New Boy: William Shakespeare's Othello Retold: A Novel

Superbly entrancing Chevalier (At the Edge of the Orchard, 2016) is the latest prominent writer to contribute to the scintillating Hogarth Shakespeare series of provocative contemporary retellings of the Bard's works, including Margaret Atwood's Hag-Seed (2016). With breathtaking urgency, Chevalier brings Othello to a 1970s suburban elementary school outside Washington, D.C., where the playground is as rife with poisonous intrigue as any monarch's court. Into this rigidly hierarchical fiefdom steps the new boy, who is not only a stranger, but also the only black student. While children and adults alike gape at him with dismay and worse, Osei Kokote, a diplomat's son from Ghana, who has been through this before, methodically reviews his survival strategies. But pure love ignites at first sight between Osei and Dee, the golden girl, and their impulsive touch shoots a veritable lightning bolt through the school's collective psyche. Scheming bully Ian promptly instigates a chain reaction of lies, bribes, threats, betrayals, and assaults that leaves everyone scorched. Chevalier's brilliantly concentrated and galvanizing improvisation thoroughly exposes the malignancy and tragedy of racism, sexism, jealousy, and fear.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2017 Booklist

The latest in Hogarth's Shakespeare series finds Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring) relocating Othello to Washington, D.C., in the early 1970s, where sixth grader Osei, the son of a Ghanaian diplomat, faces his first morning at a new elementary school, his fourth in six years. The day starts well, as Osei meets popular girl Dee and the pair fall head over heels in love. But seeing the school's only black boy woo a white girl is too much for Ian, a schoolyard bully, and he hatches a plan to ruin their blossoming relationship. Ian drags others into his manipulations, and by the end of the school day, hearts are broken and tragedy strikes the normally placid schoolyard. Chevalier smartly uses her narrative as an opportunity to spin a story commenting on racism in America, and while she weaves Shakespeare's narrative arc into her novel by bouncing between characters' experiences, the final result is only moderately effective. By compressing everything into one morning and afternoon, Chevalier rushes some action, and while the reader may recognize how children tend to amplify emotions, moments are occasionally difficult to believe. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Part of the "Hogarth Shakespeare" series, this reimagining of Othello is set in a suburb of 1970s Washington, DC. The son of a diplomat, Osei is used to change, and at his fourth school in six years, he is unsurprised to see that he is the only black student on the playground. The other kids are nonplussed, and in some cases unnerved, by the color of Osei's skin. Tasked with guiding the newcomer, Dee is drawn to Osei, finding him a compelling contrast to the other sixth grade boys. Over the course of one turbulent day, Osei and Dee come together and are torn apart by the politics of the school yard and the machinations of one troubled child. Readers familiar with the Bard's work will follow the narrative with a sense of dread. However, hope makes its way into the story, providing the possibility of a happy ending. Chevalier's writing is spare but enthralling. The characters are memorable, and the shifting perspectives make the misunderstandings, deliberate or otherwise, more painful. Osei especially is a standout, his initial openness to his new environment a deep contrast to the pained, defiant young man teetering at the top of the playground hierarchy as the book races to its conclusion. VERDICT While readers of Chevalier's historical fiction may be surprised with the more recent setting, her fans, as well as those who enjoy Shakespeare retellings, should be entranced by the way her prose sings, illuminating the darker sides of humanity.--Erinn Black Salge, -Morristown-Beard School, -Morristown, NJ © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring) takes a surprising narrative path with the Bard in tow: her privileged fifth graders play out Othello in a suburban Washington, DC, elementary school in 1974. The star here is narrator Prentice Onayemi, whose melodious, wide-ranging, gender-adaptive narration steals the show. The eponymous "new boy" is Osei, a diplomat's son originally from Ghana, who enters his fourth new school in six years. He, too, is "a diplomat of sorts"; as the only black student-and notably cosmopolitan with previous stopovers in London, Rome, and New York-Osei is no stranger to racism, both casual and targeted, especially from adults who should know and do better. He's befriended by popular girl Dee, and their burgeoning relationship quickly catches the envious attention of bully Ian, setting in motion inevitable consequences of childhood cruelty. VERDICT Onayemi unmistakably enhances what's on the page, proving again that the Bard is better performed than silently read. Libraries will not want to miss adding the latest series title. ["The emotional lives of 12-year-olds don't quite seem up to the weight of Shakespearean tragedy": LJ 4/15/17 review of the Hogarth: Crown hc.]-Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

As her contribution to the Hogarth Shakespeare series of contemporary retellings of the Bard's works, Chevalier (At the Edge of the Orchard, 2016, etc.) turns Othello into the story of a disastrous chain of events that follows a black student's arrival at a white elementary school in suburban Washington, D.C.Knowing Othello is a tragedy, readers begin the novel with dread, aware that at least one of the sixth-grade protagonists gathering before classes begin will likely meet a tragic end. Among the girls, Dee is smart and popular, Mimi intuitive and thoughtful, Blanca what used to be called "fast." Blanca's boyfriend, Casper, is the most popular boy, but "calculating" Ian runs the playground. The children are shocked by the arrival of Osei, a Ghanaian diplomat's son and the first black child the all-white school has seen. Despite references to Soul Train and bell bottoms, the school's straight-laced, narrow-minded atmosphere feels more 1950s than post-Civil Rights-era 1970s. Dee and Casper are the two exceptions. Casper offers friendship while the romantic attraction between Dee and Osei is immediately palpableand goes over the top into ick-factor territory when Dee looks at Osei and "the fire leapt and spread through him." Meanwhile, Ian senses Osei will challenge his sway over his classmates, especially after Osei shows prowess during a kickball game. Lacking Osei's confusing charm, Ian comes across as a bully who controls through fear. He manipulates the other kids to create emotional mayhem that closely follows the original play's outline. The book's five divisions equate to the play's five acts, and the novel's primary pleasure lies in how Chevalier parallels Shakespeare's plot detailsfor instance, transforming Othello's handkerchief embroidered with strawberries into Osei's strawberry-embossed pencil box and having the kids play on a playground pirate ship. This follow-the-plot-dots modernization unfortunately falls flat due to Chevalier's heavy-handedness in turning Othello into a polemic on the evils of American racism and her awkward shoehorning of tween angst into Shakespearian tragedy. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Superbly entrancing Chevalier (At the Edge of the Orchard, 2016) is the latest prominent writer to contribute to the scintillating Hogarth Shakespeare series of provocative contemporary retellings of the Bard's works, including Margaret Atwood's Hag-Seed (2016). With breathtaking urgency, Chevalier brings Othello to a 1970s suburban elementary school outside Washington, D.C., where the playground is as rife with poisonous intrigue as any monarch's court. Into this rigidly hierarchical fiefdom steps the new boy, who is not only a stranger, but also the only black student. While children and adults alike gape at him with dismay and worse, Osei Kokote, a diplomat's son from Ghana, who has been through this before, methodically reviews his survival strategies. But pure love ignites at first sight between Osei and Dee, the golden girl, and their impulsive touch shoots a veritable lightning bolt through the school's collective psyche. Scheming bully Ian promptly instigates a chain reaction of lies, bribes, threats, betrayals, and assaults that leaves everyone scorched. Chevalier's brilliantly concentrated and galvanizing improvisation thoroughly exposes the malignancy and tragedy of racism, sexism, jealousy, and fear. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

For the next "Hogarth Shakespeare" title, Chevalier replays Othello in the 1970s Washington, DC, area. Ian won't stand for the relationship between black diplomat's son Osei Kokote and beautiful, white Dee. With a 60,000-copy first printing.

Osei, the son of a Ghanaian diplomat, joins the sixth grade toward the end of the school year in Washington, DC, becoming the only black child at an upscale private school in the 1970s. Though his presence is shocking and uncomfortable for many students and teachers in this era of a more casual racism, popular girl Dee befriends him, and an adolescent romance quickly blooms. Their relationship creates shock waves that reverberate among the insular group of youth who have known one another since kindergarten, resulting in jealousies and misunderstandings orchestrated primarily by Ian, the Machiavellian schoolyard bully. A retelling of Othello, this latest entry in the Hogarth "Shakespeare" series is a departure for Chevalier, who's better known for historical fiction (Girl with a Pearl Earring) set in earlier centuries rather than decades. The action plays out over the course of only two days in this slim volume, and the reader advances with a sense of foreboding, knowing how the play ends. VERDICT Though this is an interesting exercise, and Chevalier captures the brutality of the playground, the emotional lives of 12-year-olds don't quite seem up to the weight of Shakespearean tragedy. [See Prepub Alert, 11/27/16.]—Lauren Gilbert, Sachem P.L., Holbrook, NY

The latest in Hogarth's Shakespeare series finds Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring) relocating Othello to Washington, D.C., in the early 1970s, where sixth grader Osei, the son of a Ghanaian diplomat, faces his first morning at a new elementary school, his fourth in six years. The day starts well, as Osei meets popular girl Dee and the pair fall head over heels in love. But seeing the school's only black boy woo a white girl is too much for Ian, a schoolyard bully, and he hatches a plan to ruin their blossoming relationship. Ian drags others into his manipulations, and by the end of the school day, hearts are broken and tragedy strikes the normally placid schoolyard. Chevalier smartly uses her narrative as an opportunity to spin a story commenting on racism in America, and while she weaves Shakespeare's narrative arc into her novel by bouncing between characters' experiences, the final result is only moderately effective. By compressing everything into one morning and afternoon, Chevalier rushes some action, and while the reader may recognize how children tend to amplify emotions, moments are occasionally difficult to believe. (May)

Part of the "Hogarth Shakespeare" series, this reimagining of Othello is set in a suburb of 1970s Washington, DC. The son of a diplomat, Osei is used to change, and at his fourth school in six years, he is unsurprised to see that he is the only black student on the playground. The other kids are nonplussed, and in some cases unnerved, by the color of Osei's skin. Tasked with guiding the newcomer, Dee is drawn to Osei, finding him a compelling contrast to the other sixth grade boys. Over the course of one turbulent day, Osei and Dee come together and are torn apart by the politics of the school yard and the machinations of one troubled child. Readers familiar with the Bard's work will follow the narrative with a sense of dread. However, hope makes its way into the story, providing the possibility of a happy ending. Chevalier's writing is spare but enthralling. The characters are memorable, and the shifting perspectives make the misunderstandings, deliberate or otherwise, more painful. Osei especially is a standout, his initial openness to his new environment a deep contrast to the pained, defiant young man teetering at the top of the playground hierarchy as the book races to its conclusion. VERDICT While readers of Chevalier's historical fiction may be surprised with the more recent setting, her fans, as well as those who enjoy Shakespeare retellings, should be entranced by the way her prose sings, illuminating the darker sides of humanity.—Erinn Black Salge, Morristown-Beard School, Morristown, NJ