Junior High Drama is full of several short stories that revolve around junior high students. From bullying, distorted self-images, to being left out I found this book to be very realistic when considering the social challenges that junior high brings. I feel this book would constantly be off the shelves in a middle school library as I know many students would relate to its characters. The graphic novel aspect only adds to the readability for middle school students. I highly recommend this to any middle school students and/or middle/junior high educators or librarians.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

So, I hadn't expected this one to feature multiple characters. I just thought it would be the girl on the cover. Yes, I didn't really read the blurb, I just saw the cover. :P I was a bit confused when the next story popped up with a new character, but in the end I am definitely delighted with more characters. I didn't see that this was featured in the same school. It isn't until the end that you see everything truly connect. I wish that this had been done better.

First girl up is Kamilla, a sweet girl with a killer voice, but she has a problem. She is very insecure about her weight. She thinks she is fat and big, and just wishes to hide or get smaller. I did like Kamilla, though I did want to shake her a bit at times. How she fell out against her friend who just wanted to comfort her and then got the whole: You are thin, you don't understand. Gee, girl... chill. Your friend is just worried about you, and you aren't making it easier by being grumpy and not saying much about it.
I did like that the teacher didn't give up on her, made her alternate, and then later also did that. The teacher is truly wonderful. Thanks to that teacher Kamilla finally realised that maybe she should just go for it. It also helps that she found someone special in her life who supported her, not only with her singing, but also when she was trying to do more exercise. I would give Kamilla's story 4 stars.

Next up is Lily, a girl who wants to be popular and with the in-crowd. I was quite interested to see what she would do to get into the crowd, but it seems she only had to have one thing, a hot older brother. :P
I liked how she tried to still be friends with her other best friend (and even tried protecting her) even when she got closer to the in-crowd. However, of course, nothing ever goes right, it is the mean girl crowd after all, and Lily finds her on the bullied end when certain things happen. I felt oh so sorry for her, and was rooting for her to stand up, or at least find someone to talk to about it. Because bullying is a big no-no.
I don't really understand why these girls called Lily fat, given the art, especially given that in the art they all seem a bit more chubby. Oh well, I guess they were just desperately looking for something to call Lily.
Lily's best friend was just perfect. I love how she is not afraid to give her opinion, how she is happy in her own skin, and I love that she is in the anime club! The ending was pretty OK. I would give Lily's story a 3 stars.

Allie, the girl who can run fast like lightning. After a meet goes wrong (so very wrong) she discovers she has diabetes. You can imagine her life goes topsyturvy and she isn't the happiest about things. She has to check her sugar levels, she can't eat too much sugary stuff, she has to go healthy, she has to give herself a shot if things go wrong. Throughout the book we see her come to terms with her illness. I have to say I did wanted to shake her and tell her she should just confide in her friends. Instead she hides, is grumpy to hell. Again, I get that it is hard for her, I understand that, for a teen, it is not something you want to tell the world. But a lot of things in this book could have been prevented if our girl had just been honest. If she just had sought out some support.
I also wasn't too happy how she treated her parents. Girl, they are just trying to make sure you don't land in the hospital again. They are just trying to care for you. You should be happy you have such wonderful parents. I would give Lily's story 3 stars.

And the last girl is: Lucia. A girl who is a bit like me at that age. I just wasn't too interested in boys. Didn't get the fuss. What was so special about them? But I did get annoyed with her. Her story was definitely the least favourite because for most of the book she is whining and complaining and just being eh about the party. If you don't want to go, just don't go. I didn't get why she was making such a big deal out of it. But of course, like so many cliche stories, she meets a guy she likes (yep, suddenly she doesn't think boys are that bad and hey that party is also cool).
While I did like the two of them together, they did make a cute match, it just felt a bit too cliche. Instead of her just coming to terms with her feelings and tell people no I don't want to go to the party, she falls in love.
I would rate Lucia's story a 2 star.

I liked how everything got connected at the end, how we saw the various clubs, teams, and more.

One thing I didn't like was how often the ending just came out of nowhere. They felt rushed. Like with Lily's story, how she goes from afraid of the bullies and sad to standing up against them and being very strong in just a few pages.

The art however was just fabulous, I really love the style, the way the characters were drawn (and the amount of attention to the clothes, hair, and faces).

All in all, I am still happy I read this book. It was quite fun, but yeah, some things could have been better.

I thought this one had great art and tackled some of the typical middle school issues pretty well. I also love the diversity. I will be adding this to my classroom library when it publishes.

Junior High Drama is a graphic/middle school novel by Louise Simonson. It is illustrated by Sumin Cho.

SUMMARY:

Welcome to Memorial Middle School, where drama fills the classrooms and follows students home on the bus. Social awkwardness. Mean girls. Hallway gossip. It’s all part of life in junior high, but maybe it helps to know you aren’t alone. Can Lucia avoid the boy-girl party? Will Kamilla overcome her self-consciousness and try out for the play? Can Allie keep anyone from finding out her secret? Told in graphic formal, Junior High Drama shows that while you can’t escape the drama, you can certainly survive it.

Junior High Drama is a novel that is entertaining. The art is great; I love all of the different colors seen in the book. I also truly enjoy the heavy topics covered such as friendship, bullies, dating, chronic illness (diabetes in particular,) and self-esteem. I think it is important for middle schoolers to understand that dealing with these feelings/events is tough during that time in their life. However, I do believe this book conveys these topics in a way that the audience will not take them seriously. This novel does not have one protagonist but follows a series of characters, and each of them has their different issues. Besides their issues there is no fleshing out of the characters; they do not have any sort of background that makes you feel completely connected with them.

I thought this book was just okay. Louise Simonson’s writing is quick and flows well; any middle schooler would not have a hard time reading this book. I did not enjoy the way this story turned out; I do wish only one character was featured instead of many of them. I believe these stories were fun to read but overall I felt they were too focused on teaching a lesson. Instead of coming across naturally, the messages of the book are very loud which turned me off from the beginning. I think this type of book would be appropriate in a classroom but as a creative piece, it just does not work. What saves this book is its art and its quick timing. I suggest this book to any middle schooler who feels out of place. This book teaches you that is important to explore yourself and love who you are.

This graphic novel is a collection of cute middle grade stories about girls and different issues they face: body image, illness (diabetes), bullying, friendship, dating, etc. Each story shares a lesson that can help teach middle grade girls about healthy ways to deal with their struggles. At the end of each story, there is a mock interview between the main character and another character, as well as a tip sheet for dealing with the particular issue that the story addresses. Fun read with a good set of helpful tips for girls!

Junior High Drama looks at a handful of different predicaments that young ladies in middle school deal with all the time. This graphic novel will guide them through this tough time in their life.

This is a treat for middle school/junior high girls who love diving into school life and it's problems, and especially enjoy the graphic novel layout.

This book is a collection of several stories, each rotating around difficult situations girls in this age group can face. Because life in junior high isn't easy. The problems surrounding self-consciousness, rumors, mean girls, first dates and so forth are placed in engaging junior high settings with characters which are easy to connect with. Each situation is done well, allowing the characters to gain footing before facing their troubles. The solutions aren't always easy but do-able. And the entire thing never runs into the realm of ridiculousness or over emphasis. These are normal girls who are up against hurdles very typical for a junior high setting.

Each story centers on different characters, showing that everyone faces troubles. The characters are also very diverse, keeping stereotypes at bay. These girls may make mistakes, but most have good hearts and simply aren't sure how to handle the situations. The results and solutions hit real life possibilities, and bring encouraging messages which strengthen self-esteem. After each chapter, there's a slightly more in-depth question and answer section (in form of interviews) and sometimes, extra tips. While these tales are entertaining, the book also offers realistic help on how to deal with such things and where girls can find more assistance if they need it.

Even with all the messages and help, this is simply an enjoyable read. The illustrations allow the emotions to flow and the scenes to come to life. The characters hold depth and make understandable decisions. Plus, there's more than just the drama. These girls have lives and will connect with the readers. The stories are quick paced, not overly dramatic and hold enough tension to keep the pages flipping until the end of the story. It's a lovely read and holds tons of purpose as well.

I received a complimentary copy through Netgalley and enjoyed it enough to want to leave my honest thoughts.

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review, so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
Welcome to Memorial Middle School, where drama fills the classrooms and follows students home on the bus. Social awkwardness. Mean girls. Hallway gossip. It's all part of life in junior high, but maybe it helps to know you aren't alone. Can Lucia avoid the boy-girl party? Will Kamilla overcome her self-consciousness and try out for the play? Can Allie keep anyone from finding out her secret? Told in graphic formal, Junior High Drama shows that while you can't escape the drama, you can certainly survive it.
The cover and title is what originally drew me to this book.
This is my first book by this author. It was alltogether an easy read. ♡ I give this book a
3.5 star rating!

This was more like a compilation of stories with each chapter going along a different theme ie: Bullying, body image/self esteem, popularity/rumors, and health (one chapter was on diabetes). Each chapter ends with the main character sharing facts about the topic and doing a mini interview of an adult in their life about the theme. This book works as an initial info piece to middle schoolers, likely around 4th/5th grade. I am not sure students much older would like it, and yet I dont think it works for younger kids either. I can see this being used as an entry point for a health course so that kids come to each session prepped on a topic and have questions ready about it. As a piece of literature, the art and especially the dialogue/writing didn’t enamor me and I wouldn’t pass it along, but as an educational tool and entry point for bigger health class conversations, I see the value in this one!

*One night I might add is that there is some solid skin color representation in this one, which is important/nice.

On one hand this was kind of cliched and a little cheesy. The characters aren't all that developed or interesting, and I feel like we've read a lot of these stories before. Curvy girl with a great voice afraid to try out for the musical, girl wants to be friends with the popular girls only to find out they are jerks, girl learns about illness/condition and tries to hide it from her friends, and girl nervous for first party meets cute boy.

You'll notice that all the protagonists mentioned above are girls. Girls are clearly the target audience here...and while I love a good Girl Power book, it's also a little disappointing--it would have been great to see some male problems/issues addressed, as well.

However, the issues here are ones that lots of middle schoolers deal with (body image, mean girls, first dates, illness/conditions that make you feel different), and I love that at the end of each section there are statistics and quotes that compliment the story that was told. The illustrations are unique and adorable, and each issue is handled in a way that is relatable (though sometimes they wrap up a little too neatly).

It's definitely going into my school library, and I'm sure it will be a popular title.

I didn't really care for the layout of this book. It could get a bit confusing with the word bubble placement. The artwork was fine. Good diverse cast of characters and junior high problems. I just couldn't really get into the story or characters.

This graphic novel was great it shows what really happens at school and what young girls go through. It had a very body positive vibe about it.
I would recommend this book to someone in middle school who is having a hard time

This was a quick and cute read. I liked the different stories on the girls life.
School can be so stuff. The popular girls can be mean. Liking boys can be rough. Singing in front an audience can be scary. But if you face your fears or stand up for yourself or just walk up to a guy you like. You can face anything in school!