Module 10: Drama

Book Summary: Callie is obsessed with theater and since she cannot sing or perform, she is part of the stage crew.  This does not mean that Callie is less gutsy, however, and it is obvious that she is aware of the boys that are around her. The guy Greg she likes has just broken up his girlfriend Bonnie, making Callie think she has a chance to date him. Then the school decides to host a southern themed romantic-drama musical. Bonnie becomes the female lead, much to Callie's chagrin. Greg's brother also works in the crew. When Callie befriends twin brothers, Justin becomes part of the cast, while Jesse wants so badly to sing, but is nervous. He decides to work with Callie in set design. Romantic miscommunication, misinterpretations, and gender preference are all part of the plot. Interpersonal drama while staging an actual drama for the middle school theater are all woven together. The show goes on and in the final presentation, the male lead character breaks up with Bonnie who becomes emotional and cannot finish the show. Jesse, gets into the southern belle dress and belts out the female lead's songs that he has known all along. The school is stunned and amazed. In the end, Greg wants Callie back, but she has to decide what she really wants.

APA Reference of Book:
Telgemeier, R. (2012). Drama. New York, NY: Graphix.

Impressions: This graphic novel is almost a series of vignettes centered around a theater geek in middle school. Telgemeier captures the awkwardness of middle school with aplomb. I found myself recalling my middle school years when reading this book. I felt so embroiled in reading about the dramas within Drama that I could imagine myself going through similar events in my own middle school years. I also enjoyed the cleverness of how the drama between all the friends and peers goes along with the actual production of a theatrical drama. When Callie is trying her hardest to make the prop cannon work for the stage, I could empathize with her want to make it work. I think tweens and teens will also appreciate how Callie's theater niche of set design is important to her.

When Callie discovers one of the twin boys that become her friends is gay; it isn't a focus of the story. It appears to be more of a plot point of the confusion that ensues when teens are trying to figure out their interpersonal relationships. 

This book depicts the microcosm that becomes middle school, with all its innate drama.

Professional Review: "If you read reviews on Raina Telgemeier’s previous graphic novel, Smile, you’ll see words like “charming” and “sweet.”  Her second attempt at capturing the middle school years is no less successful, and Telgemeier sticks with what she’s good at, capturing the middle school years. Let me tell you, Telgemeier hits the drama and to-do of those tumultuous years right on the head of the nail.

Callie fell in love with the theater when her mother took her to a production of Les Miserables.  But she quickly learned that she didn’t have what it takes to be onstage, so instead Callie is more than content with being part of the crew backstage. When her middle school puts on a musical, Callie is thrilled to be in charge of set design, but the drama on stage quickly spills offstage. There are twin brothers, boys who like Callie, and boys Callie likes. There’s best-friend drama, and of course, putting on a full-scale musical production (even in middle school) is full of commotion.

The middle school I work in has put on a number of musicals, and Telgemeier really captures the frenetic pace of putting on a production.  (In reality, at this age, teachers are a bit more involved in the process, but I chalked that up to poetic license.)  There’s excitement and passion. The kids feel great about everything that they accomplished.  There are friends’ politics. Reading Drama, I felt like I was standing in the corridors of my own school.

And today’s issues aren’t ignored, though they’re not actually issues in the book, such as characters coming to terms with their sexual identity.

The comic only strengthens when you consider the artwork. Telgemeier already has a signature style, a look that marks the artwork as her own, but there were a couple of scenes that truly shine. When Callie shows Jesse her favorite theater books, the scenes are full of passion as Callie is drawn into a giant book, showing Jesse why the books are so magnificent. It moves the artwork from a level of cute and sweet to truly outstanding.

This is going to be on every upper elementary school, middle school, and even high school shelf. Readers, especially young female ones, will eat up the title" (Keller, 2012, http://blogs.slj.com/goodcomicsforkids/2012/09/17/review-drama/).

Keller, E. (2012, September 17). [Review of the book Drama, by R. Telgemeier] Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/goodcomicsforkids/2012/09/17/review-drama/

Library Uses: With the interest in manga and graphic novels, this graphic novel would make a good recommendation for middle grade readers and possibly high school readers that would like to remember what it was like to be in middle school again.