Interesting retelling of the Shakespeare play. Iago and his wife are now Black so that Iago's animosity towards Othello is not racist. The location is now England in the 16th century. Like all good retellings, Lester answers his own questions about the original play. Because this retelling is a novel instead of a play, he feels we can't suspend disbelief as easily as we can during an evening of theater; hence, more changes. He uses different typefaces for references to the original text. ( )

I enjoyed this book for its interesting portrayal of Iago as the same race as Othello, who in the Shakespeare version was a Moor, but in Lester's version is African. What I like about Shakespeare stories is that it is so evident that the same feelings and issues (death, love, jealousy, deception, race) still happen today. Shakespeare is truly timeless and Lester adapts Othello so teens can understand it. ( )