Have always enjoyed Tracey Chevaliers books & this adaptation of Othello was no exception! Thought the idea very clever and the character well drawn! However, I found the idea that eleven year olds during the seventies would behave, speak, think and react in such adult fashion was a little incredulous! So for me to totally enjoy the story I had them as 17-18 yr olds!

This is a retelling if the story of Othello, reimagined with 11 year olds at school. A new boy from Ghana - Osei- joins the school in the 1970s and is the only black boy in the school. Very quickly, he strikes up a friendship with a popular girl called Dee and incurs the jealousy of the School bully, Ian. The events take place in just one day which, for me, makes the whole thing unrealistic. The level of feeling that the characters are meant to have springs out of nowhere and Osei’s jealousy just doesn’t ring true. I felt Ian was the best described character and the most believable. On the whole, I was disappointed but I could see how the story could be used with young teenagers/ tweens.
Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy in return for an honest review.

A re-telling of Othello; the story being transported to the suburbs of Washington in the 1970s. Events take place over one day and primarily in the school playground. Osei, ‘call me O’, Kokote is the son of a diplomat and the new boy at school. He is also the only black kid in the school and is treated to kind of casual racism endemic in that decade. Osei has attended four different schools in six years and it acutely aware of the kind of reception he will face.

The main characters, apart from O, are: the golden boy and girl, Dee and Casper; Casper’s girlfriend Blanca; Dee’s best friend, Mimi; and the manipulative character of Ian who believes he is charge of the playground. The story obviously follows that of Othello with Ian taking to role of Iago, trying to break up the developing relationship between O and Dee.

This is a well written novel but I did struggle with the fact that the main protagonists were only 11 years old. This explains partly why the drama takes place over one day reflecting the attention span of kids of that age but it fails to create the tension, passion, jealousy and brooding presence of the original play.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. It’s well written, as you would expect from this author, but I’m not sure what to make of it. I don’t have a problem with Shakespeare being transported to a contemporary setting, it can work well, but Grade 6? I believe this is the equivalent to Year 7 in the UK which made it quite uncomfortable reading for me. I’m not naive enough to think that this age group don’t think about sex or develop huge crushes, but the themes in Othello are so adult that I just don’t think it works.
I appreciate that children this age are at a crossroads between childhood and teenage years but some of the thoughts and language seemed too much of a stretch to be credible.
My thanks to Netgalley for this copy.

Really enjoyed this retelling of othello. It has its flaws but Tracy Chevalier is a great writer whose prose makes up for it. Yes some of the scenes weren’t as interesting as others but that does reflect one school day in 6th grade (I imagined them as Year 7s as they were more sophisticated than the Year 6s I’ve come across...)

An enjoyable read that could have been much darker and explored the characters more rather than relying on the “oooh he’s black” type of commentary.

All in all I would recommend it, so on balance it’s a 3.5* - 4^ read.

Based in a 1970’s US kids’ school, the main characters are in their final year before they go to Junior High next term. The new kid, for one month only is Osei from Ghana. Osei is the son of a Ghanaian diplomat and he has to cope with moving regularly to new schools following his father’s career. Not only is he the ‘new boy’ but he also has to deal with the cruel, deliberate and indirect prejudice of mainly all-white American schools, from both pupils and staff, and indeed other (rare) students of colour who have established their precarious ‘positions’ within the school community, and have to guard them for their own survival.

I have not read Othello, but may go on to try it now – the plot is clear, characters well described and it’s written in a style suitable for young adults – the tempo is kept high and the plot flows readily. Very easy to read – but you want to know so much more about the characters – e.g. Dee’s home life, Osei’s family and Mimi’s and Caspar's backgrounds too. Maybe this would have been covered if it was aimed at adults; but even if this is treated as an introductory guide for students of Shakespeare, (or like me, someone who finds original Shakespeare a chore to read – queue thunderbolt!) I can’t think of a better introduction than this! Manipulation of people and their emotions by a master ‘puppeteer’ is always a poignant read, and all this from a behaviourally damaged bully with a neglectful home life… tragedy at its ‘best’, ie worst!

1970’s version of Othello, intriguing, explores friendships, rivalries & budding sexuality. Re-telling of Shakespere.