father? Slowly he starts to believe that is true, seeing his father's ghost twice. Hamlet doesn't trust anyone, on his own, he sets out to prove that his father was murdered, and begins by acting crazy so that adults, and everyone else, will just leave him alone.
I will admit that I love Shakespeare, with Hamlet being one of my favorite plays to watch and read. I was a bit skeptical of this new way to present the text of the play, but it does work quite well. None of the intensity, intrigue, or danger found within the original Shakespearean text is lost. If anything, especially for teens in today's world who don't understand or want to take the time to understand the language of Shakespeare's plays, this adaptation will work better for them. The pictures help to reinforce the text (which is in Elizabethan English). While reading, if you don't understand exactly what Hamlet may mean or be feeling when saying, "What a piece of work is man. In action how like an angel. In apprehension how like a god!" there is always the panel behind the text to refer to - to get a better clue and to just what is going on.
Well done in both text and illustrations. Give it a chance. You may just be surprised.
Reviewed by Sara
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