Oh My Gosh! This book was so much fun! It reminded me of The Land of Stories but for theater kids and english nerds! I loved the emphasis on how you can’t truly understand Shakespeare if you just read it, that it is something that needs to be seen! Also… If I could read a book out loud and enter its story! I would never leave!

Ironically, a book supposed to convince me about the wonders of reading made me never want to pick up a book again.

Maybe, buried under the cringy dialogue, half-baked plot, and weird Y/N fic this mess of a story had a point: the impact of literature, the importance of words, and the love for books that permeates history. It was even hinted that Shelby has dyslexia, which would be fantastic representation. But I could not get past how this was written.

Sentences are structured weird, short, and choppy. In one paragraph, the main character, Shelby, says she is cold three times. No teenager has talked like our MC does since the 80s. The "banter" is what boomers think sixteen-year-olds joke about it. Maybe it's the author's writing style, but it was insufferable to get through.

Plot holes through and through. How did Hamlet understand the modern English the MC uses? Just like reading Shakespeare for the first time is hard, I'm sure people from Shakespeare's time would have a stroke hearing how we speak. Yet, Hamlet understands it immediately. Also, how has Shelby never fallen through time before? Even though she doesn't like reading, it's unbelievable that she has never picked up a book in sixteen years. Her powers are never fully explained, so I never knew why she was transported with Hamlet. Also, no homework was turned in for two years? I don't know what school she's attending, but her parents would have been called in after a week or two of no assignments.

No spoilers and this is my personal preference, but I hated the ending. It ruined the overall morals and lessons we can glean from Hamlet. It's also, once again, a big plot hole. What Shelby said would have ended with her being burned at the stake instead of taken seriously, so it didn't make sense.

For an author who claims she loves Hamlet, she didn't do any justice to his story.

Just go read Hamlet instead and avoid this mess.

Thank you, NetGalley and Independent Publishers Group, for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Selby lives in an apartment above her parents’ bookstore. It sounds to me like she’s living the dream. Not so much, though. Selby’s not like the rest of her family. She doesn’t do well in school and she’s not a fan of books.

She’s pretty well caught up on all of the soap operas she binges but that doesn’t count as an accomplishment to her parents. And she may have forgotten to do her homework for the past six months.

Now her binge watching days are over and she has a hobbit for a tutor. Okay, maybe not literally but she has trouble seeing Dan, one of her older brother’s friends, as anything else.

A good author can make words come alive but not usually to this extent. Before they know what’s happening, Selby and Dan are in the story.

‘There are stranger things in heaven and earth than in our imaginations, Selby.’

In spending time in the pages of Hamlet, themes of grief, loss and mental health are explored.

‘It’ll be fun. You might even learn something.’

Speaking of, you may stumble across some accidental learning.

I’m not quite sure where this book fits. It reads like a middle grade book but the main character is 16 and my library categorised it as YA. If this had been published when I was a kid, I probably would have read it when I was 10 or 11. I usually liked reading about kids who were older than I was but the Shakespeare would have tripped me up.

If you’ve somehow made it this far without reading Hamlet or at least picking up on the basics of the story by osmosis, you’re in for some major spoilers.

This book is a reader’s dream come true, playing with the magic of bringing a book to life. If I had the ability to transport myself into a fictional world, I probably wouldn’t be choosing one with such a high body count, but Selby didn’t get to choose her English homework.

‘I told you if you saw the play performed live it would make more sense to you.’

I couldn’t read a book like this without thinking about the stories I’d choose to spend a few chapters in if I had the chance. The chocoholic in me wants to hide out in Wonka’s factory for a while. Kid me would have wanted to live inside The Neverending Story, after the whole Nothing business was fixed. Ultimately, though, I think I’d want to spend with my kindred spirit, Anne Shirley Cuthbert.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Independent Publishers Group and Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Australia, for the opportunity to read this book.

Hamlet is Not OK appealed to me when I read the blurb as I am a huge Shakespeare fan. However, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. On the plus side, perhaps it's a work that will help young people become interested in Shakespeare and not think of it only as something forced on them at school, and I applaud that aim. If it has that effect, I'll be happy. The plot idea was also entertaining, even if it felt rather like fanfiction. This book was advertised as YA, but while the age of the characters matched that, the writing felt Middle Grade. I was also irritated by some of the dumbing-down going on, and the fact that Hamlet didn't seem the least fazed by his journey to the future, which led to so many anachronisms, such as him seeming to know what 'police' meant etc. Finally, while it may be nitpicking, it also irked me that the author's attempts to write Shakespeare-like dialogue when not directly quoting lines from the play resulted in incorrect usage, such as mistaking thou versus thy. Overall, though entertaining on one level, I found this book too 'dumbed-down' to be truly satisfying, with too many plot holes left unanswered. I am giving it three stars, though, as I do like the idea of making Shakespeare interesting and accessible to younger readers.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

✰ 2.75 stars ✰

“True,’ said Hamlet. ‘But what do you want in return?’
‘To go home,’ said Selby. ‘Without a guilty conscience.’

‘We all of us are sinners,’ said Hamlet.
‘Yes, but that is no excuse to do less than your best,’ said Selby.”

I can't tell you how many times in my life I have used a variation of To be or not to be, one of the most iconic phrases from one of Shakespeare's most lauded plays. So it was a quirky if not quick read that I stumbled into here - one that is not so much a retelling of the king of Denmark's woes, rather a doorway into his life, as fiction merges with reality to show just how much Hamlet is Not OK

“I can learn anything and travel anywhere without leaving town. That is the magic of books. I can travel around the world, into space, back and forth in time. All through the power of reading.”

Aside from suspending disbelief at the notion that one can enter the fictional world of a Shakespearean play and also succeed in bringing certain characters into your own world, the fact that sixteen-year-old Selby had spent nearly two years without doing a smidgen of homework seems absolutely preposterous. 🙄 'There is shame in ignorance – wilful ignorance. It’s about a thirst for knowledge, a curiosity to know more.' But, Selby is a naysayer, a disbeliever - one who doesn't take much stock in the value of reading or books or learning - one who doesn't understand the necessity of studying, more inclined to watch tv, or feel the same compulsion of protecting and savoring books, as her parents take pride in the bookstore they own. But, when English homework requires her to have a better understanding on the play Hamlet, and her parents hire her older brother's close friend, Dan, as her tutor, it's only through sheer power of being that somehow draws the two of them into the play, thus, coming face-to-face to one of the most memorable characters of Shakespeare's plays. 🥺

I do like the idea of entering a fictional world - how many of us haven't dreamed of doing that? 😊 But, it was a unique take here, one where the characters don't exactly become a part of it, but are mere spectators of the events that unfold. Selby's antics may have not been amusing, but it was interesting to see a different side to Hamlet - woe is him, as he faced all his impending cataclysmic moments, ones which Selby wasn't very well-versed in, but by witnessing it first-hand was an enlightening experience for her, if not a necessary one - as it gave her a clearer perspective on so many facets of life. 👍🏻 ‘There are stranger things in heaven and earth than in our imaginations, Selby,’ muttered Hamlet.’ With her own modern day views and opinions, she was also able to provide her own pearls of wisdom to Hamlet and Ophelia, reminding readers how many of Hamlet's ill-timed decisions could have been dealt with differently - how she pulled him back from the dark recesses of his mind and heart - showing that there was a different way to approach things for the future.

“We have to let their story play out,’ said Dan, ‘because, in the world of books, Hamlet is one of the most important stories ever told. And books are important. The advance of ideas and literary expression is how civilisation evolves.”

Combined with some humorous wit and amusing banter, Selby and Dan's time in the fourteenth century also shed light on how valuable literature is to the fabric of time. For we don't always realize how much of an impact these pieces of literary work have shaped history - literary and literally. 😥 It was a nice touch to the story to show whatever advice Selby may be offering to Hamlet, it directly would alter the course of events - for denying Shakespeare the opportunity to write out the play as he felt fit - so much of future scholars and writers and people would not reap the benefits of his creative ideas and phrases. 'That’s how storytelling works – it’s rewritten and retold to make sense to each generation. But the kernel holds true through the ages.' Much like how life influences art, so too does it depict the cause and effect of what could have happened if Hamlet did not kill his father, if Ophelia had married someone else, etc. 😔

“Because you don’t get it. You live here in a building surrounded by books, but you can’t see how important they are. You can’t see the wood for the trees.

Books are time capsules of ideas. They are how knowledge and wisdom and art are transferred through time. They are important. We can’t vandalise that.”

It was funny how Hamlet tried to battle his wits with Selby's more laid-back and level-headed thoughts - how she didn't fall prey to his melodramatic and melancholic thoughts, more inclined to help him see how much more he has to live for. 'Hamlet is a pivotal work in the evolution of English literature' but seeing him as an actual character, one at the brink of life-changing moments and being swayed by Selby and Dan's unintentional intervention may have been just a brief respite for him, but one that would forever change, well, everything. 😢 Dan was a counterbalance to Selby's more hasty and impulsive actions - one well-versed and well-informed about why it wouldn't be right to mess around with a play that has so much value and merit - something Selby's T.V.-addled mind never understood or appreciated. Yet, by seeing it for what it was - by getting a glimpse into something she had no knowledge of awakened in her the realization that there was, indeed, much more for her to learn, and that she shouldn't be so willfully ignorant as she had chosen to be for so very long. 😟

There is an underlying message to why their trip into the play was an important one, one which Selby reflected on after her return - one which helped her accept how much of herself she needs to help herself change for the better. ‘Who knew words could have so much power.’ 👏🏻 I do believe the author had a good idea to share, just could have served with a bit more of an impressive writing to it. One of my major complaints would be that I couldn't quite tell which audience this was for - young adult or middle grade. 🙍🏻‍♀️ Even with Selby being a Year 11 student, I felt that this was more of a read targeted for younger readers with how simple the writing was at times, despite how many of Hamlet's original quotes resonated throughout. I know it's not a bad thing to have simple writing, but it does affect your overall mood. Still, it was a nice bedtime read, one that was fast-paced and still engaging enough for me to not only pick out the actual Shakespeare quotes, but to also appreciate why I still love reading. 📚💕

*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.