I had the pleasure of meeting Raina Telgemeier at the Scholastic 'reader's theatre' event in June to profile upcoming releases, and she was, in a word, fantastic! She was just as engaging and funny as her novels, and it gave me a new appreciation of how much of herself she inserts into each of her graphic novels. "Drama" is the follow-up to "Smile", her excellent award-winning web comic and subsequent graphic novel about a teen that comes to terms with mouth surgery and new braces after an accident. That novel paralleled Telgemeier's own experiences, and was at times desperately poignant and hysterically funny. Students snapped up her work, choosing to re-read it again and again due to her honesty and her ability to unerringly capture middle and high school life so vividly. "Drama" is the story of Telgemeier's love of theatre, starting in middle school, and completely encompasses the many feelings and (pardon the pun) dramas that occur in that setting. The descriptions of life behind the scenes of a drama production - middle school, high school or community theatre - were unbelievably realistic. I felt at times that Telgemeier had been fly on the wall, both for my own experiences as a student and as a staff advisor, and the conversations were always truthful. I loved when Callie decided to audition – fully aware of her own level of talent – in order to encourage her friend to follow her lead. Her bravado and willingness to make herself look foolish for a friend really endeared her to me, and I was absolutely committed to seeing how her final act would play out. What I really enjoyed about this book was that the author was unafraid to discuss that 'elephant in the room' - the question of sexuality that pops up with all the kids involved in the Drama program. (As a side note, isn't it interesting that we never question the sexuality of the science fair kids?). Callie encounters some serious crushes over the course of the book, and she begins to develop a sense of what she is looking for in a partner. The question of "who is/who isn't" is handled with sensitivity and support, and Callie's responses when she realizes that some of her friends are gay are realistic and honest. The artistry in the novel is of an equal caliber to that in “Smile” – engaging artwork with vivid colours that draw you into the story as much as the narration. The facial expressions on each of the characters crack me up, and I hope that there will be many more Callie stories to come! Middle School is a time of great growth for students. They start the year as one person, and finish as completely different young adults. They begin to find their niches, and the groups of friends that go along with those interests, and “Drama” does an excellent job of portraying how important those groups of similarly minded students become to each other. This is an excellent read, not only for the theatre ‘geeks’ in your life, but for the Middle Schoolers struggling to find out just who they are and who they are going to be. “Drama” is an engaging and hysterical read for everyone. "Drama" was received by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It is published by Scholastic via Graphix, and can be purchased through Scholastic or at Indigo, Amazon or your friendly indie bookseller. ISBN: 9780545326995, 240 pages. Scholastic and author Raina Telgemeier have a great trailer for the book - see it below: [youtube=http://youtu.be/ysWrqAMktc0]

The Good Stuff Boy does Raina grasp adolescent angst and honestly and realistically portrays it Illustrations are delightfully appealing Reminds me of the awkward stage of growing up and the confusing feelings we have towards boys at that stage Sweet and funny a story that will actually appeal to the suggested age range and not what parents think kids want to read - Librarians, Teachers, Parents take note - you might want to get a couple of copies of this one very realistic - damn think I have said that over and over - but that is one of its biggest strengths Strong realistic gay character - makes the character accepted for who he is without the typical gay guys are bullied that we see in most books - I think it is age appropriate as well Great messages about friendship, love and acceptance Don't want to spoil the ending but it is beautiful, realistic and isn't stereotypical disney type ending The Not So Good Stuff Callie is an intelligent girl, do not understand why she would fall for Jesse when she already knows he's gay -- doesn't really go with her character -- but than again hey us girls are always falling for boys that are not right for us Favorite Quotes/Passages (Have to see the graphic novel to really get it) "When you say he's cute, do you mean like.." "Like, I Like boys? yeah." "Oh. Huh." "Um, is that cool? Is it okay that I told you?" "It's cool.. I guess I was never really sure if anyone I knew was actually ..um.." "Gay? you can say it. I don't mind." "You are the best friend EVER!" "Darn right I am." "I want the audience to believe that the actors really live inside of the world on stage." "I'd live in a world like this." "It's one thing to dream it..and another thing to actually build it." Who Should/Shouldn't Read Absolutely perfect for theatre geeks (that is a compliment - love the theatre geeks) Most likely will appeal more to girls, but boys might enjoy as well (just going by my experience with my 2 kids) Recommend highly for all public and middle school library collections Also teachers who don't freak out about the gay character - would be great for a classroom discussion (And for those teachers/parents/librarians who freak out about the gay character -- get over it - some people are straight - some people are gay - its all normal) 4.25 Dewey's I picked up a copy at Book Expo America 2012

Callie is a 7th grade student who loves everything about the theatre. She lives & breathes the backstage life all while juggling friendships and crushes. When the school announces one of her favourite musicals as that year’s production, she immediately goes into set designer mode, eagerly helping out in all different departments as well. Meeting new friends and dealing with weird behaviour from old ones, Callie goes through what many young people do at that age – heartaches, heartbreaks and a lot of growing up in the process. This adorable middle-grade graphic novel is a fantastic read. The drawings are vivacious and cute, with a story that is familiar, yet unique at the same time. Being a theatre tech graduate myself, the plot and setting for this graphic novel immediately caught my attention. I just knew I had to read it and Telgemeier captured so many aspects of backstage life so well – from the calling of cues over headsets to the highs and woes that can befall a live production from night to night. While I was a little disappointed at the outcome of Callie’s crushing, I also commend her for establishing the route that it did as well. The love that Telgemeier has for the theatre shines through in this graphic novel, and her appreciation for this craft is evident in her choice of words, her drawings and the story. This, and other reviews, can be found on my blog JustALilLost.com