That’s 10-year-old Angus Gettlefinger on the cover. He lives with his parents and 3 siblings in an L.A. suburb.
Angus loves theater and old Hollywood movie stars. He often has pretend talks in his head with the likes of Lon Chaney, Harry Houdini, Charlie Chaplin, and Buster Keaton. Young readers will likely be saying “Who are they?”, but I’d suggest reading the one page back material first: WHO ARE THESE GUYS ANYWAY?
Angus plans to perform in a production of Hamlet, but with werewolves for a fifth grade legacy project. His teacher is less than thrilled with the idea, but Angus hopes the message from his play will bring back the close relationship he once had with his brother, Liam.
Liam is 17 and has been sneaking out at night, smoking, drinking, and doing drugs. Angus thinks his obnoxious brother is acting like a werewolf. Meanwhile, his parents are struggling financially and may have to give up their home. Older sister Hannah wishes she could move to Maine and innocent little sister Sidney can’t really grasp what is happening to the family.
The first person narration by Angus is heartfelt. When Liam goes missing Angus knows he has to find him. Chapters often end with Angus relating conversations he has had with Liam. An effective way to bring forth the emotions this young boy is dealing with. It’s a gut wrenching portrayal but one that also includes some comedic moments, especially with his two friends at school.
Werewolf Hamlet is an honest portrayal of a family dealing with a child’s addiction. One that might be helpful to readers in the same situation and a great addition to the Middle Grade shelves.
BOOK BIRTHDAY: Feb. 18, 2025 PAGE COUNT: 256
FIVE MORE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT: WEREWOLF HAMLET by Kerry Madden-Lunsford
- The publisher, Charlesbridge, has created a fun webpage for the book: https://www.charlesbridge.com/pages/werewolf-hamlet.
- Zora and Connor are the helpful friends Angus needs. Zora always follows the rules and Connor is an Alabama transplant who doesn’t like living in L.A. The perfect twosome when they join Angus, leaving school without permission to try and find Liam in Hollywood.
- Instead of being a predictable ending where the family troubles are solved, we get a more realistic one as Angus finally gets his chance to perform his short production of Werewolf Hamlet with help from his wonderful dog, Renfield, along with friends, and sisters.
- The author’s letter to readers is a must read. It’s there she explains how she came to write this book along with a list of free resources for families who are trying to cope with some of the same issues as the Gettlefinger family.
- Angus often quotes Shakespeare when he needs a snappy comeback. It’s a fun way to begin learning about this playwright and actor.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kerry Madden-Lunsford has been a regular contributor to the LA Times OpEd page. For several years, she directed the creative writing program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she is still a professor, and she taught in Antioch University’s MFA program in Los Angeles for a decade. She is the author of the picture book Ernestine’s Milky Way. She also wrote the Maggie Valley Trilogy, which includesGentle’s Holler, Louisiana’s Song, and Jessie’s Mountain. Her book, Up Close Harper Lee, was one Booklist’s Ten Top Biographies for Youth. Her first novel, Offsides, was a New York Public Library Pick for the Teen Age. Kerry is the mother of three adult children, and she now lives full-time in Birmingham, Alabama. Visit her at kerrymadden.com.
Check out Kerry Madden-Lunsford on social!
Bluesky Threads: @kerrymadden27. Substack
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This sounds like a powerful story that sadly some kids can relate to. I’m glad the story is realistic rather than wrapping everything up in a happy ending. Thanks for sharing it this week.
This sounds like a powerful story that sadly some kids can relate to. I’m glad the story is realistic rather than wrapping everything up in a happy ending. Thanks for sharing it this week.
I love the idea of using Shakespeare as a snappy comeback! The book sounds great, and problems with siblings, especially when it comes to drugs and alcohol, are sure to be familiar to a lot of middle graders. I must add it to my TBR, Thanks for the recommendation!
I basically lived this story when I was that age (well, okay, minus the Shakespeare play), so this book would have been powerful for me. Thanks for featuring it!!
My latest MG post: The Ghosts of Bitterfly Bay
I wasn’t sure about the werewolf in the title as I’m not a huge fan of them in fantasy. But now that I see this is realistic fiction, this sounds intriguing. I love the old movie and Shakespeare references–and a dog too! This sounds weighty, but I’m sure those other fun bits lighten the mood.
Sounds great!
FYI, bluesky link didn’t work. Here’s the correct link: https://bsky.app/profile/kerrymadden.bsky.social.
Thanks for finding the dead link. I’ve updated it with the one you provided.
Thank you for this beautiful review, Greg. I so appreciate it. Could you fix one typo? It’s Lunsford and not Lansford. Thank you so much. Everything is wonderful and I’m sharing it far and wide. 🙂
Thanks for letting me know. The typo has been fixed. I appreciate you stopping by!
What an unusual and meaningful story that will be helpful to other young people. I remember the names Buster Keaton, etc., but don’t remember much about them
Love that one of the siblings loves and quotes Shakespear. A favorite Netflix show I watch, Sweet Magnolias, has a teen boy who quotes Shakespear and is very theatrical — adds something to the show. Great choice.
Will be interested in the UFO book you’re reading.
This sounds like a valuable book. I hope that a lot of MG readers will resonate with it.
It’s nice to read of a book that doesn’t wrap everything up neatly with a bow at the end. Life happens, and kids know this. Thanks for telling me about it. I’ll try to check it out.
I’m like Jenni Ensor in initially not liking the werewolf link, but reading on, it sounds like a really good book. Thanks for highlighting it!
Hamlet and werewolves – that definitely grabs my attention. Even more to learn that it’s just “werewolf behavior” … which is intriguing in its own right. Sounds like one I need to read.
I’m so glad to find out about your page and now have even more ways of finding out about middle grade books like this one. It was nice to meet you virtually today.
Thanks for stopping by the blog. It was also nice meeting you yesterday. I don’t make all of the kid lit meetings but enjoy them when I do. Have a great week!
All my best, Greg ALWAYS in the MIDDLE https://gpattridge.com/
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