Drama

In my effort to expand my horizons this year, I’m trying to read more poetry and more graphic novels. I read ten books of poetry (or novels in verse) in January, so I guess February was the month of the graphic novel. I started off strong with Drama by Raina Telgemeier, and I wasn’t disappointed!

Drama is the story of Callie, a theater-lover who can’t carry a tune, but she loves working on sets and hanging out with her other talented stage-crew friends. The book begins with her friend Greg breaking up with his girlfriend, Bonnie, which gives Callie a lot of hope. But boys will be boys, especially in middle school. So Callie throws all her energy into their production of Moon Over Mississippi, and the two twin brothers she meets, Justin and Jesse. Jesse’s the theatrical one, and they all quickly become friends. Justin, however, is gay, which can really throw a wrench in some people’s plans and will ultimately leave the audience shocked and clapping before curtain falls on closing night. And what about Jesse? Does he like her as a friend, or something more? Full of middle school angst and crushes and finding yourself on and off stage, this graphic novel is perfect for fans of theater and those of us who are so grateful we’ve outgrown those awkward years.

I don’t read a lot of graphic novels, obviously as this is a new challenge for me, but I found this one easy to slide into. The drawings are well done, it’s easy to read, et cetera. The biggest issue I had was remembering which one was Justin and which one was Jesse.Who was gay again? And which one was the Colonel? And who did Callie like? And which one went to the dance with Liz? It can get confusing in a normal book, but especially when you’re drawing twins and not referring to them by name as often. It didn’t ruin the book for me, but wow it got confusing sometimes.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next graphic novel on my list: The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang.