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FindingJane
Mar 07, 2017FindingJane rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Hamlet is in eighth grade. Unfortunately, so is her seven-year-old sister Desdemona. Desdemona is a prodigy, a MENSA-type genius who scored 210 in an IQ test when she was only two. So she can’t go to grade school like the other kids her age…which places her squarely in Hamlet’s school and classes. Hamlet also has parents who are completely outré, being avid Shakespearean scholars and rabid fans of all things Bard. Her father makes a hobby of repeatedly re-creating the Globe Theater in miniature while her mother comes to school in Ren Faire costumes and refuses to speak in contractions. Hamlet is one of those teenagers who desperately want to fit into their peer groups. She doesn’t want to be exceptional because that will make her a target for kids who will dub her as being a weird, geeky, nerdy social loser. But she doesn’t want to be invisible, either. She wants the other kids to like her or at least not pick on her. She’s in middle school and she just wants to make it through without being ostracized as a weird-o. The fact that she already has friends is no consolation not when it means that popular kids make fun of her. She hates the fact that her little sister’s high I.Q. and adult way of speaking make Desdemona stand out as being DIFFERENT—and, by association, make Hamlet noticeable in the wrong way, too. Hamlet’s parents get tangled up in her high school woes and Hamlet figuratively dies of embarrassment. The eternal struggle to stand out or conform is presented in a solid, believable fashion. We understand Hamlet’s desperate urge to get through school without being bullied and her struggle to accept her little sister and be fair to her, even as she succumbs to puerile annoyance when Desdemona’s behavior inadvertently makes scholastic existence more difficult for her older sister. The novel also emphasizes the inescapable impact of the Bard himself. Hamlet is adept at reading his words and the book is riddled with Shakespearean quotes, puns and insults. Hamlet also imagines her life as being played in scenes like a Shakespearean play (although not in Elizabeth language). It slyly introduces YA readers to the joys of the Bard without being heavy handed about it. Hamlet is a realistic character and the others in the book are just as interesting—yes, even little Desdemona. The writer does an excellent job of putting us in Hamlet’s shoes. It’s a spot-on portrayal of teenage angst from the viewpoint of someone who’s been blessed—or cursed—with a terrific talent and a terrible name.