summer read no. 4: The Total Tragedy of a Girl named Hamlet by Erin Dionne

started: I have no idea 2020

finished: April 16, 2020

once upon a time, I was getting ready to highlight my book Wintergirls after I read it, when naturally, you know that moment when you’re about to write (or in my case, highlight) on the left side of a notebook (in my case, book) and this:

just gets in the way? well, we have a pile of books stacked on top of our computer table—which idk who owns them but I think they’re my sister’s, so to fix my minor inconvenience (that annoyed me because im always overreacting), I picked up a random book and used it like this:

problem solved!

after highlighting, i started cleaning up but then the book ↑ kind of intrigued me so I read the synopsis and it kinda seemed like my cup of tea. later that night I ended up reading reviews about the book which were mostly good ones sooo I decided to read it.

and no regrets!!!!!

I love this book for so many reasons O M G. the writing, the Shakespeare lessons and references, the uniqueness, the sarcasm, the jokes, the FAMILY DYNAMICS (AAAHH!!), the friendships, the antagonists, HAMLET, school life, the self-acceptance message it’s putting out, the super cute yet subtle sprinkles of the love interest of our main character, the struggle of living life with Math, the relationship of Hamlet with her sister, their dog, the fact that it is SO relatable, and honestly I could go on and on if I would’ve taken notes while reading this book but rn, that’s all I have.

The Total Tragedy of a Girl named Hamlet is a very long title, I know. that wasn’t what I was gonna say but I just had to put it out there so let’s call her [the book] Total Tragedy and recognize the fact of how ironic that we call it that because it is the total opposite. this book is a TOTAL SMASH! (ew. corny but whatever)

it follows our main character Hamlet who has “Shakespearean scholar parents who show up like a walking, talking Renaissance Faire” (that basically means that they dress, act, and talk like they live in the Elizabethan Era) and a seven-year-old sister, Desdemona, whom you would think is pretty “normal” but that SEVEN-year-old is actually attending school with Hamlet. and oh, Hamlet’s in eighth grade (if you still don’t get the gist, her sister’s a genius and she’s supposedly about to get into college but she needed some additional coursework—whatever that is, specifically in arts and music hence, the 8th grade situation with Hamlet).

aaand yes, they’re named after characters from Shakespeare’s plays. of course.

Hamlet just wants to be someone who’s average, happy, and “normal”. she always stuck with blending in enough to not stand out. but, because of the aforementioned situation she’s in (aka her family), for her, it’s impossible. and a total tragedy.

basically, the story is about how Hamlet deals with her sister being in school with her, how embarrassed she is with her parents for showing up everywhere in a large cloak with bells (her mom) and a white polo tucked in tights (her dad), how she can’t speak in “commoner’s speech”, as her mom likes to call it, whenever she’s around (e.g. you’re, she’s, he’s, they’ll, isn’t, doesn’t, don’t, etc.), how her sister gets involved with the “not-so-iconic duo” whom she’s been avoiding her whole school life, how there are origami pigs in her locker, finding out who’s been leaving those paper creatures in her locker, finding out about her new found talent, and a few more stuff that would be delightful for you (if you’re planning to read the book) to find out on your own.

I really enjoyed reading this book and tbh, I never expected that I would. it’s really funny and wholesome and the atmosphere it gives is really light and I love it for that. as I’ve mentioned, it is also very relatable, not because I have parents who are Shakespeare’s no. 1 fans or a sister who’s an ultimate genius, but just because of the little things that happened in this book that I have gone through myself irl (aka failing Math, lol).

the characters of this book are really easy to love as well. they seem very real and I personally think that you’d have at least one character who’s very similar to someone you know irl. they are really raw and believable and I adore their individual personalities that really shine through whenever they’re in the scene.

another thing I love about this book is the self-acceptance aspect of it. though Hamlet wasn’t really someone who was struggling with extreme (?) insecurities, she still had some stuff she was going through. how she overcame those was really pure. and, the development of the rest of the characters throughout the book was really a sight to see (or read).

you might already know by now that im obsessed with this book and I love it so much so of course it’s a 5 out of 5 stars! and because of that (and also because I had fun the last time I did this in my previous blog), I prepared another gallery! here are *some* of my favorite scenes/lines/parts from The Total Tragedy of a Girl named Hamlet:

April 21, 2020