Dramarama by E. Lockhart

Introducing my new review format!! Whoowhoo! Whatcha guys think?

Synopsis: Demi and Sarah are both theater junkies. They can dance, sing (well, Demi anyway), act, and have watched Cabaret about fifty-times in the past couple weeks. They are both bound for life on stage–or so they think. When the duo set off for a month of summer theater camp, Sarah, whom Demi calls Sayde, is ready to let her talent shine. But when Demi becomes the star of the show, er, several shows that is, Sayde begins to wonder if she’s even cut out for performing. Most important of all though, will their friendship even last until curtain call?

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Review: Dem and Sayde are quite a pair. They call each other “darling”, talk stage jive–if you will–and break out in song a lot. One thing is certain though, they have yet to learn about what really goes on to make a production swing! As Sayde finds out, performing requires submitting to the director (no matter how idiotic they can be) and wanting nothing but that dusty black stage. Although I did like the theater camp setting and all the talk about the different productions, I could only enjoy Dramarama so much. One thing you must know about this book is there is a ton of talk about gay boys and sexual innuendoes; of course you must know also that Demi is gay. When you say the setting is theater, aromatically assume that the word “gay” will pop up frequently. I can handle Demi being gay but that’s as much as I want to know. End of story. The ending was okay, but there really wasn’t any point to the story–it just fizzed out. It was rather meaningless except for the test of friendship between Demi and Sayde; the rest was just about how they fared at the theater camp. Truthfully, I did not enjoy this book as much as would have thought–especially since I’ve heard so many good things about Lockhart’s books.

My Recommendation: I found Dramarama to be more of a mash-up of theater life rather than a story about friendships. It was not always appropriate for teens and the fact that Demi was gay stole the spotlight. I would definitely not recommend to teens who aren’t comfortable (for various reasons) reading about the topics mentioned in the review or for younger teens under the age of 14. The decision to read this book will be of personal taste or choice but overall, you’re not missing anything magnificently special if you choose not to pick up Dramarama.

----For Parents & Teens----

Content Radar: Not appropriate for young teens. Content varies from sexual innuendoes, boys kissing, to language. Not to mention extremely boy-crazed girls and underage drinking. In my opinion this isn’t what I’d call a YA novel, but it looks like I may be outvoted on that. (Suggested Age Group: 15+)

This Book is For: Older teens who enjoy reading about theater life.

This Book is Not For: Younger teens or those who aren’t drama fans.

The Final Straw: Life behind the sparkling costumes and the dark stage wings is not at all what you’d expect. Having already gotten a taste of what “show biz” is all about myself, I was not surprised at how Sayde reacted. Dramarama could have been so much better. If you would like to read it anyway, don’t buy–borrow. If your library doesn’t have it, pick up something else that’s worth much more of your time.

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|Pages: 320|Year Published: 2007|Publisher: Hyperion|

|Genre: Contemporary fiction, drama, theater|

|Age Group: YA, age 15+|Content: PG-13|

|Enjoyed It: 2/5|Content Rating: 1/5|Cover: 5/5|

|Overall: 2/5|