More Book Club Selections
Book Picks by
Jenny McWha
- The Mo(u)rning Letters - Chapter 9
- WAKE, by Lisa McMann
- Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
- Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
- Smile, by Raina Telgemeier
- 4 Book Series by Megan Whalen Turner
- Darklight by Lesley Livingston
- Moving On Up - How to navigate the Bookstore
- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
- The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
- Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
- The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
- Blubber, by Judy Blume
- Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
- What I Saw and How I Lied, Judy Blundell
- Before Green Gables
- The Classics
- Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac
- Cathy's Book, by Jordan Weisman and Sean Stewart
- Does my head look big in this? by Randa Abdel Fattah
- Ophelia, by Lisa Klein
- Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood
Ophelia, by Lisa Klein
BOOK REVIEW, July 2007, by Jenny McWha
Ophelia
by Lisa Klein
Ophelia is a great retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, where Ophelia takes centre stage. Here’s a little bit about Hamlet in case you’re unfamiliar with the story: Hamlet is about the prince of Denmark, who finds out from his dead father’s ghost that Hamlet’s uncle (and his mother’s new husband) murdered him. In an effort to exact revenge, Hamlet pretends to be insane while spurning Ophelia, the woman he has been courting. But is the madness real?
THE GOOD: In the book, we get to see this very tumultuous story from Ophelia’s point of view. Klein begins her story from the time the eight year old Ophelia moves to the Danish Court after her father is given a position as a minor minister. She is immediately intrigued by the young Prince Hamlet, and soon becomes one of the Queen’s ‘ladies in waiting’. As she grows older, Hamlet and Ophelia fall in love, but they have to meet in secret because of his position. As the intrigue in the Danish court grows, though, Hamlet becomes more and more distant, and eventually becomes preoccupied with his plans for revenge. Before long, Ophelia, with the help of Hamlet’s friend Horatio, makes a plan of her own to escape Denmark. Klein does an amazing job with this book, bringing the character Ophelia to life. I have always been intrigued by what Ophelia was thinking during Hamlet; and always thought that there was more to her than meets the eye – which proves to be true in this story. I really liked how Klein told Ophelia’s story long before and long after the events of the play, and made the story of Hamlet entirely her own. The book was full of twists and turns; and even though I was familiar with the story of Hamlet, I was always on the edge of my seat. But my favourite part of this book was the fact that Ophelia finally had a voice, as well as some wits about her.
DOWNSIDE: There’s not much that I found ‘bad’ about this book. Sometimes I found Klein’s writing to be a little awkward, which is only expected with a first-time writer. There may also be some moments where those who don’t like historic novels may become a little bored. Don’t despair though, the action quickly picks back up again.
GENRE: It’s a historic novel, fiction, but don’t brush it aside just because your history books make you fall asleep. It really is interesting and may help you pass grade 12 English!
AGE: There are some mature themes in this book, but nothing graphic. There’s also a fair bit of talk about murder and such things, so I’d say it’s for ages 14 and up.
RATING: Two thumbs up!
OTHER BOOKS: Interested in more stories about the women of Shakespeare?
Try Dating Hamlet: Ophelia’s Story and Fairest (about Rosaline from Romeo and Juliet), both by Lisa Fiedler.
~ Jenny
