Drama: A Graphic Novel

I’m not much of a middle grade or graphic novel person, but I decided to pick this up for my Banned book prompt for the Popsugar Reading challenge. And this turned out to be such a cute, lovely, wholesome, inclusive and entertaining middle school story, set against the backdrop of a play being put on by the theatre department, told through the eyes of the stage crew. It can get pretty dramatic at times, but what’s some drama when it’s a theatre crew. The representation is sensitively portrayed, it’s all about young kids finding themselves and what they love, and enjoying what they do. It’s also about a young girl crushing on every nice guy, but then realizing she has time to figure it all out and she doesn’t need a guy and show more that great friendships are equally important. The artwork is also cute and very colorful, and I loved the way the hard work that goes into a theatre production is portrayed.

I can’t believe that such wonderful books get banned just because some school boards/parents are bigoted and can’t understand/won’t tolerate acceptance of all kinds of sexualities. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves reading middle grade stories. show less

It is not difficult to see why Raina Telgemeier is a buzzed-about young adult graphic novelist; her work is enormously accessible and truthfully portrays the emotions (rollercoaster that they may be) of teendom. In her latest, Drama, readers have the opportunity to spend some time with pink-and-purple-haired middle-schooler Callie, a theater lover with a talent for set building and design. It is admirable that Telgemeier chose to set a spunky and likable young girl in the world of stage crew, previously occupied by awkward boys dressed all in black.
Like most teenagers, Callie jumps from one love interest to the next. The story opens with the recognizable sting of rejection: although Callie kisses her slightly older crush, Greg, he show more brushes her off by the next day and reunites with his ex-girlfriend. She soon moves on to Jesse, an intelligent overachiever who forgoes his own desire to perform to please his father and give his flamboyant twin brother, Justin, an opportunity to shine. Although so much of Callie’s story is wrapped around her love-life, the ending (albeit a little rushed) does provide Callie with success and happiness that is not tied to any boy.
Perhaps one of the most refreshing aspect of Telgemeier’s tale is the abundance of diverse characters that occupy Drama. Many races and sexual orientations are depicted and given roles outside of stereotypes (Jesse and Justin, for example, are Hispanic). It would, however, have been even more refreshing to see some diversity in Callie aside from her wild hair color. show less

Middle schooler Callie and her friends are psyched to be a part of the crew once again when their school decides to stage a spring musical. Meanwhile, Callie pines over Greg, the older brother of her friend Matt, and Matt seems to be miffed at her all the time lately. Also, Callie becomes friends with a pair of twins, Justin and Jesse, who excitedly read about the school play one day when Callie is placing flyers throughout the school.

I had previously read Telgemeier's Smile and enjoyed it enough that I picked up this book when I saw it at my library. Once I started reading it, I didn't want to stop. Unlike Smile, this is a work of fiction, but it reads as very realistic as Telgemeier has a great ear for dialogue and a sense of typical show more middle school drama. (The title works on two levels, "drama" standing in for "theater" and "drama" also referring to the flare-ups that occur among characters, especially when romantic entanglements or friendship issues arise.) The illustrations by Telgemeier really sell the emotion on each page. Fun little Easter eggs can also be spotted on various pages (such as the play posters sported on Callie's bedroom walls).

One thing I particularly like about the book is that while Callie's various crushes do make up a large part of the story, the conclusion isn't about her ending up with some guy. Instead, it focuses on her achievements while being on stage crew and her friendships. I highly recommend this book for middle schoolers or adults who work with them (and might perhaps need a little reminder of what being in middle school was like). show less

I first encountered this book at my local library book fair. I have done this fair every year since the sixth grade, and it is my absolute favorite time of the year. Not only do I get to take home an obscene amount of books for an extraordinary price (I had a friend who quite literally cleared out the YA section by 150 books and only had to pay twenty dollars), but I love seeing patrons walks home with THEIR obscene amounts of books. We get all sorts of types - the most common is the avid reader, trapped at our fiction table for hours on end because the volunteers just keep carting out more and more books. There are movies freaks, who wait for us to bring out yet another cardboard box of movies and literally pounce on it the moment it show more is set down, not even waiting politely for us to unpack the thing. I would make a comment about them missing the point of a book fair, but you know what, to each their own. I'm in no position to judge. The kindergarten teachers, who grab handfuls of ten cent children books and shove them into a crate to be pushed onto eager, messy, careless children. "Good luck, 'Pinkie Pie's Adventure'", I whisper like some sort of prayer. The scalpers, who hungrily seek out fresh blooded copies of Patterson and Clancy and pluck them from the eyes of old women to be sold at an artificial price on the likes of Ebay. The plain and simple odd ones out, with cowboy hats and more US Postal Crates than any one person has the legal right to own. And right in the middle of it is me and a few handy volunteers. Well, this year around, we had two newbies who didn't know a trade paperback from a mass market. And when we were organizing the children's section, one of them came up to me with the book and started demanding that I move it to the adult books "because gay". Those were her exact words. The one thing that condemned this book for many as I'm seeing in reviews and online was because it featured gay characters. What kind of bullshit is that? Being gay is apparently an adult topic.

It's a shame, too, because they're missing a great book that could otherwise really introduce older readers who are still kids regardless to the concept of homosexuality. The gay characters are not stereotypical despite their love of theater; the book does an excellent job as showing them as just being, well, people. They get happy, they get mad, and most importantly, being gay isn't their entire damn personality. Most fiction for kids and YA readers that deals with the concept of homosexuality seems to think that they have to keep mentioning their characters being gay, how attracted they are to other guys, and etc. This book doesn't go this route. Sure, our gay lead mentions being attracted to one of his classmates, but it's not the basis of his entire character. He takes out his best friend to shop at a theater store, he sings passionately, he makes friends...being gay is not this guy's entire reason for existence. And I love that.

The art style is okay. It gets the story across very well, but it's not something I'd spend minutes upon minutes pouring over for its effort and hidden details. Simply put, it's cute.

Overall, this is definitely worth a read. I certainly fell in love with it fast enough, and I'm sure you will, too. show less

So I hate giving a Raina Telgemeier book a low rating. Y'all know how much I love her, especially her latest offering "Guts." However, I have to be honest. "Drama" was not my favorite.

I see why the kids like it. It's a graphic novel. It's a Raina Telgemeier book. It's what all of their friends are reading.

But for me, I couldn't resonate with it. I think that is what it boiled down too. I didn't attend public school in my later years, so proms, drama club, etc. It's a different world to me. And really "Drama" has a lot of middle school drama--crushes and friendship fallout and the like. I was over it.

Interesting to note is that "Drama" often ends up on challenged and banned book lists due to the gay character. Seriously?! I actually show more think this is a great book to expose kids to LGBT (if looking for that) because of the delicate way it is handled. AND honestly, parents should talk with their kids about what they are reading anyway. show less

I enjoyed the illustrations, they’re brightly colored and feature very expressive faces, I was just a little disappointed that a secondary character had a more compelling story than the main character does.

Middle-schooler Callie has a knack for crushing on people who aren’t quite right for her which was far less interesting to me than seeing her construct sets and props for the play, working so hard to get that cannon working. I loved her creativity, her passion for the job, and her determination, those facets of her personality were so much more appealing to me than any moment of her obsessing over whether a boy liked her or not.

One of the other kids in this story has their own arc where they are figuring out who they are and how show more to be open about it, it’s really fantastic to see acceptance and self-acceptance in more and more books, my only issue with this is that I think it would have been more affecting if it were in a book that actually came from that character’s point of view so the reader would get a first-hand feeling of what they’re experiencing.

As I made clear, I really liked Callie, but it seemed kind of a strange choice that the character who goes through the most change in the story isn’t the main character, in fact, Callie doesn’t have much of an arc at all. It left me wishing this had been two books, one truly focused on Callie, where she’s concerned with something deeper than boy drama (even if that does fit the title of the book) and then a second book from the POV of that other character. show less

Summary: Callie's a total theater geek, although she's happiest backstage. She's working as the set designer for her school's annual musical, and is determined to make this production the best ever. The theater department is never drama-free, especially in middle school, but the show must go on, despite contested casting decisions, unrequited crushes, new and old friendships, and practical limitations (no real cannons in the school auditorium!).

Review: This book was super, super cute. And what's better, not saccharine cute, either, but believably, relatably, teenage-angst-riddenly cute. I thought this book was very relatable, in a way that was a nice blend of "sweetly nostalgic" and "ye gods, I'm glad I never have to go to middle school show more again." I was not really a theater person as a teen (can't act, and really can't sing, although I have some stage cred from dance), so I can't speak directly to that aspect of the story, but the "oh god I think he likes me do you think he likes me I think he does but if he likes me why hasn't he asked me to the dance"-type angsting feels pretty universal. Telgemeier does a great job of handling that angle of things, and a diverse cast of characters with an equally diverse set of relationships, with a nice emotional maturity. (Maybe actually a little too much maturity? My main problem with this book was that I thought the characters read as high-school-aged rather than middle-school; maybe I was just a late bloomer but I don't remember so many relationship woes in 7th grade.) In any case, though, this is a great read, sweet but down-to-earth and accessible to teens without talking down to them. I also love Telgemeier's art - colorful and expressive and cute and a great match to the tone of her story. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Definitely recommended, particularly to theater nerds (and former theater nerds), but also to anyone who is in the mood for a lighthearted and enjoyable read. show less