About The Book: Arriving at his fifth school in as many years, diplomat’s son Osei Kokote knows he needs an ally if he is to survive his first day – so he’s lucky to hit it off with Dee, the most popular girl in school. But one student can’t stand to witness this budding relationship: Ian decides to destroy the friendship between the black boy and the golden girl. By the end of the day, the school and its key players – teachers and pupils alike – will never be the same again.
The tragedy of Othello is transposed to a 1970s suburban Washington schoolyard, where kids fall in and out of love with each other before lunchtime, and practice a casual racism picked up from their parents and teachers.
My Thoughts: I have never read Othello, so I have no idea if this is a good retelling of the Shakespeare tragedy. It is from the POV of some sixth graders and it focuses on the arrival of a new kid. This new kid shakes things up quite a bit because he is African. He is the son of a diplomat and has been the new kid at different schools for the past few years. He befriends the golden girl Dee in the Sixth grade and they have a spark. Ian, the class bully is bothered by this and wants the new kid to know that he runs that playground and preferably the whole school.
It just brought me back to my sixth grade year, where there were groups on the playground that we all stuck with and where we hung out and who to watch our for. Who was the popular ones and who were the outcasts.
About the Author: Tracy Chevalier grew up in Washington, DC. She received her BA in English literature from Oberlin College before moving to London in 1984. She later attended the University of East Anglia in Norwich, where she received her MA in creative writing. Her works include The Virgin Blue, The Girl With a Pearl Earring, and Remarkable Creatures.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
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