After reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, we read Hamlet's Trap by Janice Greene. This suspense-thriller relates to the play Hamlet by Shakespeare. In the famous Shakespeare play, Hamlet's father died, and Hamlet suspects that his uncle killed his father so that he could marry Hamlet's mother and become king. The main character in Hamlet's Trap, Justin, also experiences the death of his father and begins to suspect his "Uncle Lance," who is engaged to marry Justin's mother. Below is a review of the book written by one of the students in the class and edited by "professionals" (all of the students working together : ).
We recommend Hamlet's Trap because it has suspense, action, and a surprise ending. First of all, the story is suspenseful. Justin breaks into Uncle Lance's apartment to look for evidence that Lance killed his dad. While Justin is in the apartment, Lance comes home. Justin did not expect Lance to return that early. The reader knows Justin is hiding in the apartment, but Lance does not know. The author uses dramatic irony to create suspense for the reader. Also, the story has action. At one point, a character is holding a welding torch near Justin's face. When Justin turned, the torch was waving in front of his face. The flame was so close. Too close! Justin could feel the heat on his ear. Finally, the story has a plot twist. We hope you will take the time to read Hamlet's Trap.
If you'd like to view the characters and predict the killer, take a look at the character web below. Leave your prediction in the comments section.
Below is a character web that Devon created to help us keep track of the characters in the story. Can you predict who the killer is? To know for sure, you will have to read Hamlet's Trap!
Thank you for reading and supporting our blog!
Room 370
Hey everybody, great description about "Hamlet's Trap"....I need to add that to my reading list. I remember reading Hamlet in High School and then again in college (Shakespeare Class). I will use Devon's web to keep track of the characters.
ReplyDeleteHi Mr. McGuinness,
DeleteWe can't believe you read Hamlet twice! If you read Hamlet twice, maybe you'll want to read Hamlet's Trap twice. If you want a copy of the book, you might want to join the "Battle of the Faculty 2020" (see other comments below). We think you could win!
Room 370
As always thanks for sharing. The book sounds really exciting and from what was described I can tell why you liked it. Devon's character web was quite detailed. I believe my guess is quite obvious but I think Lance, the future husband, is the killer. Looking forward to future blogs and keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteDr. Keenan
Hi Dr. Keenan,
DeleteThank you for continuing to be one of our best blog supporters. If you want to see if your guess is correct, you can ask Dr. Miron since he just stopped up to borrow a copy of the book! You may need to wrestle him for it, and the winner will get to read the book first. ; )
Gabe said it would be "the Battle of the Faculty 2020."
Room 370
Hi Ms. Boccia's class. I have a question, why would someone want to kill Justin's dad? I like Devon's drawing, but I could not figure out who the killer was. The book sounds exciting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing,
Mrs. Nowak
Hi Mrs. Nowak,
DeleteIf you want to find out why someone would want to kill Justin's dad, you have to read Hamlet's Trap! Come to room 370 to say hello and borrow a copy of the book. Thank you, as always, for supporting our blog and class!
Room 370
Hamlet's Trap sounds like a very interesting story. It has everything I like including drama, suspense and mystery. And, who doesn't like a surprise ending! I hope it is as enjoyable to read as the description! I would be interested to hear about all the students' reactions to the tale. And, I wonder if you have an extra copy for me to read? I
ReplyDeleteHi Dr. Miron,
DeleteThank you for taking time to look at our blog post. Also, thank you for stopping by today and picking up a copy of the book. We hope you enjoy it! When you finish it, let us know what you think about the ending. Have a good morning and a pleasant afternoon! ; )
Room 370
Hi Room 370 Clubhouse!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for letting me know about the new blog post. Wow, Hamlet's Trap sounds really intense! I love mystery stories and would like to read this one. Thanks for the suggestion. I think it's always so interesting when authors use dramatic irony. It sounds like this example of dramatic irony made the scene very tense. I'll have to read and find out if Lance ever found Justin in his apartment.
Since you said there's a plot twist at the end, I don't think Lance is the killer. And based on Devon's drawing, my guess is Humberto. There's something about his facial expression...
Thanks for writing!
Ms. Landis
Hi Miss Landis!
DeleteThank you so much for taking the time to look at the blog. We are glad that you enjoyed reading Berv's review of the book. If you want to find out if Humberto is the killer, ask Mrs. Boccia for a copy of the book, and you can find out yourself!
Thanks,
Room 370