Elise Broach. Shakespeare’s Secret. Henry Holt and Company, 2005. 250 pages. Age 9 to12.
The Doctor: “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
Shakespeare: I might use that.
The Doctor: You can’t. It’s someone else’s.Doctor Who, “The Shakespeare Code” (2007)
Well, that’s an odd coincidence—a Dylan Thomas figuring prominently in two very different creative works dealing with Shakespeare. I feel like I’ve uncovered a very important clue. I just wish I knew what the mystery was.
Look at that gorgeous cover! The necklace precisely fits the description in the book, and Hero is drawn just as you’d picture her. That can only mean that the person who did the cover art, at the very least, read relevant parts of the text. Good for him or her!
Yes, I am actually talking about the cover. I don’t know how else to review a mystery without spoiling it. I could booktalk it (with a lot of “duhn-duhn-duhnnnnn” sounds) but that’s not really what I’m going for. I have a list of grievances, but I can’t talk about them without SPOILERing them. Maybe there’s not much to spoil…this book is three years old.
Let’s be vague, then. From the start of the story, you’re not really sure what the puzzle pieces are going to look like, which is cool and exciting. But then, once those pieces are laid out, you find out there are only six, and you can already see how easily—and neatly!—they’re going to fit together. Plausibility factor: 0.
I liked it anyway, predictability and all. Except for how suggestive it was about the bard’s “real” identity. Okay, maybe publication dates are a little sketchy, but ten years of posthumous publishing? Repeat citation of plausibility factor.
Question requiring further research: Is there a very large population of middle grade novels that feature (or don’t, actually) mothers doing the whole Kramer vs. Kramer thing? Or are these just the titles I happen to pick up?
other reviews:
A Chair, a Fireplace, & a Tea Cozy | Jen Robinson’s Book Page
[ Posted in » Book Review Channel :: Fiction Reviews ]
