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  • Published: 4 July 2023
  • ISBN: 9780143779278
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 224
  • RRP: $21.00

Hamlet is Not OK




Funny, shocking and brilliant: from bestselling author R. A. Spratt, a whip-smart take on Shakespearean moral dilemmas

Selby hates homework.

She would rather watch TV – anything to escape the tedium of school, her parents’ bookshop and small-town busybodies.

So Selby didn’t plan to read Hamlet. She certainly never planned to meet him.

This novel transports Selby, and the reader, into the cold and crime-ridden play itself. Here she meets Hamlet: heavy with grief, the young prince is overthinking and over everything. Selby can relate. But unlike Hamlet, Selby isn’t afraid of making decisions. In her world, Selby is used to feeling overlooked. But in the bloody, backstabbing world of Shakespeare, Selby’s good conscience and quiet courage might just save some lives . . . hopefully before Hamlet stabs one of her classmates.

‘The book presents a convincing argument for Shakespeare’s value in modern-day classrooms’ – Kirkus Reviews
‘A refreshingly different, wildly imaginative take on Shakespeare’s Hamlet.’ – Booklist starred review

‘Spratt doesn’t waste words, and is an expert at whittling away the blurry edges of a story to reveal the golden core. Through Selby’s eyes, Spratt delicately and thoughtfully opens up the famous play to readers who may feel that Shakespeare is just for people who excel at English.’ – Storylinks

‘Books like this are a joy to read, because they acknowledge mental health issues, celebrate words, and acknowledge the difficulties some have with reading.’ – Ashleigh Meikle, the Book Muse

‘Sharp-witted and funny. . . Shelby’s ignorance of anything Shakespeare brings a fresh teen perspective on the behaviour of the characters and their actions to one another. A clever, entertaining read.’ – What Book Next

  • Published: 4 July 2023
  • ISBN: 9780143779278
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 224
  • RRP: $21.00

About the author

R.A. Spratt

R.A. Spratt was born in the UK and lived in Dursley, Gloucestershire – a town immortalised by Harry Potter’s deeply unpleasant relatives – until she was two years old. Then, like many ambitious English people cursed with regional accents so strong no other British person can take them seriously, her family moved to Australia.

The tedium of growing up in the western suburbs of Sydney was fertiliser to the growth of R.A.’s imagination. The only thing for a kid to do was get on a bicycle and go to the library, so R.A. Spratt did just that. Once there, she read everything, devouring the books of Arthur Ransome, Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, Robin Klein and Judy Blume, and audiotapes of Shakespeare productions and Sherlock Holmes dramatisations. And so, her young mind was formed, and set on the path of becoming the extraordinary author she is today.

Now based in Bowral NSW, she's the bestselling writer of dozens of absurd and witty books including Friday Barnes, The Adventures of Nanny Piggins, The Peski Kids and the Shockingly and Astonishingly Good Stories collections. Her podcast, Bedtime Stories with R.A. Spratt, has had over 4 million downloads and connects R.A. with story-lovers across the globe.

For more information, visit raspratt.com

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Praise for Hamlet is Not OK

Hamlet is Not OK is a celebration of the imagination and the worlds that books and drama can open to us.

Lucy Bell, Australian actor

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Hamlet is Not OK classroom discussion points

Some great points to discuss with your classroom or book club, from this quirky new take on Shakespeare's Hamlet.