It's
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
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at
and #IMWAYR day
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January 9, 2024 by Delacorte Press
Copy provided by the publisher
High schooler Riley loves theater, and hopes one day to be a director, so the decision to borrow her mother's car and drive to nearby Columbus from her small town with her best friend Hoshiko to see a production of Waitresses seemed like a perfectly good plan... except that she doesn't have driver's license! Her parents, who are busy and divorced but very involved in her life, ground her for two months. Not only that, but since she clearly can't be trusted on her own, she has to spend every day after school working at her father's game store, Sword and Board Games. Aside from spending the obligatory weekends with her father, Riley hasn't seen much of him, but has a very close relationship with her mother, even going to some of her interior design jobs. Riley feels that her father chose the game store over her and her mother, so isn't thrilled to be at the business. On top of that, she has an awkward interaction with employee and classmate Nathan, made worse when she talks with her ex-boyfriend, Paul, and claims to be unaffected by their breakup because she already has a new boyfriend. She doesn't, of course, but claims that she and Nathan are dating. She convinces Nathan to go along with the ruse, because he is interested in Sophia, a member of the Dungeons and Dragons group, on whom Nathan has an unrequited crush. Sophia does seem more interested in Nathan when he flirts with Riley, so the two keep flirting in front of her. Of course, at school, they have to keep up appearances in case Paul shows up. Over time, the two bond over a shared love of frosted PopTarts, and Riley starts to realize the appeal of her father's shop and the community that thrives there. She also enjoys Nathan's attempts to inculcate a love of Geek Culture in her by exposing her to Weird Al Yankovic, LARPing costumes, and Monty Python movies. Riley is also busy trying to save the spring musical at school, but she is conscientious about keeping up with her school work. As time passes and Sophia seems more interested in Nathan, Riley finds to her chagrin that she is warming to him as well. When several situations make life stressful, including her father's health crisis, to whom will Riley turn for help and comfort, especially when Paul makes it clear that he would like her back?
I love Riley! She has a fantastic sense of style and dresses in BRIGHT clothing, although I can't think of the last time I saw an actual teenager wearing a skirt! It's heart warming to see her and her mother take equal comfort in their movie musical nights, but also realistic to see the mother very busy with her work. Swords and Boards is an appealing setting, and Boyce packs the shop with a variety of quirky but endearing characters, some of whom come to her rescue with the school musical. Hiroko is a charming foil, and her relationship with gamer Lucas is also a lot of fun. The parents, and their oversight of Riley's life, are a great addition, and the fact that Riley gets along fairly well with both of them was delightful. Of course, it also made her father's very realistic health scare more emotionally wrenching.
Riley gets a good introduction to Dungeons and Dragons; she gets her own set of dice, a character in the game, and experience with people who can quote Monty Python. Boyce clearing has a solid stake in the world of Geekdom; Weird Al and Monty Python go hand in hand with D&D, LARPing, and Board games like Settlers of Catan. I know this because (while my own personal essential fandom is LHOTP) my daughter and son-in-law could have stepped right into this book as characters. There is a rather critical lapse in not mentioning Star Wars more often, as there is definitely some crossover there as well.
The romance in this isn't really enemies-to-lovers or a love triangle; Nathan and Riley have a bit of a rocking first meeting, but warm to each other quickly, and never harbor any real animosity towards each other. Paul is never really a threat, because Riley is over him; she just doesn't want him to pity her. I wouldn't have minded having the character of Sophia explored a bit more instead of spending time on the theater, but teens interested in theater will enjoy this sub plot.
Boyce's Hot Dutch Daydream (2023) and Hot British Boyfriend (2021) are hugely popular in my library, and fill a much needed gap in Young Adult literature; swoony romances that even middle school students can enjoy, filled with characters who are essentially well adjusted, socially responsible, and happy. Wrap this up with a copy of Lord of the Rings Risk or a DVD of Monty Python's Spamalot and gift to your favorite theater geek who also has one foot in the High Geek world of gaming.
High schooler Riley loves theater, and hopes one day to be a director, so the decision to borrow her mother's car and drive to nearby Columbus from her small town with her best friend Hoshiko to see a production of Waitresses seemed like a perfectly good plan... except that she doesn't have driver's license! Her parents, who are busy and divorced but very involved in her life, ground her for two months. Not only that, but since she clearly can't be trusted on her own, she has to spend every day after school working at her father's game store, Sword and Board Games. Aside from spending the obligatory weekends with her father, Riley hasn't seen much of him, but has a very close relationship with her mother, even going to some of her interior design jobs. Riley feels that her father chose the game store over her and her mother, so isn't thrilled to be at the business. On top of that, she has an awkward interaction with employee and classmate Nathan, made worse when she talks with her ex-boyfriend, Paul, and claims to be unaffected by their breakup because she already has a new boyfriend. She doesn't, of course, but claims that she and Nathan are dating. She convinces Nathan to go along with the ruse, because he is interested in Sophia, a member of the Dungeons and Dragons group, on whom Nathan has an unrequited crush. Sophia does seem more interested in Nathan when he flirts with Riley, so the two keep flirting in front of her. Of course, at school, they have to keep up appearances in case Paul shows up. Over time, the two bond over a shared love of frosted PopTarts, and Riley starts to realize the appeal of her father's shop and the community that thrives there. She also enjoys Nathan's attempts to inculcate a love of Geek Culture in her by exposing her to Weird Al Yankovic, LARPing costumes, and Monty Python movies. Riley is also busy trying to save the spring musical at school, but she is conscientious about keeping up with her school work. As time passes and Sophia seems more interested in Nathan, Riley finds to her chagrin that she is warming to him as well. When several situations make life stressful, including her father's health crisis, to whom will Riley turn for help and comfort, especially when Paul makes it clear that he would like her back?
I love Riley! She has a fantastic sense of style and dresses in BRIGHT clothing, although I can't think of the last time I saw an actual teenager wearing a skirt! It's heart warming to see her and her mother take equal comfort in their movie musical nights, but also realistic to see the mother very busy with her work. Swords and Boards is an appealing setting, and Boyce packs the shop with a variety of quirky but endearing characters, some of whom come to her rescue with the school musical. Hiroko is a charming foil, and her relationship with gamer Lucas is also a lot of fun. The parents, and their oversight of Riley's life, are a great addition, and the fact that Riley gets along fairly well with both of them was delightful. Of course, it also made her father's very realistic health scare more emotionally wrenching.
Riley gets a good introduction to Dungeons and Dragons; she gets her own set of dice, a character in the game, and experience with people who can quote Monty Python. Boyce clearing has a solid stake in the world of Geekdom; Weird Al and Monty Python go hand in hand with D&D, LARPing, and Board games like Settlers of Catan. I know this because (while my own personal essential fandom is LHOTP) my daughter and son-in-law could have stepped right into this book as characters. There is a rather critical lapse in not mentioning Star Wars more often, as there is definitely some crossover there as well.
The romance in this isn't really enemies-to-lovers or a love triangle; Nathan and Riley have a bit of a rocking first meeting, but warm to each other quickly, and never harbor any real animosity towards each other. Paul is never really a threat, because Riley is over him; she just doesn't want him to pity her. I wouldn't have minded having the character of Sophia explored a bit more instead of spending time on the theater, but teens interested in theater will enjoy this sub plot.
Boyce's Hot Dutch Daydream (2023) and Hot British Boyfriend (2021) are hugely popular in my library, and fill a much needed gap in Young Adult literature; swoony romances that even middle school students can enjoy, filled with characters who are essentially well adjusted, socially responsible, and happy. Wrap this up with a copy of Lord of the Rings Risk or a DVD of Monty Python's Spamalot and gift to your favorite theater geek who also has one foot in the High Geek world of gaming.
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
When the state changes the rules for eighth grade physical education requirements, it catches several students out. Arnie Yashenko ("Yash") has spent all year traveling to the high school to practive with their team, but if he doesn't make up his credit in summer school, he won't be able to move on to the high school. Chloe missed three months of school because of a skiing accident, and is very wary of hurting herself again, so has sworn off sports. Kaden is a smart kid, and skipped gym for most of the year so he wouldn't have to put up with the locker room. Fiona, a tech whiz and member of the water polo team, refused to put her face in the water during swimming, and flunked the class. Twins Sarah and Stuart got kicked out because they were constantly fighting, and Jesse played so many practical jokes that summer school is his punishment. Arabella cut PE for three years. Since she's also taking the investigative journalism class in summer school, it's not quite so bad. The teacher for the course is a retired Family and Consumer Science teacher, Mrs. Finnerty, who has the students playing games like duck-duck-goose, although some of the games get pretty competitive. She also plies them with fantastic baked goods, which makes the experience a better one. Yash is worried that since he is missing the high school conditioning practice, he is at a disadvantage and may not make the team, especially since new kid Nick seems to be first in line to be picked for quarterback. Yash convinces Kaden to help him train, even though Kaden's coordination is laughably bad, and before long, the other kids in the class (that they all call "Slugfest") are learning to play football. Yash agrees to help out with the play, and is even somewhat interested in the investigative journalism class because he suspects that Mrs. Finnerty is not actually licensed to teach phys ed, and he is concerned that the summer school credit won't count, and he'll never be able to go to high school. There is also a suspicion that Nick doesn't live in the district, and while Bella is investigating, the two have a tentative romance, which makes the investigation awkward. The children pull together for the Open House Night, and things are going fairly well, but Yash is given a hard time by the boys on the football team. When the opportunity arises to have a bit of a competition, the Slugs band together, and under the tutelage of Mrs. Finnerty (who is more than just an awesome baker, she won a gold medal in the Olympics for swimming!), they work to show that they are more than just "Slugs". Will they be able to pull off an epic, movie-like win?
Strengths: Sports teams, baked goods, and a spunky older gym teacher substitute? Hard to go wrong with that. The characters are all well developed and easy to tell apart, and are all very passionate about various things, which is always good to see. There's a lot of realistic interactions, and the romance between Bella and Nick is good to see. The fact that Nick is playing for the district by giving his aunt's address is also something that happens all too often. I have to say that Mrs. Finnerty really steals the show here, and her reasoning behind the "childish" games is actually very clever. There are way too many elderly and infirm grandparents and teachers in middle grade literature, so to see someone who's about 75 being shown as being active and a former Olympian is fantastic. Basketball coach Sister Louisa in Jenn Bishop's Free Throws, Friendship, and Other Things We Fouled Up and the grandfather who was a bodybuilder in Herbach's Fat Boy vs. The Cheerleaders (2014) are other good examples of vibrant older characters.
Weaknesses: There were a number of school details that gave me a little pause; middle school students not getting credits seems unlikely, although I'm not sure how Kaden and Arabella managed to cut so many classes. Summer school is usually half a day, and there usually is no open house. The kids wouldn't need to hack into the teacher certification database; it's public record. This also had more stereotypical characters than I'm used to seeing in Korman's work. The football players don't come off particularly well.
What I really think: While these ensemble cast books are okay, I really miss seeing Korman develop one character. I'd love to see him go back to his McDonald Hall roots and do a small series without the multiple perspectives; a sports series would be fantastic. I'll definitely purchase a copy because my students are such avid fans, but the style of this isn't a personal favorite.
Weaknesses: There were a number of school details that gave me a little pause; middle school students not getting credits seems unlikely, although I'm not sure how Kaden and Arabella managed to cut so many classes. Summer school is usually half a day, and there usually is no open house. The kids wouldn't need to hack into the teacher certification database; it's public record. This also had more stereotypical characters than I'm used to seeing in Korman's work. The football players don't come off particularly well.
What I really think: While these ensemble cast books are okay, I really miss seeing Korman develop one character. I'd love to see him go back to his McDonald Hall roots and do a small series without the multiple perspectives; a sports series would be fantastic. I'll definitely purchase a copy because my students are such avid fans, but the style of this isn't a personal favorite.
I've been seeing Dungeons and Dragons around. I don't usually read romances but it sounds like one I'd like from your review. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI love that you've been able to find books like Dungeons and Drama that give younger readers access to appropriate yet "older" romance stories—kind of in the same vein of the horror books you review, I feel like you're really good at letting kids experiment with topics they're curious about!
ReplyDeleteAlso, with Slugfest, I'm stuck for some reason on the logic (a) of PE requirements changing and kids not getting credits, and (b) the thing you mention about hacking into the teacher certification database. I know next to nothing about public school, but I feel fairly confident that when curricula are changed, it's not retroactively applied to students meeting the old rules! I don't know. 🤷♂️ Anyway, thanks so much for the thoughtful reviews, Karen, as always!
I could see several of my students enjoying Dungeons and Drama. I see wherer the characters are high school but would it be appropriate for middle school? My students also love anything Gordon Korman. I was able to see him present of NCTE and fandom for him grew!
ReplyDeleteBoyce's books are fine for middle school. No drinking, no clothes coming off, nothing at all instructional. Maybe some kissing. I have Hot British Boyfriend and Hot Dutch Daydream in the collection. They remind me of the Simon Pulse Romantic comedies from twenty years ago, back before anyone ever thought that "New Adult" was a good idea!
DeleteI am a HUGE D&D nerd, so Dungeons and Drama sounds like something I would enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this Korman book yet, but agree with you about developing one character stories again. I've always been a Slacker fan. I hope your Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was a good one.
ReplyDeleteThese both sound like books I would like. I'm putting them on my list. Thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDelete