The Unexpected: James Hartley Shakespeare’s main characters each have fatal flaws which are carried through his plays. Each tragedy often focuses on the fall of a nobleman. A person who is powerful, wealthy and his downfall is tragic. Within this YA novel you will meet characters that enact murders like those committed in Macbeth, Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliette. Julius Caesar is killed by his most trusted friend. He is killed because they claim he is becoming a tyrant. Brutus is the killer and one of the conspirators of his death. Within the Unexpected you will meet characters that are earthlings, cyborgs and mod or modified. One woman is our central character who will be murdered for wanting too much power running a school. But first let’s meet Alice and Charlie who were transported from Mars to The St. Francis School where our story takes place and where author James Hartley creates a school with unique and creative teachers, students who are eager to learn and think way out of the box and a head mistress who has gone too far and us power hungry. As the Headmistress, Mrs. Mallowan has the final say about what happens in the school but three mods, Chor Zor, Pull Mun and her best friend, Row Lin would murder her using the weapons in Shakespeare’s three tragedies knives or daggers. A murder during a meeting and Aunt Athy or her truly closest friend witnessed the death . The fear reigned as Alice and Charlie , Athy’s great nephew and niece were in class each one exploring ideas for their projects. Alice and her partner had a unique idea to try and trace using special technology they had in this school and with their teacher’s help to take an idea she dug grand using the inside paths in her brain to follow this idea from beginning to end. This was fascinating. Charlie was into something else along with his partner who was concerned they would not have a thought for their project until Aurora suggested the history of the school and his idea to create a feelie intrigued the teacher and his partner Things get interesting as Alice climbs way above the classroom, enters her own brain and what she describes is mind boggling until Mr. Banks informs her and Roald her partner that things are tense and there is trouble ahead. The experiment is halted, the children are forced to return to their rooms but the memorial for the Head mistress takes a dark and dangerous tone when Aunt Athy takes the stage and reveals the truth behind that the new Headmaster claims is the reason for her death. Revelations are made, accusations are heard but first Chor creates his own veil to hide the truth and hopefully no one will think that it was murder but that she had a heart attack and died during the meeting. Claiming he cared for her would not hold when Agatha speaks, reveals the blood under the purple blanket covering her and she now has to run for her life because the three mods want her gone and Alice and Charlie might be in danger too. Events change and the mods take over the school and then both Charlie and Alice are their targets as Aunt Athy is now in the picture on the wall and just what that means will surprise readers. How can she hide in a painting and what did the mods do to Charlie that made him so disoriented and poisoned? Alice is determined to find him but her school project and partner play a role but Mr. Banks is taken into custody along with Alice and now she has to be resourceful and figure out how to stop what they have planned. But can she? What about Aurora and the couple that Charlie and Aurora met, Sam and Leana who are now no longer in their cabin but enlisted by Chor Zor and his two other mods to take in all the human students and teachers and place them in cells without much air or food. The type of space travel is not like the astronauts today and when Aurora and Roald have a way to escape why does Alice go back to the school and how does she plan to save everyone using the experiment to find an idea? Macbeth was misguided by his wife and in his increasing guilt and being paranoid he killed many people. Chor Zor and Pull Mun and Row Lin only thought about how to take over the school, deal with ridding the school of humans abut never realized that there were others that might take them down, but will they succeed? In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet fakes her death hoping that her parents won’t find her but in the end it is tragic but Alice finds a way to hopefully trick the mods and free herself from their domination but just where she takes them, what happens and how Aunt Athy comes into play is the work of this creative author who has given these young people, superintelligence, smart brains and thinking skills way above many teens today. Using her idea of going into her brain to follow an idea, the three mods never see it coming and the result if vividly crafted and surprising. Imagine an inter-system ship, imagine an Intergovernmental policy, imagine Charlie not wanting to go to safety but fighting with soldiers against Julius Caesar but promising his great aunt that he would retrieve the book that holds the key to everything and using what he never saw before, a pen to write down exactly what she says, as in this new world your eyes or machines write for you. Charlie finally escapes and imagine feeling fresh air for the first time, a different kind of sky that is not brown or filled with dirt and then Alice and Aurora have little air in their suits and must share what they have but will Alice’s plan work and will she be able to save the rest after leaving Aurora and Roald in a place that had food and shelter? Imagine Charlie learning that writing is the way you pass ideas from people to people. Imagine even from generation to generation. What would we do without books? How would information pass from generation to generation even with the internet? Chapter 27 is told in the future as three mods come up against one smart human named Alice and the ending is filled with adventure, lessons learned in humility, what happens when you betray the trust of those that you are supposed to protect? Power, control, disloyalties, murder in order to gain more power, daggers/knives, used to kill, one mod so filled with his own self-worth that he used two other mods to further his goals but as Macbeth learns and so does Julius Caesar you never know who you can trust and you never know when you ending will come and as Caesar states: the best death is UNEXPECTED? Lessons to be learned in cooperation, loyalty, science, the idea that you can learn about how an idea starts and follow it from start to finish would be fascinating if scientists could do that now, just where will Alice, Charlie, Aurora and the rest wind up you have to read this outstanding YA novel and learn the true meaning in many ways even the ending which is UNEXPECTED! ~ Just Reviews, Review

5/5 Stars It’s a well written, third instalment of Shakespeare retellings set within a school environment. It works as a stand alone, but character development is seen best when reading all of them. Perfect for those who love Shakespeare and as an introduction to ease some reluctant student’s into the Bard’s literary world. ~ Han Hunter, NetGalley

The series uses 3 of Shakespeare's well known works (Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar) in such an interesting and innovative way. There have been several books and movies out there that have modernized Shakespeare's work. Hartley does it in a unique and creative way. The Unexpected was probably the quickest and easiest of the three for me to read. Set both in the future and in the past, Charlie and Alice are introduced to the magic of St. Francis and the Book. Hartley also shows a future for earth where the air is poison, a sad possible reality. After the headmistress is murdered (in a very Julius Caesar fashion) the siblings, along with some other humans, must do what they can to escape while unraveling the magic that has been with the school for years. The Unexpected was a great ending to a good series. I would recommend it to many casual Shakespeare fans and to teens who want something a little different. ~ Jennifer Noble, NetGalley

The genre didn't really seem like something I'd usually read. But I love reading outside of my comfort zone so I figured I'd give it a shot. Lo and behold, I actually really enjoyed this book! This Middle Grade/YA sci-fi Shakespearean retelling is reminiscent of a Rick Riordan book with a touch of Orson Scott Card's sci-fi vibes. I really loved the immersion that this novel garnered, courtesy of the spectacular worldbuilding. In fact, I think my favorite part about The Unexpected is the way it sucked me in and made me interested in a plot that I initially didn't think I would like very much. That's good writing! This story, right from the get-go, is addictive. It's fast-paced and intriguing, with unique characters and frequent POV switches that draw you in deeper and give storyline from all perspectives. Despite there being many named characters, I was never once lost when it came to who's who. If I had one complaint, it would be that the climax was a long time in coming and then rushed through. This could also be because I was reading voraciously to get to the end... And, speaking of, I absolutely loved the ending! The finale of The Unexpected was as good as perfect. It put a smile on my face, which I always love at the end of a novel. I have to learn the hard way again and again not to judge a book by its genre, and today I learned that lesson once more. The Unexpected is (if I may) unexpectedly good! ~ Audrey Laurence, NetGalley

5 out of 5 stars. The Shakespeare´s Moon series of books for young teenage readers are about children who get mixed up in the plots of Shakespeare's plays. Aimed at helping children and teenagers approach the worlds of Shakespeare's plays in a fresh, imaginative new way, the plays allow readers to see the plays from the inside. This third installation in the series brings with it a feast to your imagination. It’s a fun and lovable read which is targeted toward the younger (pre-teen/teen) reader, but does not disappoint even the most adult mind. The kind of book, and series that makes you sit back and think - “huh, so that’s what it all meant” ~ Melanie Laing, NetGalley

Shakespeare told the most enduring, fascinating, timeless and gripping stories. Over the centuries they have been adapted and performed in countless innovative ways. James Hartley has, in these adaptations, retold the Bard's words in language that will captivate children. ~ Christopher Ecclestone, Actor