John Marsden offers up Hamlet in prose in a novel that brings the psychology of Shakespeare’s story into clear relief for young adults. Marsden provides vivid insight into the play’s characters, especially teenagers Hamlet, Ophelia, and Horatio. Hamlet, already burdened by conflicting feelings about his father, begins to crack under the pressure to achieve as the ghost demands he seek revenge for murder most foul. Ophelia suffers under her father’s paradoxical disregard and overprotectiveness, while her longing for the young prince intensifies. And Horatio’s loyalty and strong feelings for his best friend are complicated by his class status and the ever-growing chaos around him. Marsden illuminates anger and madness with striking clarity in a novel that also features powerfully sensual moments as the burgeoning sexuality of its teenage characters becomes another force they must deal with. (Age 14 and older)