Ophelia

by Lisa Klein

Overview

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!

If you think you know Ophelia and Hamlet's story, think again...

"A spellbinding tale of love, murder, and revenge." — VOYA

As ambitious and witty as she is beautiful, Ophelia is quick to catch the eye of the captivating prince Hamlet. Their love blossoms in secret, but bloody deeds soon turn Denmark into a place of madness, and Ophelia may be forced to choose between her relationship and her own life. In desperation, she devises a plan to escape from Elsinore Castle forever... with one very dangerous secret.

Ophelia takes center stage in this bold and thrilling reimagining of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, the story of a young woman falling in love, searching for her place in the world, and finding the strength to survive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599902289
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	01/01/2008
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.39(h) x 0.97(d)
Lexile:	860L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Lisa Klein, a former English professor, is the author of five historical novels for teen readers. She lives in Columbus, Ohio.

Editorial Reviews

"Ophelia the character is playful and bold; her banter with Hamlet is witty, and often their repartee features wordplay and double entendre that would have made the Bard happy." - Kirkus Reviews

"Klein creates a captivating story of a young woman entwined in an unconventional love, with secrets that could bring a royal kingdom to its knees. . . . A spellbinding tale of love, murder, and revenge." - VOYA

"Teens need not be familiar with Shakespeare’s original to enjoy this fresh take—with the added romance and a strong heroine at its center." - Publishers Weekly

"This book blew me away." - TeensReadToo.com, Gold Star Award

"[Readers] will be swept up by the vivid, atmospheric setting, the heart- pounding romance, the palpable torment, and Ophelia’s fierce, earnest questions about how to love." - Booklist

"Sure to be popular with young women struggling with issues of honor, betrayal, and finding one’s path." - SLJ

"Lisa Klein has done an incredible job with Ophelia. She has taken one of Shakespeare’s famous plays and written a tale that is a little more user friendly in today’s world. . . . Add castles, adventure, romance, murder and fleeing for one’s life, and you have an amazing story." - Teenreads.com, a Best Book of the Year

From the Publisher

No doubt all readers of Hamlet really want to know more about Ophelia. Klein imagines her childhood, her boyish ways and her instant adoration of the Prince. Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, takes Ophelia to live at the castle so that she may learn how to be a lady. Those readers familiar with the play will find this narrative filled with new interpretations of the familiar characters. Ophelia knows Gertrude intimately and offers a peek into the mind of the woman who married her husband's brother. For the most part, Klein sustains a credible, period style. Ophelia the character is playful and bold; her banter with Hamlet is witty, and often their repartee features wordplay and double entendre that would have made the Bard happy. However, there are moments when the illusion is broken. For example, Ophelia's tutor and closest female character says something right out of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, when speaking about her husband to Ophelia: "The husband may be the head but the wife is the neck, and it is the neck that turns the head which way she pleases." Teen readers who love long, detailed period pieces will adore this one. (Fiction. YA)

Kirkus Reviews