Tag Archives: Dungeons and Dragons

Elem./MG – Dungeon Runners 1: Hero Trial

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Larwood, Kiernan. Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial. Illustrated by Joe Todd Stanton. Nosy Crow, 2024. 979-8-887-77107-6. 224 p. $17.99. Grades 4-6.

All his life Kit, a part gnome part dwarf would-be fighter, has dreamed of being a Dungeon Runner like his grandfather. However, because of his size, the odds are stacked against him. When the opportunity for a new team to join the Dungeon Runners’ new televised season arises, Kit sees it as his chance to make his dreams come true. He just needs to find a mage and healer to form a team – enter Sandy (a want-to-be sea hag), her crab Pincher, and Thorn the vegetarian vampire. Though this unlikely team is small, through their wit, unique abilities, and teamwork, they prove that even the smallest of heroes can succeed.

THOUGHTS: Hero Trial is the perfect first installment and fit for young fans of Dungeons and Dragons, RPGs, and adventure! It surely will have all readers rooting for Kit’s team of underdogs as they solve puzzles and best dungeon bosses. Looking forward to Kit, Sandy, and Thorn’s next adventure!

Fantasy

YA – Dungeons and Drama

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Boyce, Kristy. Dungeons and Drama. Delacorte Press, 2024. 978-0-593-64701-1. $16.50. Grades 9-12.

Riley is a musical lover who just happens to get into major trouble for stealing her mom’s car to go see a musical. As punishment, Riley is forced to work at her dad’s game store – something she is absolutely not interested in. When the school cancels the yearly musical, Riley doesn’t have time to waste working in her dad’s store. She convinces Nathan, a nerdy, D&D loving high school student, to cover her shifts so she can save the musical and in return she will flirt with him to make another girl jealous. What Riley didn’t expect was to actually enjoy working in her dad’s shop and joining Nathan’s D&D role-playing group. She definitely did not expect to actually start to like Nathan… will she be able to save the musical and possibly get the boy she likes?

THOUGHTS: A super cute nerdy romance, this one is perfect for those who want to enjoy a cozy romance with a dash of Dungeons and Dragons!

Realistic Fiction

YA – Super Fake Love Song

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Yoon, David. Super Fake Love Song. G.P. Putnam & Sons, 2020. 978-1-984-81223-0. $18.99. Grades 9-12.

Asian-American Sunny Dae is a nerd, into Dungeons and Dragons with his best buddies, Jamal and Milo and anticipating multiple followers when they broadcast an interview with the much admired Lady Lashblade. Then he meets Cirrus Soh, the daughter of a Japanese couple who do business with his own workaholic parents. To impress Cirrus, he takes on the persona of his rocker-brother, Gray. His older brother has returned from his Hollywood pursuit for fame with his tail between his legs. Depressed and disillusioned, Gray succumbs himself to his basement room only to be drawn out to mentor the fledgling band Sunny and his pals have formed as they rehearse for the annual high school talent show. As Sunny’s feelings for Cirrus deepen, he becomes more conflicted about his duplicity: he is pretending to be a rocker and gaining Cirrus’s admiration and the longer he pretends, the more he likes the confidence and attention he is getting from others, including Gunner, his former bully.  When the day for the show comes, the Immortals pull it off, until a drunk Gray interferes. Author David Yoon has a knack for clever dialogue. His narrator, Sunny, weaves DnD references with contemporary situations that are fun for teens. Sunny is wealthy and lives in a posh area of Rancho Ruby in California. Though he is intelligent and good-looking, he still deals with insecurities and feelings of being a loser. However, the charmed life he leads refutes that claim. For those looking for a light romance enhanced by good writing, Super Fake Love Song may be just the thing.

THOUGHTS: Dungeons and Dragons fans will appreciate Sunny’s obsession. Romance fans will like the different male perspective. Though the genre is realistic fiction, the circumstances and events that occur in this book are fantasy to many of the teens who may pick up this book. In one section Sunny gives his take on the extravagant party Cirrus throws when her parents leave her home alone: “Such phenomena occurred solely on insipid television shows written by middle-aged hacks eager to cash in on the young adult demographic” (224). This comment may be a prediction for Super Fake Love Song.

Realistic Fiction/Romance          Bernadette Cooke, School District of Philadelphia