New boy : Othello retold

'O felt her presence behind him like a fire at his back.'Arriving at his fourth school in six years, diplomat's son Osei Kokote knows he needs an ally if he is to survive his first day - so he's lucky to hit it off with Dee, the most popular girl in school.

But one student can't stand to witness this budding relationship: Ian decides to destroy the friendship between the black boy and the golden girl.

By the end of the day, the school and its key players - teachers and pupils alike - will never be the same again. The tragedy of Othello is transposed to a 1970s' suburban Washington schoolyard, where kids fall in and out of love with each other before lunchtime, and practise a casual racism picked up from their parents and teachers.

Watching over the shoulders of four 11-year-olds - Osei, Dee, Ian and his reluctant girlfriend Mimi - Tracy Chevalier's powerful drama of friends torn apart by jealousy, bullying and betrayal will leave you reeling.