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  • A Wounded Name by Dot Hutchison
  • Kate Quealy-Gainer
Hutchison, Dot . A Wounded Name. Carolrhoda Lab, 2013. 314p. ISBN 978-1-4677-0887-6 $17.95 R Gr. 9 up.

In this update of Shakespeare's Hamlet, the students and faculty of Elsinore Academy are reeling from the tragic death of their beloved headmaster. Sixteen-year-old Ophelia feels the loss keenly, as the elder Hamlet was more like a father to her than the overprotective but aloof Polonius, who fears that Ophelia's ability to hear the bean sidhe and other spirits that roam the school's estate will drive her mad. Ophelia's intense relationship with Dane, the headmaster's grieving son, grows increasingly toxic, particularly after the two see the ghost of Hamlet, who instructs Dane to take revenge on his uncle Claudius. Hutchinson doesn't stray a step from the original plotline; despite the modern setting, this remains a Shakespearean world, especially for the women, as they are each defined and ruled by the whims of the men around them for better or for worse. The viewpoint of Ophelia, who narrates throughout, is particularly telling, as she reserves much of her sympathy and emotion for Dane but observes herself in coldly clinical terms: a bruise left by one of Dane's many rages, for example, is not so much a source of pain but a "souvenir of fury and loss." She nonetheless remains likable, and indeed, all the characters, even Dane and Claudius, have redeeming moments—something that makes Hutchinson's ability to reveal how each of these people are complicit in their own misery an even more impressive feat. The language here is appropriately dramatic and ornate, although a few of the extended metaphors become a bit repetitive. This has obvious use as a supplemental material in a Shakespeare unit, but it is also a vividly told, painfully sad tragedy that will make readers take a second look at the Bard.

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