In 2017, Hogarth Publishing asked a series of authors to rewrite Shakespeare's plays into modern retellings. This book is one of that series and is Tracy Chevalier's retelling of Othello.
She sets this retelling in a private school in Washington, D.C. The characters are all sixth graders who will be off to a new school next year and who are experimenting with love and with being the powerful students at their current school.

Dee is the most popular girl and considered the prettiest. She is a people pleaser and the teachers favor her since she can be relied on. Her best friend is Mimi who suffers from migraines and is considered a bit strange. Blanca is determined to break into their friendship and is the most interested in boys and sex, a loud, pushy girl.

Casper is the most popular boy. He is off and on with Blanca although many think he should be with Dee. But Dee and Casper are just friends. Ian is the schoolyard bully who delights in pushing around the others, stealing lunch money and dealing out blows.

Into this mix comes Osei. He is a diplomat's son and this is his fourth school in six years. He knows how to be the new boy and he knows that he needs an ally. Dee steps forward and the two quickly form a friendship that soon turns into a romance. Dee thinks Osei is fascinating, the only black person she has met, who has lived in many places and knows so many things she doesn't. Being with him also gives her an avenue for rebellion and a way to break free of the good girl label she has come to resent.

Ian is outraged that Dee would choose Osei. He is determined to break the two up and soon thinks of a way to come between them and make Osei question whether Dee is really who she seems to be or if this is just an elaborate joke on him. As the day progresses, Osei goes from quiet and fascinating to sullen and violent as he tries to determine what is truth.

Readers will be fascinated with this retelling of Othello. Many know Tracy Chevalier for her historical novels, the most famous of which is Girl With A Pearl Earring. This novel is a master author at her best, writing outside her normal field and telling a story that goes from romance to tragedy all within one day. This novel is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

It's a retelling of Othello, but they're 11 year old kids. Yeah, the writing is beautiful but I the plotting and characters didn't make sense because the authors stayed true to the play. It's a mess.

I've read several of Chevalier's books, so when I saw this one offered on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to get a copy. After reading two other books in the Hogarth Shakespeare series, Vinegar Girl and Hag-Seed, I was curious to read Chevalier's take on Othello. I think this is a departure for Chevalier, whose historical fiction I love, but I am not sure what she intended here. Her protagonists are reimagined as 11-year-olds, and the drama occurs over the course of one school day, with most of the action taking place on the playground. For me, this format diminished the impact of the story. I am not sure why Chevalier set this in the '70s, especially when the words and actions of her characters seemed more in line with today's kids, as opposed to the much less eloquent and exceedingly more immature kids I remember, having been an 11-year-old in the '70s.

To be fair, Chevalier on her worst day is significantly better than so many other published writers, that of course I finished reading it, and I have no regrets. Now, on to her other books on my TBR pile...


For Goodreads:

Why I picked it — I love Tracy Chevalier's books.

Reminded me of… More of an introduction to Shakespeare for Middle Grade.

For my full review — click here

Powerful. Intrinsically amazing. Incredible updated retelling of Shakespeare. This really floored me. Really well written!

RATING: 3 STARS
(Review Not on Blog)

I am intrigued with the Hogarth Shakespeare series...they have chosen amazing authors to take one of Shakespeare's tale and make it there own. I am a fan of Tracy Chevalier's writing so I was happy to plunge into this one. This story is set in the 1970s with preteens. The new boy in school is black and he falls for the popular pretty white girl. One of their classmates cannot see the pair's budding friendship/romance so he decides to break them apart using the schoolyard. I liked Chevalier's writing, as always, but I I didn't find some parts realistic. It is a fair retelling of Othello.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Osei is used to being the new boy. As the son of a Ghanian diplomat, he is starting his 4th new school with a month left of 6th grade. As the only black boy at most of these schools, he stands out even more. While most of his classmates at his new school in Washington treat him as his past classmates have, he and Dee form an immediate connection, which doesn't sit well with their fellow students or the teachers in the building.

Eight-year-old me wants to know if it was normal for elementary school students to get morning recess, recess after lunch, and afternoon recess in the 1970s! If so, I was sadly born too late. LOL

This was a quick read; I started and finished the book in 1 day. The book started with a story line that was fitting for an elementary school, but as the day went on, it became more unbelievable. The plot had to follow the Othello's plot, of course, but it did not entirely lend itself to a single day in an elementary school. I did like this book more than the other Hogarth Shakespeare book I have read, Vinegar Girl.

'New Boy (Hogarth Shakespeare)' by Tracy Chevalier is the fifth installment in the series, and it is a modern retelling of Othello inside a 1970s schoolyard.

Osei Kokote, a diplomat's son, is starting his first day at an elementary school. He has been to 4 other schools in his life. He is the only black boy at this school, and he wants to find a friend. He finds one in Dee, the most popular girl in school. Unbeknownst to Osei, another boy, Ian, is scheming behind his back. Before the day is done, tragedy will play itself out on the playground, and everyone will be changed.

The characters are very familiar to anyone who has read Othello. The tension ratchets up as the machinations of Ian lead to jealousy and mistrust. I love the setting, the music that gets interwoven, even the annoying jumprope chants. At 204 pages, there is a lot packed into this novel.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Crown Publishing and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Both heartbreaking and hopeful, this is a story for the ages. A renaissance classic retold in the 1970s and as relevant today as ever.

A dark look at my favorite Shakespeare play, I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in Shakespeare

I've read a couple of these Hogarth Shakespeare books (re-tellings of Shakespeare's plays) and my reactions have been mixed. But Tracy Chevalier's <em>New Boy</em> is a powerful, poignant re-telling of <em>Othello</em>.

Osei Kokote is the son of a diplomat. He has moved around a lot and all too often been the new boy at school. Here he is more than just the new boy ... he is the <em>black</em> new boy at a school without any other black students. It is the 1970's and Osei is a sixth grade student. Dee is a pretty girl in the new school assigned to look after Osei and show him how things are done in this school. Dee takes an immediate liking to Osei and the two become quite friendly in the course of the afternoon with the sharing of pencil boxes and secrets. Ian is the conniving boy, looking to create trouble wherever he goes.

The story is almost embarrassingly close to Shakespeare's <em>Othello</em> with character names and plot points so similar it would be hard to miss them. But the fact that these are children - Sixth graders! - makes this even more emotionally ripping. To see this behavior, which Chevalier makes seem so natural, is possibly even stronger than Shakespeare's work. What hope can we have for adults when we see children this way?

Chevalier keeps the action contained within a matter of hours, which makes the book feel just a little rushed and some of the relationships a little less believable - though anyone who works with students this age will recognize the truth in this behavior.

If you know your Shakespeare (and you probably do, if you are interested in this book) then you know the likely outcome of the story as it fits within the setting of school grounds and students. There aren't any surprises here, but Chevalier does precisely what I think the Hogarth Shakespeare project sets out to do ... to retell a Shakespeare work and to make it relevant to a modern readership.

It's a short book - most people could easily read this in a day - and one worth reading. This is a powerful story, made accessible and understandable to the average, modern reader, and even more devastating because of the age of the characters involved. This could easily become required reading in middle schools across the country.

Looking for a good book? Tracy Chevalier's <em>New Boy</em> is a powerful retelling of Shakespeare's play, <em>Othello</em>, and definitely a worthwhile read.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

A very very powerful book! It deals with pre-adolescents, bullying, racism, empathy, jealousy and almost every other emotion one can na,e. However, Chevalier tells her story very succinctly and in a very moving manner.

New Boy by Tracy Chevalier
Review by Shirlene Bridgewater
Move over Othello! Ego-driven, psychological manipulation, sabotage, revenge and abuse can also happen on a 1970s suburban, elementary school playground. However, there’s nothing elementary about Tracy Chevalier’s novel New Boy (Hogarth Shakespeare), where Osei Kokote, the son of a Ghanaian diplomat, arrives at a new school and is the target of jealousy, bullying and racism from his peers and teachers, yes, teachers, as well. Add Dee, the blonde Desdemona-like character, and the lead bully Ian, reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Iago, and puppy love and the fickleness of youthful friendships takes on new meaning.
Chevalier is one of several “acclaimed and bestselling novelists of today” who has transformed one of Shakespeare’s works into a modern version through the Hogarth Shakespeare project. New Boy is a fine retelling of the original masterpiece!
Does the reader need to have read Shakespeare’s “Othello” to understand the novel? No. Chevalier brilliantly re-imagines the dark drama and sets it all in one school day with characters who move the action to a high-pitched conclusion. The novel can rightfully stand on its own as a page-turner, which can be read in one setting.
With thanks to Net Galley and Crown Publishing Group, Penguin Random House for a digital copy of New Boy, I wholeheartedly recommend this novel to my three book clubs and to those of you who want a modern-day take on age-old human issues.

I enjoyed Tracy Chevalier’s take on Othello. Chevalier’s take led us to a schoolyard in the 1970s, a time when racial tensions are running high. Osei is the new black boy in this predominantly white school, and he knows that in order to survive, he will need to make a friend. He quickly meets Dee, who talks to Osei, and they become fast friends. However, Osei soon learns that you can’t trust everyone, and as tensions increase, so do the stakes.

I thought Chevalier’s New Boy was very well done. It loosely followed the same story line as Othello, but I thought she introduced several unique twists. The story takes place over the course of a single day, with each “Act” divided into playground times: Before School, Morning Recess, Lunch, Afternoon Recess, After School, which I thought was a great way to break up the drama of the story.

However, I thought the names were too obvious, though that was a good way to directly compare the actions of the characters in Shakespeare’s Othello with Chevalier’s New Boy. [For example: Othello became Osei, Desdemona became Dee, Iago became Ian, Emilia became Mimi, Bianca became Blanca, Cassio became Casper, Roderigo became Rod, and Brabanzio (Desdemona’s father) became Mr. Brabant (Dee’s principle).]

The characters themselves were interesting and pretty well-developed – well, as developed as fifth graders are, at least. The plot itself was interesting enough, though watching Osei become increasingly deceived by his “friend” was heartbreaking. These are the storylines I find particularly frustrating because you know what all of the characters are thinking, but you can’t explain to them that they are being deceived and are trusting the wrong people. But that’s the point of the story. Othello is deceived by Iago just as Osei is deceived by Ian.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and characters, though I was not a fan of their actions, just as I was not a fan of the actions of the characters in Shakespeare’s original play, Iago/Ian in particular.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for a free copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.

I have read other books in the Hogarth series and enjoyed them. This book seemed to be written for a young audience and didn't hold my interest.

The idea behind this Othello update is delicious. Playgrounds are ripe for drama (especially one with an actual pirate ship – btw, kudos to the optical illusion of the cover design), and sixth grade can be an especially provocative time. A single day, as this story proves, can absolutely contain the action of a full five-act play. The setting choice of Washington, D.C. in the 1970s sprinkles in additional flavor, and I am here for it.

Though not perfect, this adaptation has insight, creativity, and richness. Even the elements I found to be problematic might make for a thoughtful discussion, given the right group. One struggle is with the racial commentary – not its inclusion, but the execution. The issues were believably integrated, but some of the articulation attributed to sixth graders, especially of that era, was forced to a degree that felt revisionist at best. Osei’s internal monologues were stronger, but I confess to the same discomfort expressed by one of the hosts of the So Many Damn Books podcast: was a white female author the best choice to reimagine this particular play?

The story felt a bit uneven, though it seemed to come alive during dialogue. It’s not a prescriptive that plays can’t be successfully adapted into novels, but the manner of adaptation will make all the difference. If large swaths of information are shared via arm’s length narration, it will equally distance the readers from the characters. One can only imagine an author would be skittish about allowing too many lines of script to have mirrors in inserted dialogue, but Shakespeare plays have not endured based solely on plot. Not only is there an art in the poetic language, but there is a compactness of meaning and feeling communicated through speech. Unfortunately, a novelization, even an imaginative one, may suffer by comparison – though, to be fair, there are examples to the contrary.

This is all seeming as though I enjoyed the read much less than I did. It is worthwhile, and I look forward to the conversations this work will undoubtedly spark.

This is Othello turned into a single day in the life of a class of sixth graders. I think any retelling of Shakespeare needs to work on its own as a story and this book just didn't work for me on any level. This was certainly an event-packed day for these 11 year olds, full of scheming, jealousy, racism, violence, jump rope, kick ball and pre-teen sexuality. It was both unbelievable and boring. At least is was short.

I received a free copy of the e-book from the publisher however I wound up listening to the audiobook version borrowed from the library.

Chevalier either reduces Othello to the level of playground intrigue or legitimizes playground behavior by setting his rewrite of Shakespeare's play in a school ground full of early adolescents. Osei, "call me O," is the new black boy at school, and Dee, teacher's pet, falls for him immediately. Ian, the school yard bully, equally immediately targets O, manipulating students and teachers as he wreaks havoc among the players. The changed setting is brilliant, causing the reader to see the plotting of Iago in the play as something familiar to all of us. While the ending of the book is perhaps a bit overly traumatic, the actions seem completely plausible when carried out by sixth graders. Having worked in schools for many years, I can attest to Chevalier's skill in realistically portraying this age group. "New Boy" does raise the question, however, of what Shakespeare had in mind by making the grown men in his play act like adolescents.

I love Chevalier's work, but I was prepared not to like this one. A retelling of Othello, set in middle school over the course of a school day? Surely I would find it lacking. Surprisingly, I found myself caught up in the story of O, his relationship with D, and how he was played by Ian. Shakespeare it is not, but it is a nice homage that could serve as an introduction to the Bard's work for younger readers.

New Boy is the latest offering in Hogarth’s Shakespeare series – it is historical novelist Chevalier’s version of Othello. It takes place over the course of one day in a suburban schoolyard in Washington in the 1970s, channeling all the emotional upheavals that eleven-year-olds can experience in the hours between recess and late afternoon.

Osei Kokote is the son of a Ghanaian diplomat, and this is his fifth first day of school in as many years. He is accustomed to starting over, making allies and enemies amidst the immediacy and high drama of middle school. He is also used to the attention that comes with being the only black boy at his suburban school – and to the casual and outright racism that begins with teachers and parents, and is quickly imitated by the children.

Dee, like Desdemonda in Othello, is the most popular girl at school – and she is tasked with showing Osei around for the day. She is intrigued by the new boy, admiring his differences but also aware of their similarities. They quickly fall into the intense sort of relationship that can only take place between recess and kickball, and their happiness inspires jealousy in those around them. Ian (Iago) is the bully who decides to destroy the budding friendship just to flex his ego and schoolyard power. He manipulates the situation in shockingly devious and adult ways, resulting in tragedy – by the end of the day, none of the children will ever be the same.

Chevalier is known for writing historical fiction, such as The Girl with the Pearl Earring, but she does an impressive job with this near-contemporary retelling of a much older story. Although technically the story is set fifty years in the past, it could easily take place in a schoolyard today, because so little has changed. The complex dynamics of middle school accentuate the inherent racism of suburban America, as these children become their future selves in the shadow of the judgmental adults who are meant to be teaching them openness and acceptance.

The novel is set in five acts, divided by two recesses and a lunch break. It is a microcosmic world where a day can seem like an eternity just because you’re eleven – the children’s adult-like concerns are punctuated by jump rope and kickball. The tight constraints of this narrative are effective, emphasizing the heartbreaking tragedy of Othello by compressing the intense emotions into a few short hours. Ian’s vindictive, petty schemes result in a tragedy that will be inevitable until boys like Ian stop imitating men like Iago. Despite its 1970s setting, I found this to be the most relevant and current novel in the Hogarth Shakespeare series so far, and I look forward to more like it.

I received this book from Hogarth Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Readers are presented with yet another “retelling” of a Shakespeare work. This time Tracy Chevalier tackles Othello in “New Boy” the story of a group of sixth graders and the disastrous chain of events that follows a black student’s arrival at an elementary school in suburban Washington, D.C.circa 1970.

The New Boy is Osei Kokote, son of a Ghanaian diplomat and Chevalier uses his arrival in this all white school to address her concept of the nefarious and pernicious racism that she views as rampant in American culture. Among the girls there is Dee, popular and intelligent beyond her years and attracted to Osei, the pensive Mimi, and Blanca the girl with questionable morals. Blanca’s boyfriend, Casper, is the most popular boy in school and shrewd for his age, the smitten and lovelorn Rod, and Ian who comes across as a deceitful bully whose control over the playground threatened by the arrival of Osei. All of these “kids” are disconcertingly mature in their playground machinations and emotional sophistication while their teacher, Mr. Brabant’s bigoted dislike for the new boy is obvious to a blind man.

In this “one day in the life of” saga, Osei faces an unreserved rancor that does not bode well for the playground inhabitants.