Enter Three Witches by Caroline Cooney is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth from the viewpoint of a young, fourteen year old Lady Mary, a ward of Lord and Lady Macbeth’s. Lady Mary is looking forward to a bright future, being betrothed to a handsome young man and soon to become mistress of her own castle. Then her father is exposed and executed as a traitor along with her betrothed and Mary’s life is changed forever.

Friendless and on the very fringe of society, Mary is in a position to observe and when King Duncan is murdered and his two sons have fled, she knows that they were not responsible and that the real murderer is being given Duncan’s crown.

With lots of action and drama, the author puts her own stamp on this YA retelling. She scatters her own characters across the stage and builds her story all the while keeping the integrity of the play intact. Each chapter opens with a line from the original play giving us a taste of Shakespeare’s rich, descriptive language. While I personally wasn’t totally swept away, I believe this Macbeth fan-fiction would make a great introduction to Shakespeare for middle-school aged children. ( )

Narrated by Charlotte Parry. In this retelling of Shakespeare's "Macbeth," young people witness the power-hungry rise and fall of Lord and Lady Macbeth. There is Mary, daughter of the traitor Cawdor and lady-in-waiting to Lady Macbeth. Illdreth (excuse mispellings; I listened to the book) is maid to Mary and keeps a dark secret involving Seaton. Seaton is Macbeth's lackey, facilitating murders of those who would be in Macbeth's way. Fleance is son of Banquo and seeks to avenge his father's murder at Seaton's hands. And Swin is a scullery maid, keenly aware of the goings-on at Inverness castle. It was a bit of a slog to get through and I was at first distracted by the frequent insertion of lines from the play which interrupted the flow of the story (would have made sense to me in print). But Charlotte Parry's Scottish accent work is superb and gives the story atmosphere. ( )

Q4, P4

I really enjoyed this book because I think it's a great way to introduce young people to Shakespeare. The book gives the main gist of the story of Macbeth, but through the eyes of a young lady who, due to her father's actions, finds her circumstances diminished from a ward of Macbeth to a scullery maid in Macbeth's castle. By including quotes from the actual play as the subject headings AND as dialog that is overheard by the story's characters while maintaining the main storyline in modern English, it introduces Shakespearean English in a way that is understandable to kids. ( )

Interesting book for 8-12 year old readers. Basically retells the story of MacBeth from the view point of a young woman in the castle. Many of the chapters center around the lines of the play. ( )

Enter Three Witches is the tale of Macbeth through the story of Mary, a teen ward to Lord and Lady Macbeth. Chapters are organized into the acts and scenes of the original play. Mary struggles against the tragedy, while bodies fall around her. The novel incorporates not only the events but also much of the famous text into Mary’s story.

“ “I am told, Lady Mary,” said the King, “that this will be your fourth betrothal. A high number for one so young. You are a dangerous woman.” “ (pg. 278) ( )