Dramarama, by E. Lockhart
Lockhart, E. (2007). Dramarama. NY: Hyperion. 311 pages.
Though not technically an outcast at her midwestern high school, Sarah knows she is somehow bigger than her Ohio town. When she meets Demi, a gay, black newcomer, they develop an intimate friendship characterized by all things dramatic: Sarah changes her name to Sayde, and the dynamic duo bond over their mutual love for musical theatah. Sayde is sure they will be tremendously successful at the exclusive drama camp they’ve been looking forward to attending all year, and she’s half right: Demi, with his great looks, grace, and genuine talent quickly becomes known as a rising star while Sayde is relegated to the corps de ballet. Not as comfortable at camp as she’d hoped, Sayde questions the camp’s sometimes grueling methods and begins a parallel process of questioning herself and her friendship with Demi who, she’s beginning to realize, she may never have completely known.
Lockhart’s newest novel is an atypical take on both the camp story and the “a star is born” trope and raises a number of intriguing questions about the roles we perform every day. Told from Sayde’s perspective, the narrative is sympathetic and features just enough of those truly embarrassing moments of growth that, at the time (and, to some degree, in retrospect) are just painful enough to render themselves learning experiences. A couple of times in the story, Lockhart introduces what seem to be key questions surrounding Sayde’s and Demi’s relationship, most notably when the two uncomfortably address Demi’s race and his sexuality. I would have liked to see a little more exploration of both of these topics; however, the lack of resolution there is true to the narrative perspective.
Posted on July 29, 2008 at 12:35 am
Hi, Molly,
Thanks (again) for reading and for commenting on YA or STFU. I, too, was somewhat of a camp nerd, only I went to Nerd Camp, a so-called “summer enrichment program” at a state university. I think Lockhart does a pretty good job of “getting” all the camp stuff in this novel. Like I mentioned in the entry, I do wish the author had mined some of the heavier stuff a bit more but what can you do; it’s summer camp, for God’s sake.
Amy
Posted on July 30, 2008 at 5:09 am
Congratulations!
I’m a bit out of the YA loop – I gave it up when I was seventeen or so and only started getting back into it in these past couple of years. Turns out I’ve missed it more than I realized! This blog is great – I’m finding out about books I probably never would have heard of otherwise.
Posted on July 27, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Me again…another one I read this weekend per your recommendation. Since I pretty much WAS Candie (minus the talent), it was a bit more squirm-inducing than it might be for others, but I freakin’ loved it. I KNEW all of these people, and so many of their anecdotes resonated, and best of all, I knew who “Bob” was immediately, I didn’t have to look up Demi’s Brian Stokes Mitchell reference…basically, it’s nice to be confronted with pop culture references I actually GET.
…so help me, I was such a nerd. I wish this book had been written ten years ago; I’d have read it about a million times. Actually, I plan on buying a copy and doing just that.
Realistic as this book was, I can’t say I liked the ending. I mean, I thought it worked; I’m not criticizing the writing. I just didn’t want to leave camp yet myself!