She noticed him before anyone else...Arriving at his fourth school in six years, 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 1970s suburban Washington schoolyard, where kids fall in and out of love with each other before lunchtime, and practise a casual racism picked up from their parents and teachers. Watching 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.
Barb takes care of the web orders here at Boffins, and is your contact for book club enquiries. She spends all her spare time curled up on the couch reading and for the last several years has reviewed books on the Afternoon Program on ABC radio Perth.
The world of the school playground with all its friendships, rivalries and drama is wonderfully created in Tracy Chevalier's The New Boy, the fifth title in the Hogarth Shakespeare Series, where modern day best-selling authors are asked to re-imagine Shakespeare's plays. She has chosen a 1970s Washington DC school playground, as her setting, and all the action takes place over the course of one day. A new year 6 boy has arrived, late in the school year. Osei is the son of a Ghanaian diplomat. Looking around, he sees that all the other children are white and knows he can expect both overt and covert racism. A young girl, Dee, is assigned to show him the ropes and the pair quickly become friends. However the class bully, Ian, doesn't like what he sees and sets out to cause trouble. As recess is followed by lunch and then afternoon break, Ian's plan unfolds, wreaking havoc among the students and teachers. Like the others in this series, the story is written to stand on its own. You don't need to have any knowledge of Othello, but if you do, then you will see all the parallels and references to the play. I loved the way Chevalier nailed the atmosphere of the playground. All the kids are hyper aware of the invisible hierarchy that exists among them. They live in their own little world , or worlds really. There is the Pirate Ship where certain groups hang out, the ball game that others play, the trees where some go to sit, and the constant game of jump rope played by the girls. Each has its own strictly adhered to etiquette that Osei is aware he must navigate to have a chance of fitting in.
