Week 13 - YA Annotation

Author: Kristy Boyce
Title: Dungeons and Drama
Genre: YA
Publication Date: January 9, 2024
Number of Pages: 293
Geographical Setting: Ohio
Time Period: contemporary; fall

Plot Summary: Riley is a high school junior who gets in trouble for taking her mom’s car and driving to a musical without a license. Part of her punishment is to work in her father’s store, where one of her classmates, Nathan, also works. Neither is happy about the arrangement, but when Riley’s ex shows up to the store with his new girlfriend, and insinuates that Riley couldn’t be dating someone new, she blurts out that she’s dating, you guessed it, Nathan. In order to get Nathen to go along with the ruse, Riley offers to help Nathan make the girl that he actually likes jealous so that she will become interested in him. Throughout the course of the book the two become closer and realize that what they want might be different from what they originally planned.

Subject Headings (per NoveList):

• Dungeons and dragons (Game)
• Role playing games
• Teenagers
• Musicals
• Fake Dating
• Family businesses
• Teenage boy-girl relations
• Jealousy

Appeal:

• Character
• Being in high school can be tough and it’s easy to feel like you don’t fit in, but the characters in this book revel in their nerdiness and standout-ness and they are never made to feel like they are too much by those around them. They get to be themselves all the time, and I think that’s important for readers (especially the younger ones) to see in books.
• Mood
• The book is a fun, happy read that had me both giggling and cringing non-stop. As an adult reading about high school problems was nice because I am far enough removed from that time in my life to understand that the problems facing the characters were not actually life or death like the characters may have felt they were. There is one part where a parent has a health scare and is in the hospital, but even during that time, the overall tone and mood are hopeful and positive.
• Writing Style
• The writing style is easy to read, fast paced, and light hearted. While the book is clearly a romance, it is YA so there’s an innocence to it. There is no profanity or sex and the book covers “nerdy” topics like D&D and Musical Theater without being overly in your face with jargon.

3 terms that best describe this book: adorable, light-hearted, fun

Similar Authors and Works (why are they similar?):

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors

• Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook
• This is the book that the characters use to create their game characters. Having a copy on hand during campaigns comes in very handy!

• Musical Theatre: a History - By: John Kenrick
• Riley is obsessed with musical theater which leads her to “borrowing” her mom’s car so that she and her best friend don’t miss a performance of Waitress. We all have our obsessions in high school and honestly, Riley could do worse than musicals.

• Ohio Driver Manual
• Riley originally gets in trouble not only because she took her mom’s car without asking, but she drove her and her best friend to a different town without a license. Having to be driven everywhere is a recurring element in the book and she does eventually get her license, so I’m sure she read through this a few times.

3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors

• With a Little Luck - By: Marissa Meyer
• Common elements: D&D; boy crushing on wrong girl; teenagers figuring out what feelings are

• The Upside of Falling - By: Alex Light
• Common elements: Fake dating; high school; divorced parents

• Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling - By: Elise Bryant
• Common elements: D&D; acting; the girl is a singer, the boy is a nerd