The Total Tragedy Of A Girl Named Hamlet (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
Summary of Novel“The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet”, by Erin Dionne is an amusing tale that not only captures some of the pitfalls of middle school- it conveys a very crucial and excellent moral lesson about fitting in in life and being true to one’s self. Hamlet Kennedy, the main character and antagonist in this story, is entering eighth grade, her last year of middle school. All she has ever wanted was to fit in and be a normal averaged girl in eighth grade, yet that will be extremely difficult considering the fact that her seven-year old sister, Desdemona, is joining her in Howard Hoffer Junior High. In addition, her parents, who are Shakespearean eccentrics, will constantly be visiting her to check how her younger sister is doing. The reason why Desdemona, is joining Hamlet in middle school, is because she scored very high on her IQ test when she was only two years old. Also, she was supposed to go to college this year, yet “Chestnut College wouldn’t let her declare a major unless she took music and art classes.” (Dionne, 6) Knowing that she will be embarrassed in school and with her classmates, Hamlet agrees to take care of Desdemona while she accompanies her to her daily classes. As they walk from class to class, Hamlet constantly reminds Desdemona or Dezzie to act normal and not use any of the Shakespearean quotes she uses at home, so she wouldn’t make Hamlet stand out. Subsequently, in English class, Desdemona was told to read a part of Mid Summer Night’s Dream and when she did, the whole class looked at her in admiration and awe. She read that excerpt so beautifully and fluently, that it made it sound as if she practiced reading it for a month. Promptly, the teacher told her to play Puck in the upcoming play of A Mid Summer Night’s Dream and she accepted; yet her only worry was that she didn’t want her parents to know about this nor to get embroiled with the play. On the other hand, ever since Hamlet knew Carter, her crush, she could not stop daydreaming about him. He was very handsome and charming, which made Hamlet wonder if he was the one who put origami pig letters in her locker. She can’t seem to put a finger on which that person was. Could it be Cater? (She hoped) or it might be KC, since everyone says he loves Hamlet but can’t express his feelings towards her. Meanwhile, in Desdemona’s homeroom, Saber and Mauri, the popular girls in school, have been getting closer to her, so they can manipulate her into helping them pass classes and get good grades. As time passes, Desdemona doesn’t figure out what they are doing to her, yet Hamlet always tries to make her understand. One day, while Mauri, Saber and Hamlet were arguing, the teacher sent them to the principle’s office and got them all into great chaos. Fortunately, Dezzie and Hamlet both said the truth, and ended up with no punishments. Finally, Desdemona realized that the girls were only using her to get good grades. Hence, she sought to take revenge, and mad a plan with Hamlet. They concocted a very cunning plan, in which Desdemona would give Saber and Mauri fallacious answers in their homework and notes for their presentations so they can embarrass themselves in front of the whole middle school. Consequently, Saber and Mauri found out that Hamlet didn’t want her parents to know that they were studying Shakespeare, so they called them in and made Hamlet look so mortified since her mother wore Elizabethan era clothes and marched into school with a tambourine. Right after her Mid Summer Night’s Dream rehearsal, Hamlet fled away to the counselor’s room weeping. She told the counselor all the problems that she is facing and why they are making her feel agitated. Later on, Hamlet starts gaining her parents’ trust after they accused her of breaking the family globe, when it was really Desdemona and her friends. Her parents apologized to her, and from that day on she started to feel a little spark of comfort between her and her parents. Meanwhile, Hamlet’s love life was getting very complicated; she heard people say Ty, her best friend, was in love with her while others said that KC loved her. Her head was in complete havoc, and then she decided to confront Ty and tell him that she can’t fall in love of him because he is like a brother to her. Ty was speechless; he didn’t know what she was talking about. Finally, they both found out that there was a misinterpretation about who loves whom. Ultimately, KC admitted that he was the one who dropped the origami pig letters in her locker and that he loved her. It was time for the play and for the first time in her life, Hamlet felt confident and ready. First, Saber and Mauri had to talk about the Bard, and when they did all the facts they said were wrong, because those were the facts from the notes that Desdemona gave them earlier. Hamlet played her role in the play and did a fantastic job; she did not miss any lines. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy were gratified by Hamlet’s actions. Thus, one can see that the theme in this peculiar story was “ Always be true to who you are, even if you don’t fit in.” It played a major role in defining the main characters personality and struggle in life.ThemeIn this particular story, the theme, “Always be true to who you are, even if you don’t fit in,” played a pivotal role since it conveyed a very crucial message to the audience, a message that easily applies to teens today. Hamlet wants to fit in in her community, and she believes that if she’s a normal averaged girl she can “ fly under the radar” (Dionne, 21) for the rest of her school year. However, as the main character grows and develops, Hamlet gets know that she needs to accept herself for who she is and not care what the people around her think. First, when Desdemona joins Hamlet in eighth grade, the audience visualizes Hamlet as an insecure girl since she is frightened about what her classmates might think of her. Through the author’s direct characterization, Erin Dionne describes Hamlet, while telling her sister what to do and what to say in certain times and places at her high school: “No curtsy this time- I’d warned Dezzie on our walk to class” (Dionne, 16). Subsequently, the theme perfectly complements Hamlet’s situation as a middle school teenager, because at first she doesn’t accept the fact that her parents come dressed with cloaks and march with tambourines to school because she thinks that her friends will make fun of her and look at her in a different manner. Moreover, by the end of this novel, there is a coming of age that is portrayed by the author. Hamlet takes revenge on the popular girls that were using her sister and she ended up being confident and sanguine on stage while performing her Shakespearean play. This was shown at the end when Hamlet said, “But also unique, creative, and distinct. Maybe being anything but average wasn’t a total tragedy after all.” (Dionne, 285) All in all, one can see that self-acceptance played a major role in this novel, since it has changed the protagonist’s character and developed the turning point and climax of the story.RecommendationAfter reading “The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet”, by Erin Dionne, I would recommend this novel mainly to teenagers that are precisely in eighth grade because, they might find a connection between their own lives and Hamlet’s. They might feel comfortable knowing that they are not the only ones facing certain obstacles, while going through a transitional period at this time of their lives. Also, I believe that this book is relatable to all middle school students, yet mostly for the students that are constantly motivated to learn more about history and learn new words. This is because; this novel requires the reader to have prior knowledge about Shakespeare in order to understand parts of this book’s content. For instance Kennedy’s parents always say “Huzzah” (Dionne, 290), which signifies cheers or hurray, in Shakespearean. Next, I would endorse this novel to those who are self-motivated to always have the determination to look up words in the dictionary, since the author uses a variety of high-level vocabulary. Finally, I would advise this novel to the middle school students that enjoy reading about love stories since they would be able to relate to some of Hamlet’s love stories. As one can see, the novel “The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet”, by Erin Dionne is considered a very entertaining and intriguing novel. It gives the audience a whole new perspective to see life and relate to multiple characters in the book’s pool of well-rounded and dynamic characters. I found this to be a light enjoyable read with clever plot details that give a gentle and humorous introduction to Shakespeare. The characters were quirky and likable, complete with all the humor and angst you associate with middle school and family dynamics – mean girls, emotional highs and lows, general insecurities, sibling rivalry, and dealing with parents. It is a light read, but there are lots of life lessons to be gleaned here.
What do You think about The Total Tragedy Of A Girl Named Hamlet (2010)?
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! It was cute and a good read. I felt attached to Hamlet by the end.
—stevenpiper82
cute book, funny, one I recommend to middle school students
—melanie
after reading this book i have been come a fan of hamlet
—Neeri
