Once again I’m linking up again with Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea who hosts a post every Tuesday for people to share the first chapter / paragraph of the book they are reading, or thinking of reading soon. In really enjoy these tasters when I read them on other blogs so wanted to join in.
This week, I’m reading New Boy by Tracy Chevalier, a retelling of Othello. Here’s what it’s about…
Arriving at his fifth school in as many years, a diplomat’s son, Osei Kokote, knows he needs an ally if he is to survive his first day so he’s lucky to hit it off with Dee, the most popular girl in school. But one student can’t stand to witness this budding relationship: Ian decides to destroy the friendship between the black boy and the golden girl. By the end of the day, the school and its key players – teachers and pupils alike – will never be the same again.
The tragedy of Othello is transposed to a 1970’s suburban Washington schoolyard, where kids fall in and out of love with each other before lunchtime, and practice a casual racism picked up from their parents and teachers. Peeking over the shoulders of four 11 year olds Osei, Dee, Ian, and his reluctant girlfriend Mimi, Tracy Chevalier’s powerful drama of friends torn apart by jealousy, bullying and betrayal will leave you reeling.
Here’s how it start…
Before School
Ice cream soda, cherry on top Tell me the name of your sweetheart!
Dee noticed him before anyone else. She was glad of that, held on to it. It made her feel special to have him to herself for a few seconds, before the world around them skipped a beat and did not recover for the rest of the day.
This is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series. As I did well with the last book in the series (and only so far) – Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood – I have high hopes for this but we’ll see. What do you think? Would you keep reading?
Emma
Note: text from proof copy
New Boy is released on 11th May, 2017: Pre-order on: Amazon UK / Amazon US
One Readers Thoughts 
It’s certainly got an arresting start – I’d continue reading. Hope you enjoy the rest of it, Emma:).
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Very interesting setting for a retelling of Othello. Yes, I’d keep reading! Hope you enjoy!
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I like this author–didn’t know she had a new book out. I’ll have to look for it. In the meantime, hope you enjoy it.
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I love the idea behind the Hogarth Shakespeare series and read one of the books, Vinegar Girl, by Anne Tyler (and loved it).
This one sounds dark…but I am already intrigued by the excerpt and the blurb. Thanks for sharing…and for visiting my blog.
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I think the Hogarth series is a great idea, but I’m not sure about this one for me, I do hope you enjoy it.
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I somehow missed the news of the Hogarth Shakespeare series — I like the idea of it and the authors are some of my favorites.
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I’m glad to learn about the Hogarth Shakespeare series. I like the synopsis and opening of this book, so I’d keep reading.My blog post today features an earlier book by Tracy Chevalier, Falling Angels:
https://monicasbookishlife.blogspot.com/2017/05/first-chapter-first-paragraph-tuesday.html
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I think it sounds interesting. I always like to see what authors do when they re-vamp an old story into the modern era. Enjoy it!
Laura 🙂
My FPFC Tuesday
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Sounds like a fascinating premise. I’ve enjoyed other books by this author, so I’m sure I’d like this one too.
My Tuesday post features Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die.
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Such a good way of reinventing Shakespeare and showing how good his stories are by making them modern and relevant to today’s audience.
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I nearly picked this one up to read this week, but decided on another one instead. It does sound good. I am not a fan of Shakespeare, admittedly, but I liked the story line of this one. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series.
Thank you for sharing, Emma!
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If it’s like the other I read you don’t need to like Shakespeare as the story is so good. Fingers crossed.
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Love the opening and the premise and I’m a fan of Tracy Chevalier so it sounds like a winner to me!
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Me too…on all counts. Hope it’s as good as I hope.
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I saw this recently and I do like this author so, I’d keep reading – enjoy
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[…] Tuesday, I introduced my latest read, New Boy by Tracy Chevalier, a retelling of Othello set in 1970’s New […]
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