OK, I have read <i>Hamlet</i> way back in approximately 1990-1991 in a Shakespearean class in my junior year of college. So I don't remember a lot about it. But from what I do recall I think this was a good modern take on it. Ophelia (a name most people will be familiar with) is shown to be a strong woman in her role in this debut by Dot Hutchison. I didn't like how Hamlet treated Ophelia and how abusive he was towards her. I do remember her character enough to say that in this rendition of <i>Hamlet</i> that Ophelia is different. She's grown and is no longer quite the same person as in Shakespeare's play. I like this Ophelia because she's strong. Although, she does have her moments of weakness and she does accept her abuse at times which I didn't like to see.

This book, like <i>Hamlet</i> is to be considered a tragedy. For that reason, some may not like its content. So you will read scenes of brutality, violence, manipulation, abuse, revenge and even murder. Overall, I felt like it was a very good debut and I would read this author's work again.

I started out really liking this, because I feel the author really nailed the characterization (Hamlet is my favorite play, so I know these characters well), especially Polonius and Ophelia. However, as the story progresses, the language changes from being normal modern English to very old-fashioned speech, sometimes quoting directly from the play. This has a jarring effect since it changes the characters quite a bit from modern teens to some sort of strange anachronisms. It's also very difficult to figure out where or when this is taking place: the characters have computers and cell phones but their way of life seems extremely old fashioned and antiquated in other respects.
Overall, it had the potential for greatness, but didn't quite get there.

Perhaps I have too much excitement and too high expectations to enjoy novels that are adaptations of Shakespeare's works. It could be possible that I love him too much to thoroughly enjoy them. Whatever the reason, A Wounded Name fell short for me. The writing was lovely, and the premise was sound, but overall it didn't work. I hated the relationships, I found the love interest extremely problematic. EXTREMELY problematic. Like, the author was romanticizing abuse and that just didn't sit well with me. I would have a hard time recommending this one.