Saving Hamlet
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1.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A charming young adult contemporary novel with a little Shakespeare-infused time-travel adventure -- and plenty of drama!
Emma Allen couldn't be more excited to start her sophomore year. Not only is she the assistant stage manager for the drama club's production of Hamlet, but her crush Brandon is directing, and she's rocking a new haircut that's sure to get his attention. But soon after school starts, everything goes haywire: Emma's promoted to stage manager with zero experience, her best friend Lulu stops talking to her, and Josh -- the adorable soccer boy who's cast as the lead -- turns out to be a disaster.
One night after rehearsal, Emma distractedly falls through the stage's trap door . . . landing in the basement of the Globe Theater. It's London, 1601, and with her awesome new pixie cut, everyone thinks Emma's a boy -- even Will Shakespeare himself. With no clue how to get home, Emma gamely plays her role as backstage assistant to the original production of Hamlet, learning a thing or two about the theater, and meeting an incredibly hot actor named Alex who finds Emma as intriguing as she finds him. But once Emma starts traveling back and forth through time, things get really confusing. Which boy is the one for her? In which reality does she belong? Will Lulu ever forgive her? And can she possibly save two disastrous productions of Hamlet before time runs out?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fans of the Bard will relish this evocative and witty time-travel tale that has student stage manager Emma falling through a trapdoor into Shakespeare's 17th-century Globe Theater, where the high school sophomore is mistaken for a male backstage assistant. Before Emma has a chance to adjust to the language, conventions, and stench of Elizabethan thespians, she is swept into the frenzied preparations for the premiere production of Hamlet, the same play being rehearsed at her school under the questionable leadership of a new student director. Using the trapdoor as a portal between two centuries, Emma begins leading a double life, finding crises, triumphs, and romance in both worlds. First-time author Booth captures the thrills of the theater in two eras while providing an striking portrait of Shakespeare and the Chamberlain's Men through Emma's eyes. Her energetic narrative encapsulates general issues of Elizabethan England (disease, pollution, hygiene) and personal ones confronting Emma in modern times (earning respect from her cast, rebuilding broken friendships, and saving a show from potential disaster). As enlightening as it is enjoyable, this whimsical novel deserves applause of its own. Ages 12 up.
