Something Rotten

Horatio Wilkes is a wily sleuth who finds himself in Denmark (Tennessee), where something stinks. The Copenhagen River is being polluted by the paper mill run by the Prince family. Horatio's best friend, Hamilton Prince, thinks his father was murdered and is outraged that his mother, Trudy, married his Uncle Claude without a decent period of mourning. Erik Davies gives a smart, understated performance as the wisecracking Horatio, the brooding Hamilton, and the heartbroken Olivia, without becoming smug or cutesy. Alan Gratz's foray into Shakespearean convolutions is witty, literate, and fun. Young adult readers will find this a helpful "who's who" in HAMLET before they actually read about the melancholy Dane, or, having read it, will enjoy the many clever references to the original. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

June 1, 2008
Gr 7 Up-The smell of the paper mill in Denmark, Tennessee, is Something Rotten (Dial, 2007) because the plant is dumping cancer-causing waste into the Copenhagen River. Teen detective Horatio Wilkes accompanies his best friend, Hamilton Prince, scion of the mill-owning family, home for summer vacation. The two are trying to answer questions surrounding Hamilton's father's death. Both boys suspect Prince's Uncle Claude, who quickly married the grieving widow. When they view a video left by the dead man, the investigation intensifies. With changes in names and events, Alan Gratz has mined Shakespeare's Hamlet for characters and situations in this mystery that also has a bit of romance. For example, Olivia, Hamilton's estranged girlfriend, crusades to clean up the pollution, but becomes very ill after drinking river water to publicize her cause. There's also a play within the novel and two inept flunkies named Roscoe Grant and Gilbert Stern. While Horatio uncovers clues that point to Claude as the killer, his quick thinking also saves hard-drinking Hamilton from an untimely death. Erik Davies narrates as Horatio with cool prep school sophistication nicely balanced with droll humor. Fun to listen to as a whodunit, the novel also offers an ecology lesson and is an intriguing way to study the elements of the Elizabethan original. A worthwhile additional purchase for school and public libraries.Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill, CT

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.