Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading, that I heard about from Damyanti over at Daily (w)rite. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
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Two teaser sentences from Drama by Raina Telgemeier:
WHEN GREG ASKED IF I WAS GOING TO THE DANCE, MY HEART LEAPT INTO MY THROAT. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?”
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In an effort to continue connecting with my kidlets on a literary level, I am still forgoing my usual reading fare for stories my 10-year-old girl and 13-ish-year-old boy are reading. This past weekend we all read Drama by Raina Telgemeier – and we loved it!
I found myself smilingly thinking back to my time spent behind the scenes at Drama Club in junior high. My daughter, who keeps begging for another Raina book, has read this four times since I gifted her a signed copy last fall. It is a safe and sweet way of introducing younger readers to social experiences they may not yet have had. My son, who is going into 8th grade, is the age of Telgemeier’s characters. He enjoyed the book, reading it in an hour, even though he felt it was a bit “girly” compared to his usual military history, fantasy, and ghost stories. (Thanks for indulging the family, BoyChild!)
Unintentionally, we read this story during Twin Cities Pride where, for the first year ever, I took my children to the Pride Parade and a “fabulous” lunch. (You’ll have to read Drama yourself to find out how this relates.) Both the subtleties of Drama, and the overt celebration of Pride, were taken in stride and not even considered out of the ordinary for my kids. Proud Mama.
Raina Telgemeir’s characters are modern to the minute, complete with the trends of piercing and Crayola-colored hair seen in America’s malls and school hallways (and on this adult). Delivered in the graphic novel style, the fashion choices are subtle and do not define or pigeon-hole the characters. Instead, Telgemeire has created a world of inclusion and acceptance that I so appreciated. Far too many middle grade books focus on the polarizing issues of young people as the point of conflict. Telgemeire has shown us the threads that weave through all young people, while still holding age appropriate tension. I’ve read critiques that say Telgemeire should have gone the extra step, making her main character a LGBT teen. I disagree – she has written from a perspective she has experienced, and what better way to bring this social dynamic to young readers who may not otherwise come across this topic? Kudos to Raina!
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