Drama

Characters have varying skin colors. The core group includes Latino, Black, and Filipino characters; the wider friendship group also has East and South Asian kids. Characters talk about same-gender attraction, with two boys coming out as gay and another wondering whether he's bisexual or gay. (They're accepted without judgement by their friends, though characters express concern over telling parents.) Gender stereotypes are both challenged and reinforced; on one hand, a male character steps in to perform the female role in a play, wearing a dress and kissing the male character onstage. On the other, female characters are the only ones seen to cry, and they wait for male characters to ask them to the dance.

A character falls onstage and gets hurt, with mention of blood; not shown in the illustration. Passing mentions of a concussion and potentially shooting an eye out with a prop. Kids go into a scary, dark costume cellar. Siblings play-fight, and a character's hands get stuck together with Super Glue.

Middle school characters talk about crushes and dating and kiss on the cheek and lips on a couple of occasions. Mentions of breakups and asking someone to the school dance, as well as scenes of dancing close together.

Name-calling includes "lame," "losers," "fuzzbrain," "dumb," "dork," and "thickheaded." "Shut up" is also used.

Parents need to know that Drama, by author-illustrator Raina Telgemeier, is a funny, affecting look at what it takes to put on a middle school musical. The story emphasizes the need for teamwork, both onstage and backstage, and has messages about the importance of friendship, empathy, communication, and acceptance. There's name-calling, but characters are mostly kind and support one another. Two male characters come out as gay, and another wonders whether he might be bisexual, which friends accept with kindness and understanding. Parents may find this a good example of positive LGBTQ+ characters, as well as a way to discuss the importance of teamwork and friendship.