A review by lesserjoke
New Boy by Tracy Chevalier

3.0

Othello is my favorite Shakespeare play, and I love the idea of retelling its story in a 1970s schoolyard. The new setting leaps off the page, as the son of a Ghanaian diplomat newly posted to Washington, D.C. joins an otherwise all-white sixth grade class and falls in love with the girl assigned to show him around. Unfortunately, the plot maneuvers required for the story to hit some of the major beats of the play can feel rather contorted at times, and the characters’ actions often — although not always — strain credulity for children of their age. (Certain Shakespeare references within the story are also too cute by half, raising distracting questions of whether adults like Mr. Brabant would be aware of Othello the play.)

The saving grace of the novel comes from it preserving the original story’s trenchant critique of racism both external and internalized, but as a whole I don’t really think it lives up to its potential.