Drama by Raina Telgemeier

dc.title	Drama
dc.creator	Telgemeier, Raina
dc.subject	Fiction – Graphic Novel, Fiction – Middle School, Fiction – Drama Club, Fiction – Homosexuality, Fiction – Bisexuality, Fiction – Girls, Teen, Fiction – Brothers
dc.description	Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school’s production of Moon over Mississippi, she can’t really sing. Instead she’s the set designer for the drama department’s stage crew, and this year she’s determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn’t know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen. And when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier!
dc.publisher	Graphix
dc.contributor	Raina Telgemeier
dc.date	July 29, 2014
dc.type	Text and Graphics
dc.format	Hardcover, 240 pages,  5.7 x 1 x 8.1 inches
dc.identifier	978-0545326988	ISBN
dc.source	http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J417G2G/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1
dc.language	en-USA
dc.relation	Drama by Raina Telgemeier Published by Graphix on July 29, 2014
dc.rights	All Rights Reserved

Callie loves the theater, even if she can’t sing well enough to perform in her beloved musicals. But when drama and romance—both onstage and off—cause problems, Callie finds that set design may be the easiest part of putting on a play. Telgemeier is prodigiously talented at telling cheerful stories with realistic portrayals of middle-school characters. Callie is likable, hardworking, and enthusiastic, but she is as confused about relationships and love as any young teen, and she flits from crush to crush in a believable fashion. Nonactors will love having a spotlight shine on the backstage action, but even those who shun the stage will identify with this roller-coaster ride through young teen emotions. In addressing issues such as homosexuality, Drama is more teen oriented than Telgemeier’s elementary-school-friendly Smile (2010). Her deceptively simple art may seem cartoonish, but it is grounded in a firm sense of style and washed in warm colors to give the story an open, welcoming feel. In this realistic and sympathetic story, feelings and thoughts leap off the page, revealing Telgemeier’s keen eye for young teen life.

Although most readers of all ages found Drama to be just as endearing and authentic as Telgemeier’s other books Smile and Sisters, a small but vocal minority have objected to the inclusion of two gay characters, one of whom shares a chaste on-stage kiss with another boy. Negative online reader reviews have accused Telgemeier of literally hiding an agenda inside brightly-colored, tween-friendly covers, but in an interview with TeenReadsshe said that while she and her editors at Scholastic were very careful to make the book age-appropriate, they never considered omitting the gay characters because “finding your identity, whether gay or straight, is a huge part of middle school.”

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Case Study: Drama. Comic Book Legal Defense Fund http://cbldf.org/banned-comic/banned-challenged-comics/case-study-drama/