DRAMA (TEAM BLIND · REVIEW C)
Funny and well drawn, but it affirms gay identity for tween readers.
The Worldview
DRAMA has a warm, humane heart. It honors hard work, creativity and teamwork. Callie earns respect by doing her job well, and the whole crew pulls together when the show nearly collapses. Rude friends apologize, and friendships mend. Those are real goods, and Callie's loyalty to her friend Justin is the kind of faithfulness worth admiring.
What the book does with sexual identity is another matter. A boy's announcement that he's gay is treated as a non-event, a second boy's growing self-discovery is treated as a triumph, and a third boy's uncertainty is treated as normal. No character pushes back, and the story never suggests there is anything to weigh. The only tension is Justin's worry about his father finding out, and the one scene with that father doesn't resolve it. The book's guide is feelings and self-acceptance.
Scripture teaches something different about sex and identity: God made us male and female, and He ties marriage to a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4–6). The book also never mentions God, church or prayer. Its world is entirely secular, and its answer to who we are is, essentially, "be yourself."
Beneath the story is a real longing: to be accepted and to know who you are. Scripture answers it at the root, with a Maker who knows us. "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well" (Psalm 139:14).
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESCallie loves the theater, but she can't sing a note. So she builds sets instead. This year her middle school is staging a Civil War–era musical called MOON OVER MISSISSIPPI, and Callie is determined to give it Broadway-worthy scenery, including a cannon that really fires. The problem is a tiny budget, slow ticket sales, a crew that can't agree, and a heart that keeps getting tangled up with crushes.
Onstage and off, the drama is just getting started.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own reader.
- Act I, opening scene Callie kisses Greg after he says he's broken up with his girlfriend; he later ignores her.
- Early school-lunch scene Justin tells Callie he is gay; she is surprised, then hugs him.
- Car ride to the bookstore Callie learns Justin's father doesn't know he's gay.
- Third and final performance, intermission A cast member refuses to go on, and Jesse steps in as the female lead in a dress.
- Third and final performance, final scene Jesse's character kisses West's character on stage. This is illustrated.
- School dance Callie and Jesse slow-dance. He leaves to talk with West outside, and the story implies both boys are gay. West is shown questioning.
- Closing pages Callie and Jesse make up, Matt confesses a crush on Callie, and Callie is named stage manager.
A locator so a parent can pre-read the scenes that matter instead of the whole book.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Secular humanist worldview that affirms hard work, teamwork and friendship, but strongly presents gay and questioning middle schoolers, and a boy in a dress kissing another boy on stage, as normal and entirely welcomed; God, church and Scripture never appear.
Foul Language
No obscenities or profanities reported. Mild insults and name-calling, such as "lame," "losers," "fuzzbrain," "dumb," "dork" and "thickheaded," plus "shut up."
Violence
Light, cartoon and slapstick mishaps, such as a character falling onstage and being hurt (blood mentioned but not shown), a past stagehand concussion mentioned in the opening scene, a passing remark about shooting an eye out with a prop, siblings play-fighting, and a character's hands stuck together with Super Glue. No deaths.
Sex
Moderate romance and sexual-orientation content, no sex. A seventh grader kisses a boy she has a crush on, and other kisses, crushes, breakups and a slow dance appear. One boy tells Callie he is gay, and she hugs him. A second boy, her crush, is implied to be gay when he leaves her at a dance to talk with another boy. A third boy is shown questioning whether he is gay or bisexual. A boy in a dress playing the female lead kisses a boy on stage, shown in an illustration. Characters express concern about telling parents.
Nudity
No nudity.
Alcohol Use
No alcohol use.
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drugs.
Miscellaneous Immorality
A girl asks a classmate to help her cheat on a test. She is self-centered and refuses to go on stage after a breakup, and the crew rebukes her. A boy is rude and jealous toward Callie, then apologizes. A boy flirts with Callie, brushes her off, and apologizes later. A boy leaves Callie at the dance. Characters hide their orientation from a father, and the book treats that as fear, not as a problem to address.
Is the Writing Any Good?
Four stars. The craft is excellent. Telgemeier's cartooning has a lot of life in it, with faces that carry every feeling, bright color by Gurihiru, and page turns timed for a laugh or a gasp. The book is built like a play, with an overture, acts and an intermission, which suits the story.
Callie is a likable, determined heroine, and the backstage details of sets, props and ticket sales feel real. The crush-and-heartbreak storyline moves fast and rings true to middle school.
The flaws are small. Adults barely appear, and nearly everyone is kinder and more accepting than real seventh graders are. The ending ties off the friendships neatly but leaves Callie's own romance unresolved. Some young readers say they finish the book confused about who is gay and who isn't.
Talk About It
Four questions for the dinner table, the car, or a parent and teen reading it together.
Callie hugs Justin and stays his friend when he tells her he's gay. How can we love and stay close to a friend while still holding to what God says about sex and marriage? Where do we need to be careful?
Ephesians 4:15 · Genesis 2:24Justin is afraid to tell his father something about himself. What makes it hard for kids to be honest with their parents, and what would help you know you could always come to us?
Proverbs 1:8 · Ephesians 6:4Callie builds the set, solves the ticket problem and helps the whole crew succeed. What does she do that you want to copy, and how can hard work and teamwork honor God?
Colossians 3:23 · Ecclesiastes 4:9–10Bonnie behaves selfishly, and then the crew turns on her. How should we treat someone who has acted badly and is also hurting?
Ephesians 4:32 · Galatians 6:1–2The Final Word
DRAMA is bright, funny and skillfully drawn, and Callie's work ethic is easy to admire. But the book builds its biggest moments around approving gay and questioning characters for ten-year-olds and up, including a drawn same-sex kiss. Our answer: skip it. Look for a clean theater or school-friendship story that gives your child the teamwork and laughs without the lesson on sexuality. A librarian you trust can point you to one.
