To say that Selby is not a fan of reading would be an understatement. In fact, Selby positively hates reading. It is difficult, and she often doesn't comprehend the text. Which is ironic, considering her parents own a bookstore and Selby works there part time. A couple years ago, Selby realized that she didn't have to read the assigned texts in class to still pass. Until she got to Shakespeare. Seeing her failing grade in English, her parents ground Selby. No more television, no more hanging out with friends. Now it's all about staying home, working, and reading Hamlet so Selby can pass her English class.
But when Selby begins reading Hamlet, with the help of Dan, another teen who works in the bookstore, they find themselves transported into the play itself, where everything comes to life. Armed with modern sensibilities and the overconfidence teens possess, Selby and Dan set off to avoid, or at least prevent, many of the tragedies that occur in the play. Her interventions reveal that Hamlet's fateful decisions were guided not by madness, but by the fact that he was slowly being poisoned by his uncle.
Transported back to their time, Hamlet makes quite an impression on Selby's parents, and his promise of marrying her is borne more from grief than from true love. Selby decides she must return Hamlet to his own story, before he takes over her own. And in the process, Selby develops a deep appreciation and understanding of the story and of the characters, allowing her to finally pass her English class and prove to her parents that she "read" Shakespeare.
A very cool take on a classic of English literature, Selby's adventures with Dan and Hamlet provides a hilarious take on what could be if one had the ability to rewrite a story. Fans of Shakespeare will appreciate this wonderfully crafted take on a book that can be hard to understand!
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