Ms. Chevalier has given a contemporary spin to William Shakespeare’s “Othello” and has transported the tragedy to a 1970s suburban Washington schoolyard where a disastrous chain of events follows a black student’s arrival at a white elementary school.
Osei Kokote is the new kid in town, son of a Diplomat, he has moved a lot and became quite adept at dealing with being the only black kid in a white environment. To survive his first day he knows he needs an ally and he found one in Dee, the most popular girl in the school. But that alliance doesn’t please everyone. Ian vouches to put an end and crush their friendship…… By the end of the day pupils and teachers will be deeply affected……
The themes of racism, love, jealousy, revenge and repentance are revived in “New Boy” mix in racing hormones and place the drama in a schoolyard and you have a dynamic setting that is bound to be shocking and not end well. The author schoolyard depiction is right on: the clashes between kids, the hierarchies among them, their game, their emotions, etc. and how the adults react to bullying and racism. The book is easy to read, entertaining and a well-presented glimpse of schoolyard manipulation. It is a short novel that unfolds quickly and ends abruptly. Actually I had to reread the ending a few times to see if I hadn’t lost some pages….
“New Boy”, is unique way to live one day in the life of a group of sixth graders.
I received this ARC from Penguin Random House Canada via NetGalley
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