Drama

This graphic novel skews younger than the others on this list. It’s a heart-warming, slice-of-middle-school-life that revolves around the school’s musical theater production, from auditions and rehearsals, set-building and costumes, to opening night, the 3-show run, and even the cast party. It invokes the highs and lows of a production, including the inevitable malfunctioning props and inter-cast issues. I love this story’s emphasis on how fun it is to work on sets, costumes, lights, and sound, and how important stage crew is to the production.

Theatre Quotient: High. The bulk of the plot revolves around the show.

I admire honesty in storytelling and Drama stuck with me long after I’d put it down. While I don’t recommend it for very young readers who might have been fans of Smile, it’s a poignant story for 7th to 8th graders who might be in the middle of their first crush. There is all kinds of drama behind the scenes, especially in theater; sometimes the boy doesn’t like you and sometimes it’s because he likes another boy. It happens, and Callie learns to accept that, remain friends and move on.

This incredibly engaging graphic novel about thirteen-year-old Callie, and the ups and downs of her infatuations, had me cheering! I was transported back to my own drama club experiences and reminded that it's much easier to explore crushes (and to survive disappointment) when embraced by a tight-knit, supportive—and in this case, passionate—community. Raina Telgemeier creates wonderfully complex and nuanced characters. I cared deeply about them all...well, maybe not Bonnie.