Character analysis
The main character of the book is Hamlet Kennedy. She is an 8th grader at HoHo. She has a genius 7-year-old sister and two Shakespeare scholar parents. “I mean, how often do a woman dressed in full Shakespearean regalia, a seven-year-old, and a humiliated eighth grader traipse through the middle of a junior high school on the first day of classes?” (Dionne 1). Her family is obsessed with Shakespeare, except her. All Hamlet wants to be is normal. She’s not the most popular girl at school, but things get worse when her younger sister joins the 8th grade with her. She also has a unique talent that she does not want. She can read Shakespeare like a professional actor. She reads it beautifully and perfect.“’What is UP?’ I hissed. ‘Your reading,’ he whispered back, looking over his shoulder to Mrs. Wimple. ‘So?’ What had I done? ‘Hamlet,’ he said gently. Ty never
called me Hamlet.‘You read it perfectly’” (Dionne 58-59). She has three best friends. Their names are Ty, Judith, and Ely. She has a huge crush on a guy named Carter. “I’d had a crush on Carter since we started HoHo: He was cute, quiet, and fit in” (Dionne 19). There’s also a guy named KC who annoys her and likes her, but Hamlet hates him. “’And dude, what’s up with you and KC?’ ‘Me and KC?’ I gasped, and a piece of cone shot down my throat and felt like it lodged in my lung. Judith waited through my coughing fit. ‘There is no ‘me and KC.’’ ‘Um, yeah. Sure,’ she said, while I wiped my streaming eyes. ‘He is so into you’” (Dionne 198). Another main character is Desdemona Kennedy, or Dezzie. She is Hamlets genius younger sister. “See, Dezzie’s a genius. Certifiable. Her IQ is off the charts – she scored a 210 on some test when she was only two years old. Whatever that number means, it was high enough for two newspapers and a magazine to write about her. At four, Dezzie ripped through the assigned reading for my parents’ courses before Thanksgiving. She could barely hold a pencil, so she dictated assignments into a mini voice recorder. Seriously” (Dionne 5). Dezzie tries to fit in, but it’s kinda hard since she’s so small and smart. “’I can do that. Can you do me a favor?’ Besides the one I was doing already? But I didn’t say that out loud. I nodded, instead. ‘Sure.’ ‘Please don’t tell anyone how old I am. I don’t want to make people uncomfortable’” (Dionne 11-12). These two girls named Saber and Mauri
talk to her all the time. At first, they only talked to her to find out the truth about Dezzie. But, later they only talk to her so they can pass English, so they can go on their family ski trip. Hamlet tries to tell Dezzie, but Dezzie won’t believe it.
called me Hamlet.‘You read it perfectly’” (Dionne 58-59). She has three best friends. Their names are Ty, Judith, and Ely. She has a huge crush on a guy named Carter. “I’d had a crush on Carter since we started HoHo: He was cute, quiet, and fit in” (Dionne 19). There’s also a guy named KC who annoys her and likes her, but Hamlet hates him. “’And dude, what’s up with you and KC?’ ‘Me and KC?’ I gasped, and a piece of cone shot down my throat and felt like it lodged in my lung. Judith waited through my coughing fit. ‘There is no ‘me and KC.’’ ‘Um, yeah. Sure,’ she said, while I wiped my streaming eyes. ‘He is so into you’” (Dionne 198). Another main character is Desdemona Kennedy, or Dezzie. She is Hamlets genius younger sister. “See, Dezzie’s a genius. Certifiable. Her IQ is off the charts – she scored a 210 on some test when she was only two years old. Whatever that number means, it was high enough for two newspapers and a magazine to write about her. At four, Dezzie ripped through the assigned reading for my parents’ courses before Thanksgiving. She could barely hold a pencil, so she dictated assignments into a mini voice recorder. Seriously” (Dionne 5). Dezzie tries to fit in, but it’s kinda hard since she’s so small and smart. “’I can do that. Can you do me a favor?’ Besides the one I was doing already? But I didn’t say that out loud. I nodded, instead. ‘Sure.’ ‘Please don’t tell anyone how old I am. I don’t want to make people uncomfortable’” (Dionne 11-12). These two girls named Saber and Mauri
talk to her all the time. At first, they only talked to her to find out the truth about Dezzie. But, later they only talk to her so they can pass English, so they can go on their family ski trip. Hamlet tries to tell Dezzie, but Dezzie won’t believe it.