My review
5plus plus
This is such a fun and complete story. The art is perfect, with large characters, and a great size for font and panels making it simple but easy to follow and immersive. Val (Valeria Winters) is starting in a new school and the first days can be overwhelming but she had a great start. It's just her and her mom, who is very supportive of her daughter. A couple of boys ask her to be part of their Dungeons & Dragons club. As a daydreamer with lots of imagination with a passion for fantasy and superheroes she accepts it only to learn the club may end if no other teacher can help with it. The answer resides in the gym and Val is brave enough to face Coach Bitner from the Wrestling team and ask him to be their sponsor. It's not as easy as a simple question. There is more that Val needs to do and contribute to help her new friends keep her club.
So awesome. This was the first time that I screamed for the second volume when I turned the last page of the teaser and saw what the next adventure is going to be. I can't wait for the second volume. As a gamer myself and a fantasy lover, I appreciated the mention of Tolkien, my favorite fantasy author, and a bit of the D&D history and TSR as a company. It's also a great way to introduce children to this game that requires the knowledge of a lot of rules and imagination. I love that they role play and we see them in costume (cosplaying) their characters. I love Val's character (a Druid with wolf ears).
New school can be daunting, but Val is an amazing character. She is not the only one. We have more characters, the cast is great from the popular kid who worries what others think, in opposition to Val who is happy to be herself and doesn't care what others may think. Still, she does have a bad temper and can be hurt too. Accepting oneself is a valuable lesson and I want to be like Val in many situations. When she steps forward and wins a practice match with the wrestling kids, or when she says that she will always tell her mom the truth. She accepts her punishment with honor and knows when to apologize when needed. she's a great kid and she just wants to have friends and belong.
Other themes explored: supporting each other, friendship, a sense of protection of community, positive competitivity, being respectful and polite, being independent and confident, knowing what is the right thing to do. Clubs in school, the relevance and how kids can belong to something greater and develop more skills, being curious, communication to avoid misunderstandings, and partnership for the sake of friendship or community.
Extra: There is a double page with the school library map with a key that can be explored in the classroom as an activity for students to do their own (of their school) or to compare and improve both (what is missing in this one what they wished they could have in theirs).
Awesome project and I am collecting his series.
Thank you Holiday House for having me in this paid/post my opinion is my own, and thank you for the free copy.