12 year old Macbeth dreams of football success, but as his ambition (and his mum) pushes him to betray more and more of his teammates, he seems more likely to destroy his team altogether than impress footballing scouts.
Macbeth United is an extremely clever reimagining of Shakespeare's Scottish Tragedy which young readers will love. It's so well done, including all of the key moments and little details, reimagining the events of the play in a way that remains faithful to its new genre, as a contemporary football story. I loved the way the porter is re-imagined as a local odd-job man, and Lady Macbeth (aka Mrs Macbeth, Macbeth's mum) is another brilliant inclusion.
This is definitely a novel you can enjoy if you've never read, or even heard of, Macbeth before. It will also help children to follow the plot of the original play if they later come to read or watch it. I can think of lots of YA Shakespeare retellings, but I don't think I've read any aimed at younger readers, who are usually left with abridged versions of the original. Macbeth United, on the other hand, makes the plot of Macbeth exciting and relevant. It is filled with football-match feuds, text messages and, of course, plenty of on-pitch action.
I flew through this story and found it really engaging. I can see it being very popular in school libraries this year.
Macbeth United is a fantastic adaptation, bringing this classic tale of ambition and betrayal to life for a younger audience.
Thank you so much Scholastic for sending me a copy to review.
Macbeth United is written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Tony Ross
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