Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce - ADVISABLE

Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce. 293 pages. Penguin, 2024. $12 

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: PG. (romantic kissing); Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

16yo Riley is in trouble with her parents, she took her mom's car without asking and drove - without a license - out of town to see Waitress with her best friend Hoshiko. Now she's grounded for 8 weeks and must work at her dad's gaming store after school. Nathan also works there, she knows him from school, but he's not a theater kid, he's a D&D player, so they aren't friends. But when her ex suggests she's unable to find a new boyfriend, and the girl Nathan likes doesn't seem interested, the 2 decide to fake-date to make Sophie and Paul jealous. 

I think guys would like this darling romance, too. There's a bunch of Dungeons and Dragons play, and Boyce doesn't make the boys hopeless nerds. Riley's love of theater is fun with tons of Broadway references. The romance is slow and, while predictable, builds to a great ending. The main characters are white, their friends are multi cultural and include a gay couple. 

Lisa Librarian 

The Die of Destiny by Frank L. Cole - ADVISABLE

 The Die of Destiny (Champion’s Quest) by Frank L. Cole, 304 pages. Shadow Mountain, 2021. $18 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

7th grader Lucas Silver is poised to run away from another foster home. Instead, he finds himself, with his only friend Miles, entering Hob and Bogie’s Curiosity Shoppe and agreeing to a game of Champion’s Quest. Jasmine, from Lucas’s class joins them – after she was kicked out of the pool for fighting. The fourth member of their band turns out to be Vanessa, the daughter of their foster parents. What the kids don’t realize is that, from the first roll of the dice, they have been transported to another world – where they really do have to go on a quest and they can’t leave until it is fulfilled. They don’t really know the rules, they don’t really know how to wield their weapons, but if they are very clever and learn how to work together, they might have a chance. 

A worthy addition to the subgenre of books about kids interacting with gaming realms. 

 Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS